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

Anonymous

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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143 answers

Anonymous

2014-04-28T12:40:05+00:00

Hi.

thanks for the advice. Aside from swapping out a PSU (I do not have a spare at hand) is there a definitive way to put this to the test?

thanks again

RB
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Anonymous

2014-04-28T14:21:58+00:00

There is a testing tool but I am not an expert on using them. Maybe you can go to a local PC repair and he will let you borrow?
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Anonymous

2014-05-22T11:40:19+00:00
Hi all,

I think I solved it. My situation;
- Windows 7 profession 64-bit
- HP Probook with SSD
- After login screen a black screen with mouse cursor and no activity for 20+ seconds and after that normal desktop and everything was fine
This bugged me since I have an SSD for fast computing - not waiting. And I tried a lot of the things that were recommended such as:
- Booting in low-res mode
- Deleting and re-installing graphics drivers
- Creating a boot log, which did show several drivers did not load similar to this log
- Inspecting BIOS and considering switching from AHCI to IDE like some threads suggested but after seeing the warning that this might require re-installation quit the process.
The boot log didn't help much but one forum suggested viewing the event log (specifically system events) and inspecting it for any errors that might indicate where things went wrong.

In the event log I saw 5 consecutive warnings during boot, followed by 1 error - all in about the time the black screen appeard. The error stated:

"the hp cue devicediscovery service service hung on starting".

Through this hint I found this advice and after I switched the HP CUE service to "manual" - tadaaa! I have a speedy boot again and all still seems to work fine.

I hope this helps others too. And please also check the event viewer first to see if this is your probleem too, don't just switch off the HP CUE service but see for yourself what might be causing your black screen at startup!
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Anonymous

2014-06-18T07:23:39+00:00

UPDATE: This may be very relevant since I too have a HP CM1312 printer on my network. So it seems to be HP printer driver / services related
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Anonymous

2014-06-18T07:42:47+00:00

Hi. As my father lives 165 miles away, it took a little while to find the opportunity to visit and try and sort him out. So, I swapped out the PSU with a brand new unit. First couple of boots were absolutely fine, then the issue came back. Really frustrating. Ah well, have a spare PSU for when the new one dies.

As I was remotely troubleshooting this issue, I was of the understanding that the windows start splash screen occurs, do to black, and no more of the boot lad sequence happens. However, and this was news to me, I had left the speakers switched on and noticed that when the screen booted to black, all other services were loading (by sound alone). The infamous skype sign in jingle appeared as did the default windows start sound.

So, as a revision to my description of the problem, windows does boot fully, however, on occasion, all that is presented is a black screen. No cursor, nothing. Also, the monitor has not gone into standby mode. Cables and connections were checked. Latest Nvidia drivers loaded. It is a bit like saying, 'the lights aren't on, but someone is home'.

Anyhow, I appreciate all the community feedback to date. If the change in symptoms prompts any more ideas/advice, I am all ears.

thanks.

RB
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