PC stuck at a blurry login screen

Anonymous
2019-07-31T17:27:31+00:00

I recently updated my PC and now it is stuck at the login screen. It boots up normally to the lock screen, after pressing any button or using the mouse it goes to the next screen for the login but does not load the password box and the screen remains blurry. I can use the power, network and easy of access buttons but that is it.

Safe mode will not start, restarting 3 times does not take me to the repair screen, ctrl+alt+delete does nothing, I even tried using ctrl+F8 and nothing has worked. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix/bypass the login screen?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows Hello, lock screen and sign-in

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Anonymous
2019-09-05T01:28:41+00:00

***FIX***

Initial Steps (Enter Recovery Environment):

  1. Enter Recovery Environment (If you are unable to get into the recovery environment via a menu, you can turn off your system during the initial boot when the Windows logo is on the screen and the dots are circling. Do this at least twice and you'll see the message "Starting Automatic Repair").
  2. Once the recovery environment loads select "See advanced repair options", then "Troubleshoot", then "Advanced options".

Method #1 (Via Command prompt - assumes basic command prompt knowledge):

  1. Click "Command Prompt".
  2. Change directory to your boot drive if necessary (for example, type c: and press <ENTER>)
  3. Type "CD %windir%\system32\config\systemprofile\appdata\local\microsoft\windows\caches <ENTER>
  4. Type "DIR <ENTER>" and make sure you are in the right path. You should see one or more .db files -- usually just cversions.3.db. If there are no files in this directory see the addendum below.
  5. Type "DEL *.* <ENTER>"
  6. Reboot and test

Method #2 (Via Safe Mode and File Explorer - may require adjusting permissions):

  1. Click "Start-up Settings" and "Restart" to reboot the system and get the option to enter Safe Mode.)
  2. At the Startup Settings screen press "4" to boot in Safe Mode.
  3. Log into your administrator-level account.
  4. Open File Explorer and browse to**%windir%\system32\config** (example: c:\windows\system32\config)
  5. Gain access to systemprofile (you may be able to just double-click it to gain access)
  6. Drill down to**%windir%\system32\config\systemprofile\appdata\local\microsoft\windows\caches**
  7. Delete all files inside caches
  8. Reboot and test

Addendum

Some have reported that it is necessary to clear the caches folder of the local user account also or instead of the systemprofile account. If the above procedure does not work for you, delete the file(s) in the local user cache folder (located in %localappdata%\microsoft\windows\caches) using either Safe Mode or the recovery environment command prompt.

Good luck!

Special thanks to John_E_M for first suggesting the localappdata caches folder, and to Artaeos who also narrowed down the problem to the systemprofile caches folder at the same time I did. Great job guys!

**Edited 9/6/2019 to add command prompt method, local account provision, and acknowledgements**

-Forjo

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-09-04T20:53:36+00:00

    Forjo: Great Job.

    ****I might have a fix for this guys.****

    In Safe Mode, rename the folder

    %windir%\system32\config\systemprofile\appdata\local\microsoft

    to

    %windir%\system32\config\systemprofile\appdata\local\microsoft.bak

    Reboot into normal mode.

    I have confirmed this resolves the issue on the machines I have access too that were having the problem. I will work on attempting to figure out what is the exact issue under that folder as well.

    Edit: Problem folder is %windir%\system32\config\systemprofile\appdata\local\microsoft\windows. I will continue to push forward to see what under that folder is causing the issue and report back.

    Edit2: Problem folder is %windir%\system32\config\systemprofile\appdata\local\microsoft\windows\caches, rename it to %windir%\system32\config\systemprofile\appdata\local\microsoft\windows\caches.old and reboot and it resolves the issue. In my case I was missing a file within the folder, which automatically gets regenerated when the folder is missing.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-08-19T23:43:46+00:00

    Did the hard shut down to get in. At that point I just uninstalled both category last window updates and the computer came back without the login problem. Windows 10 will not let me stop the automatic updates, but as long as I don't restart the computer it's running fine. Microsoft needs to get on the recent update.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-08-19T18:01:40+00:00

    I’m also having the same problem. Has no tech person from Microsoft addressed this yet? Scary how it just trails off w/o any response from them.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-10-12T03:53:35+00:00

    Well friends, after troubleshoot repair (nothing found) then trying to at least backup my files to flash drive (insisted my usb wasn’t large enough to hold it—big lie) I decided to take my Dell to a local shop.  So because a multi-billion $ company won’t stand behind their product, I, a single working woman, will have to pay for their sins.

    Hey Microsoft, take a lesson from companies like Nissan or BMW; they admit there’s a problem and direct you to a dealer on their dime.

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