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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  2. Anonymous
    2020-01-15T01:28:31+00:00

    I am seeing it on a users computer today, January 14 2020. Running Lenovo diagnostics (E585). 

    UPdate: Lenovo Diagnostics found nothing.  In Recovery Mode, CHKDSK shows bad sectors and can't fix because drive is write-locked.  Tried to clear write-lock in DISKPART, but failed (catch22, bad sectors lock drive , can't fix bad sectors because drive is locked....).  Can't reinitialize windows through recovery mode.  In my case, seems like hardware issue.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-01-14T12:45:31+00:00

    It's now January and I see this thread has been going on for months.  Is there any updated solution to this problem?  In addition to the blurry screen, when I am able to get into the safe mode, it won't accept my Microsoft/Outlook password, which is the same for this PC.  Also it sounds like the fan (or drive) is running hard as I hear that sound that I hadn't before.

    My Dell PC is less than 2 months old

    Any solutions update?

    TIA

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-01-09T20:33:24+00:00

    Having done both methods via a Windows 10 USB and from the actual windows install in Safemode, I'm still left with a blank blurred login screen. If I enable hiding the last logged in user, I get a prompt for a Microsoft account, but that fails to login with a legit account or not as well. Really annoying issue.

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