Solved After updating to 22H2 there is nothing but a black screen

So after I updated, I logged in (which took very long) and there was only a black screen, no taskbar or anything.
So I thought it was explorer.exe acting up so I restarted it, no dice.
I restarted my PC too, no dice.
I can open task manager, but for some reason I can't open the run program (I wanted to put my windows build number), I'm now wondering what else won't work.
I've waited a while too, so it's not just it being slow. So yeah, the UI is gone.
I don't know if it's a contributing factor but I had mods enabled to return the windows 10 taskbar, file explorer and right click menus (I don't remember what the mod is called). I also had open shell installed to get back the start menu I like.

Update: I ran sfc /scannow and DISM individually, no dice.

@JoshuaXD

Ok, so you really just have no desktop?
Can you see the lock screen when you boot the computer?

Can you boot into Safe Mode?

I'm trying to figure out how you can open Task Manager or run SFC or DISM, with a black screen.

Ghot said:

@JoshuaXD

Ok, so you really just have no desktop?
Can you see the lock screen when you boot the computer?

Can you boot into Safe Mode?

I'm trying to figure out how you can open Task Manager or run SFC or DISM, with a black screen.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I should've mentioned how. The Ctrl+alt+del menu works and that's how I opened task manager, then I clicked "run a new task" in task manager, and just typed "cmd" when it asked what I wanted to run.

And that's correct, it's a black screen, I have my cursor and that's it. I can see the lock screen, but after I login, it's black.

I will try safe mode now.

JoshuaXD said:

Sorry, I should've mentioned how. The Ctrl+alt+del menu works and that's how I opened task manager, then I clicked "run a new task" in task manager, and just typed "cmd" when it asked what I wanted to run.

And that's correct, it's a black screen, I have my cursor and that's it. I can see the lock screen, but after I login, it's black.

I will try safe mode now.

Click to expand...

Ah... OK
Generally when we say black screen, we mean no image at all, ever.
So you're missing your desktop.

At least we know it's not a hardware problem.

Ghot said:

Ah... OK
Generally when we say black screen, we mean no image at all, ever.
So you're missing your desktop.

Click to expand...

I should've been more clear about that, so I apologize.
Yeah, I'm missing my desktop.
I have tried safe mode, once again, lock screen is there but when I login, there is no desktop and only a cursor. Ctrl+alt+del still works though.

JoshuaXD said:

I should've been more clear about that, so I apologize.
Yeah, I'm missing my desktop.
I have tried safe mode, once again, lock screen is there but when I login, there is no desktop and only a cursor. Ctrl+alt+del still works though.

Click to expand...

I googled and found this.. I have no clue what it does...


Use at your own risk
Open a command prompt and run this...

reg delete HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionIrisService /f && shutdown -r -t 0



There's an alternate method at that link as well.
Again... I don't really understand that command.



/edit Keep in mind you can always just do a clean install of Windows 11.

Ghot said:

I googled and found this.. I have no clue what it does...

How to get your Windows 11 taskbar and Start menu back

Windows 11 updates sometimes cause the Start menu and taskbar to disappear - here are two ways to get them back

www.techadvisor.com

Use at your own risk
Open a command prompt and run this...

reg delete HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionIrisService /f && shutdown -r -t 0



There's an alternate method at that link as well.
Again... I don't really understand that command.



/edit Keep in mind you can always just do a clean install of Windows 11.

Click to expand...

It says it can't find that registry key.
Also, yes maybe.

Well, you can always Reset your PC.



I would probably try Option 3, since you have access to the command prompt.
But read the whole tutorial... and use whatever you like best.

I'm thinking, that you were correct, that some tweak or tweak tool, broke the update to 22H2.




Most of us around here use backup software, just for things like this.
The most common are Macrium Reflect or AOMEI Backupper. Both have free versions.

Ghot said:

Well, you can always Reset your PC.

Reset Windows 11 PC Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to reset Windows 11 and Remove everything or Keep my files. You can reset Windows 11 when your PC isn’t working well and it’s been a while since you installed an app, driver, or update. Resetting reinstalls Windows 11, but lets you choose whether to keep your...

www.elevenforum.com

I would probably try Option 3, since you have access to the command prompt.
But read the whole tutorial... and use whatever you like best.

