Windows 7 boots to an unresponsive black screen with mouse cursor...

Anonymous
2012-04-05T04:26:16+00:00

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.

Windows for home | Other | Input and language

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-10-16T10:11:49+00:00

    I was working with "Bleepingcomputer.com".  They provided the code to fix the problem.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-10-16T06:22:40+00:00

    Ed/Mr. Wilber,

      You mentioned you were provided a piece of code to use with "FRST64";   What was the piece of code and/or who provided it?

    Thanks in advance!

    /JD

    YOUR QUOTE:  " I was provided a very short piece of code which was run through the FRST64 program.  I ran  it which reverted my registry to a date about two weeks earlier...........AWESOME - Windows appeared!!!  "

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-09-21T14:51:25+00:00

    If you have 2 monitors. Unplug the one without the cursor. The screen should then

    light up. Then you can plug the other monitor back up once Windows is loaded.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-09-03T22:11:08+00:00

    This was the issue that was causing the problem on my computer.  To be clear, the symptom was that my machine booted to a completely black screen with a moveable mouse pointer cursor (*not* to a black screen with a flashing immovable text cursor - that's a very different problem.)  Other than that, nothing else was visible on the screen.  If this is your symptom then read on.

    What I found was that the computer was actually working and at the logon screen, but it just wasn't displaying the logon screen because it appeared to be confused about being in extended display mode (like what you use when you project a laptop or use multiple monitors.)  I could actually remotely connect to my computer in this state from my other computer over the network using remote desktop connection and it was completely live and running and rendered into the remote desktop connection window just fine.

    Anyhow, to fix the problem if this is the cause of your black screen and mouse cursor, you need to have your PC switch into displaying to the "PC screen only".  On windows 7/8/8.1/10 this can be done without being able to see the Easy Switcher or Project bar.  With your computer at the black screen with moving mouse pointer, hold down the windows key, then hit P, then release both keys.  The Easy Switcher or Project bar should now be activated even though you can't see it.  Now hit and release the "Home" key. This will select the first/top entry on the Easy Switcher/Project bar which is "PC screen only".  Then, hit the Enter key for it to take effect.  On my computer the main monitor woke up and displayed the logon screen.

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  5. Anonymous
    2015-08-14T18:35:28+00:00

    After I swapped monitors I encountered the black screen with cursor after seeing startup screen and windows logo at boot up.  The black screen occurred just before the user select display.  There was no response to ctrl-alt-del and restarting I could not even get to safe mode via f8.  I could start the system completely with the old monitor and hop swap the new one but restarting with the new monitor still ended up with the black screen and cursor.

    I had installed Acronis True Image Backup a few days before in preparation for upgrading to Windows 10 because I did not expect Norton Ghost to be compatible with W10.  I also set up the optional Acronis Safe Zone partition on the hard drive to make future system recovery more convenient.  After eliminating the Acronis Start up option and restoring the hard drive to its previous state the problem is solved.

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