[SOLVED] Blank screen after Windows update

[backwoodsman]

Hi all,

Got an older Dell Optiplex with Windows 10 that developed a problem after an update a few days ago. It starts normally, goes through the login screen, but when the desktop should appear it's just a blank screen with nothing but the mouse cursor. Ctrl-alt-del works and the task manager can be started that way. Windows seems to be up and running, just no desktop. I've uninstalled the latest quality & feature updates, and rolled it back to the only restore point it shows, none of which helped. I have a vague memory of maybe having encountered this before, but if I have, I've forgotten the solution. Any hints? I'd like to avoid reinstalling Windows if possible because he has an LOB program that can be reinstalled if necessary, but it'll be a lot easier if it doesn't have to be.

Thanks.

 

[britechguy]

Are you able to get an instance of Command Prompt/Terminal/PowerShell (does the machine respond to WinKey + X)? You could also try invoking it from Task Manager:

• Task Manager: Open Task Manager, go to File > Run new task, type “cmd” or “cmd.exe”, and select “Create this task with administrative privileges” to run elevated.

You should be able to do a repair install with Windows 10 install media if you can find a way to kick off setup.exe from it. You should be able to switch to the USB drive in command prompt and just do a .\setup.exe

You could also try a DISM and SFC from command prompt before resorting to a repair install just to see if that fixes the issue.

 

[Metanis]

I'd start with doing a chkdsk on the c: drive on the slight chance there is some sort of file allocation corruption.

I remember having this issue using Explorer Patcher in Windows 11. In other words, did they install some custom start menu or taskbar modifier? If so perhaps there is a way to uninstall it from the command line.

My next avenue would be to uninstall the Graphics driver so that Windows will attempt to revert to a generic driver.

Which made me think of something else to try, get into the BIOS and check settings and then perhaps do a Reset to Defaults.

 

[britechguy]

I'd start with doing a chkdsk on the c: drive on the slight chance there is some sort of file allocation corruption.

I've seen (and heard, right here) about what a mess chkdsk can make of things under a number of different circumstances, so I tend to avoid it, as I've not had it resolve anything for me in the past.

One might choose to use it, but one should do that fully cognizant of the possible issues that doing so could cause. A search on "chkdsk" on this site turns up a lot of what one must be aware of.

 

[Philippe]

Does it work if you boot into Safe Mode?

 

[backwoodsman]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I was able to get it into Safe Mode. Windows menu button and search bar were unresponsive, but got to a cmd window via Task Manager. Chkdsk found some file system problems which had to be fixed offline, so rebooted to an iso on USB and took care of that. Then it would boot to a desktop blank except for the taskbar, menu & search bar still unresponsive, and gave an error saying c:\windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop wasn't accessible. That's an empty folder (is it supposed to be empty?) that was marked readonly, so I unchecked that; now it will start a desktop with the user's icons, black background, and menu & search bar still unresponsive. Ran 'sfc /scannow' which found no problems. Currently running 'dism /online /cleanup-Image /restorehealth'. No idea whether that'll help; if it doesn't, I'll see if I can get it to do a repair install, which should preserve his LOB program.

 

[frase]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I was able to get it into Safe Mode. Windows menu button and search bar were unresponsive, but got to a cmd window via Task Manager. Chkdsk found some file system problems which had to be fixed offline, so rebooted to an iso on USB and took care of that. Then it would boot to a desktop blank except for the taskbar, menu & search bar still unresponsive, and gave an error saying c:\windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop wasn't accessible. That's an empty folder (is it supposed to be empty?) that was marked readonly, so I unchecked that; now it will start a desktop with the user's icons, black background, and menu & search bar still unresponsive. Ran 'sfc /scannow' which found no problems. Currently running 'dism /online /cleanup-Image /restorehealth'. No idea whether that'll help; if it doesn't, I'll see if I can get it to do a repair install, which should preserve his LOB program.

I have never seen a successfull repair install ever in this situation, Godspeed sir!

 

[backwoodsman]

I have never seen a successfull repair install ever in this situation, Godspeed sir!

Well it worked this time. The hard part was getting it to a point where I could get the repair install started. As far as I can tell it's completely back to normal. Of course it insisted on running updates, so a bit of nail biting there, but no problems.

 

[britechguy]

Well it [a repair install] worked this time.

I swear by them. I've had two fail in all the time I've been trying them as "the next to last resort," the last resort being a nuke and pave.

They essentially replace the entirety of the Windows OS itself, so it's as close to a nuke and pave as you can get without going there.