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Started up the PC one day and it booted to a black screen. I didn't change the configuration in any way, it just happened suddenly.
What it does:
The PC turns on like normal. I get the bios screen. I get the Windows logo screen. Then I get a black screen with a mouse cursor in the middle.
I can move the mouse, but the buttons don't do anything--left or right click. No keys on the keyboard change the screen. Ctrl+Alt+Del does nothing. Windows key does nothing. Esc does nothing, etc. At this point the only option is to hold down the power button and turn it off.
What I've tried:
I tried to start it in safe mode, but the same thing happens. It shows the system files that are loading. The last file it shows loading is Windows/system32/DRIVERS/AtiPcie.sys then it goes to a black screen with a mouse cursor again; only this time it is in safe mode resolution so the mouse cursor is larger and not as sharp. Also, no keyboard strokes have any affect just as with normal mode.
It is a Dell Inspiron, so it came with an onboard repair utility. I used the Startup Repair tool, but it found no problems. The diagnostics tools found no issues with the hard drive or any of the other major system components. However, this error came up which appears to be related to the multi-card (SD, micro SD, etc.) reader on the front of the PC:
error code 4400:011A
msg:SCSI_1-000 DISK_generic-_SD/MMC - target not ready
It seems that this is unrelated to the black screen. I unplugged the card reader and still had the same problem. Otherwise, it passes all other tests the onboard diagnostic utility has including, memory tests, fan tests, hard drive tests, etc.
I have not, however, tried a full system restore yet. From what I've read in several forums, many have tried this in similar situations and still had the same problem. Since there are several files I'd rather not lose, I wanted to explore all other avenues.
Sorry if this is a repeat question in the forum. Most of the other situations seemed similar, but there was always something they could do that I could not, like press Ctrl+Alt+Del or boot into safe mode or whatever.
Here is as much of the system info that I can gather without having the PC on (not mine, I'm doing this for a friend):
-Dell Inspiron (I think it's a 570)
-OS: Windows 7 Home
-AMD Athlon II X2
-Integrated Video Card (I tried both the VGA output and the HDMI, which he normally uses, and both give the same results) ATI Radeon HD 4200
I hope I've been thorough enough to allow you to help me without wasting any of your time, and I thank you in advance.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
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This is very old question and you have to make sure you have the latest version of Windows and it is fully updated. Therefore, this question will be locked.
If you faced the similar issue, firstly follow advice on this post and if problem persist, post new question and share your system specification.
Same here
This issue does not allow for a command prompt. Safe mode or normal mode, it boots to a black screen with a mouse pointer. And that is it. It's not locked up completely, as the caps lock is still responsive and the pointer moves around with the mouse. Sticky keys do not work, ctrl-alt-del does not work, command prompt will not load … every option in the F8 menu (aside from repair) does not work … nodda. Your issue was apparently different. I'm currently working this issue on a customers computer. If I figure out a fix, I will post back.
Get into comand prompt and type
"sfc /scannow" then enter. Wait till 100% . My issue solved by doing this.
I used safe mode to get command prompt. Repair mode has also command prompt in it.
Same horrible Black Screen + easily movable Mouse Pointer for my Windows 7 today. (fought with it for 3 hours today)
I FIXED IT!!! - Solution:
What else I did, however none of it was likely of any value:
* Unplugged all USB devices, pendrives, etc, except mouse. (Keyboard is ps2 anyway).
* During the Black Screen, hit Control-Shift-Escape (hoping it would bring up Task Manager so i could manually run explorer.exe)
* Reconnected my second monitor which i usually connected, but it has been off for 1 week while used on a new computer build im doing.
* Waited on Black Screen for over 1 hour (thought this might work since it was booting slower after installing Macrium Reflect this week.
* Multiple Reboots, all to no avail.
What I definitely did not want to do until I had tried safer stuff:
* Reinstall Windows 7
* Run System Repair from my Windows 7 install disk
* Anything that runs a program that might touch the Registry, IE cleaners.
* Any other external disk boot environment (not that they arent safe, or that i dont have, but i just haven't practiced with them enough.)
* Safe Mode - Although this is clearly the safest in this list, but most people said it didnt help, and it has potential to change stuff
* System Recovery to an earlier time - this would be fine, especially through safe mode, but i just couldnt remember how far back it would take me
(In fact, if you have this problem, try my solution first, then go backwards through this list above from the lowest one to the top one.)
What I dont think it was:
What I think caused it:
When I woke from Win 7 sleep (with basically no disk space and memory topped out at 4GB of 4GB when put in sleep), it blue screened but too fast to get a code, other than to see it was related to my nvidia graphics driver
So I assume that the black screen + mouse related to the issue with the video corruption, that required last known good configuration to work again.
What I'll do now that its back up:
I have no trust that it wont happen again, since i didnt cause it to begin with, so therefore im:
* immediately copying off all extremely valuable data to a pendrive
* freeing up tons of space on the C drive (hopefully 100Gig, since its down to 19G on a 1TB drive
* uninstalling Macrium Reflect Free, since thats the last program i put on before this issue happened.
* updating and running both my Windows Defender and 3rd party antivirus (just to be safe)
After my hour of research, including all the posts in this thread, I tend to believe that tons of different things can cause the same Black Screen + mouse issue. And that each needs its own specific solution. So I dont claim what I wrote here will absolutely help you, but hope it can. Good luck!