I'm thinking, that you were correct, that some tweak or tweak tool, broke the update to 22H2.




Most of us around here use backup software, just for things like this.
The most common are Macrium Reflect or AOMEI Backupper. Both have free versions.

Click to expand...

Alright I did the reset, and I kept personal files, but everything I installed is gone. It's fine, I don't mind having to reinstall everything, even if it's a bit of a hassle.

The desktop shows now, it might've been one of the mods I did but that's not for certain. Thanks for the help though.

Do you have Explorerpatcher installed (mods for taskbar). uninstall it.

Open Taskmanager (same as you run cmd), click on File / run and type : rundll32 C:\Windows\dxgi.dll,ZZGUI

This will open Explorerpatcher GUI - there you can select uninstall

AndreTen said:

Do you have Explorerpatcher installed (mods for taskbar). uninstall it.

Open Taskmanager (same as you run cmd), click on File / run and type : rundll32 C:\Windows\dxgi.dll,ZZGUI

This will open Explorerpatcher GUI - there you can select uninstall

Click to expand...

That was the name of it. Yeah whoops, I already reset my pc, but thanks anyways. I'm guessing explorerpatcher is broken until further notice and won't work with the new windows update?

JoshuaXD said:

Alright I did the reset, and I kept personal files, but everything I installed is gone. It's fine, I don't mind having to reinstall everything, even if it's a bit of a hassle.

The desktop shows now, it might've been one of the mods I did but that's not for certain. Thanks for the help though.

Click to expand...

So far... these tweaks seem harmless (not necessarily the links for 3rd party programs at the bottom).
These are from tutorials, here and on Ten Forums.



We have quite a few people using the 3rd party programs, but they're using backup software as well.
It seems the least little thing can break Windows 11. I imagine it will get more robust as times goes by.
At least I hope so.

I had done an In-Place upgrade from Win 10 to Win 11. I had Action Center disabled in Win 10, with a 3rd party program. Once on Windows 11, my calendar and Quick Access flyout wouldn't work.
Once I re-enabled the Win 10 Action Center, it all worked again.

Ghot said:

So far... these tweaks seem harmless (not necessarily the links for 3rd party programs at the bottom).
These are from tutorials, here and on Ten Forums.

Windows 11 Tweaks - Leader Board.

These are tweaks I've seen asked for... many times. They are collected here for easy access. All of these and more can be found in the Eleven Forum Tutorials Classic context menus... https://www.elevenforum.com/t/disable-show-more-options-context-menu-in-windows-11.1589/ Change...

www.elevenforum.com

We have quite a few people using the 3rd party programs, but they're using backup software as well.
It seems the least little thing can break Windows 11. I imagine it will get more robust as times goes by.
At least I hope so.

I had done an In-Place upgrade from Win 10 to Win 11. I had Action Center disabled in Win 10, with a 3rd party program. Once on Windows 11, my calendar and Quick Access flyout wouldn't work.
Once I re-enabled the Win 10 Action Center, it all worked again.

Click to expand...

Yeah, feels like I'm always troubleshooting something with windows, I'll look into the backup software. Thanks for all the help, I'll mark this as solved now.

JoshuaXD said:

Yeah, feels like I'm always troubleshooting something with windows, I'll look into the backup software. Thanks for all the help, I'll mark this as solved now.

Click to expand...

If I didn't use backup software, I would have had to reinstall Windows about 500 times.
Cause I like to tweak.

Have a good day.


Almost forgot... check out the tutorial section. There's tutorials for.... everything.

AndreTen said:

Do you have Explorerpatcher installed (mods for taskbar). uninstall it.

Open Taskmanager (same as you run cmd), click on File / run and type : rundll32 C:\Windows\dxgi.dll,ZZGUI

This will open Explorerpatcher GUI - there you can select uninstall

Click to expand...

Thank you for this! My Surface Pro 7 went "Black Screen w/ Cursor" after updating to Windows 11 22H2, and I figured it was a Windows Explorer issue related to Explorerpatcher since everything was booting up fine and I could pull up Task Manager. This pulled up the GUI and I was finally able to uninstall, and everything is working properly again.