I’m installing Windows 8.1, and after a reboot, it has a black screen.

Anonymous
2013-10-29T18:13:23+00:00

I’m installing Windows 8.1, and after a reboot, it has a black screen, with just a cursor. How do I solve this?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Install and upgrade

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Anonymous
2013-10-29T18:14:57+00:00

This may be an issue with your display drivers. Try entering Safe Mode and updating the drivers:

  1. When you boot your PC, try hitting the F8 key. This may take you to the Startup Settings that include Safe Mode.
  2. If hitting F8 doesn’t work, and you have media for Windows 8.1 (such as a DVD or USB), you can boot from media using the instructions here. Further instructions about Safe Mode can be found here.
  3. If you do not have media, use the power button to restart your computer during the boot process three times (do not let it get to the end of the boot process) . This should bring up the Windows Recovery Environment.
  4. Once you have started in Safe Mode with Networking, check for updated drivers:
  • Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.

(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)

  • Tap or click Update and recovery and then tap or click Windows Update.
  • Tap or click View details, and tap or click Check for updates. (If you don't see View details, there aren't any optional updates available.)
  • Under Optional, tap or click the update that you want to install, then click Install.

If no updated drivers are available through Windows Update, check the website of the manufacturer of your video card to see if they have updated drivers available.

If this does not resolve your issue, post in this thread.

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-08-30T15:28:48+00:00

    go safe mode and go control panel--->user accounts and family safety---->family safety---->create password for administrator...... restart ur system in.... go to switch user.... click the administrator.... now screen comes.... it's works for me

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-08-30T15:27:41+00:00

    go safe mode and go control panel--->user accounts and family safety---->family safety---->create password for administrator...... restart ur system in.... go to switch user.... click the administrator.... now screen comes.... it's works for me

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-08-06T01:41:49+00:00

    It certainly looks like we users have to help each other, because after 3 years not much progress has been made to solve the issue:  

    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows\_10-windows\_install/black-screen/00b8ab5d-dbfd-433b-a61e-ac7c5709583d

    Windows 10:  "Do familiar things"  ;)

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-08-05T21:34:11+00:00

    Pete and Clarence, good job bringing this thread about again--it's been running for a long while, but that chart sums things up nicely.

    I'm just going to interject that, like Clarence, I came across state 2.1 again with an nVidia driver last month and learned:

    a) if switching to HDMI still doesn't solve anything, try unplugging the HDMI cable and re-plugging.  Then if that doesn't work, unplug the HDMI cable, turn the monitor off, then plug the cable in and turn the monitor on.

    I've since learned that when you plug an HDMI cable in, no matter what the equipment, a "handshake" takes place across the cable--and there will be times the screen stays black because something went wrong.  Turning one or both devices off and powering back up re-initiates the handshake and may get your signal going again.  This is just a workaround, though; in cases like the nVidia driver screwing up...

    b)...I uninstall the nVidia driver, roll back to the last one that worked, and wait for the next one before trying again.  I put this in NVidia's lap to fix.  Sometimes it's best when rolling back to check the box that says "Perform a clean installation", just understand you'll have to re-do any custom configurations you had (and re-add GeForce Experience games to the list).

    Hope this helps thread readers, since it appears the many variations of black screen probably won't stop happening to random people any time soon.

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