Black screen with cursor after login on Windows 11 - Startup Repair, SFC, and System Restore didn't fix it


Adityachaurasia

Adityachaurasia

Member
Local time
2:39 PM
Posts
4
OS
Windows 11
Hello everyone,
I have an HP laptop running Windows 11 (exact model unknown).
My laptop boots normally to the login screen. After I enter the correct password, the screen turns black with only the mouse cursor visible. I cannot reach the desktop.
This started immediately after I deleted the C:\$Windows.~BT folder while trying to free disk space after a failed Windows Update.
Things I have already tried:
Startup Repair (did not fix it)
System Restore (failed)
Safe Mode (did not help)
sfc /scannow (no integrity violations)
BitLocker unlocked successfully
bcdedit shows osdevice partition=C:
Winlogon Shell = explorer.exe
Winlogon Userinit = C:\Windows\System32\userinit.exe,
I do not want to reset or reinstall Windows because this is my brother's laptop and I need to preserve all data.
Is there any way to repair this black screen issue without resetting Windows?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
HP
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon



check StringValue "Shell" and make sure its value is set to "Explorer.exe"
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro
OS
Windows 11 Pro
I'm guessing you didn't make a system image backup before the update?

Try a Repair install Settings > System > Recovery > Fix problems with Windows Update
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30MSI Suprim 5080 SOC
OS
Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
Motherboard
MEG X870E Godlike
Memory
64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
Graphics Card(s)
MSI Suprim 5080 SOC
Sound Card
Soundblaster AE-9
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
Samsung 870 Evo 2TB
Samsung T9 4TB
PSU
Seasonic PX-2200
Case
Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
Cooling
Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
Keyboard
Logitech G915 X (wired)
Mouse
Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
Internet Speed
900Mb/sec
Browser
Microsoft Edge
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Adityachaurasia said:
the screen turns black with only the mouse cursor visible. I cannot reach the desktop.
Click to expand...
If this is true how have you been able to try anything at all with no user interface? Just wondering.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProAMD Ryzen 9 8945HS32GB DDR5 SO-DIMMIntegrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    GMKtec K11
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
    Memory
    32GB DDR5 SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 2250HM
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeIntel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAMIntel Arc 140T onboard graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED 14" Laptop - UX3405CA-QL192W
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Arc 140T onboard graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (16:10 WUXGA resolution) OLED Touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
wiganken said:
If this is true how have you been able to try anything at all with no user interface? Just wondering.
Click to expand...
I was not using windows interface , instead I was using WinRe
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
HP
BrianInEngland said:
I'm guessing you didn't make a system image backup before the update?

Try a Repair install Settings > System > Recovery > Fix problems with Windows Update
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion. I checked, but I cannot access Settings or desktop because the system goes to a black screen after login.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
HP
ChatGPT:

1. Check whether Explorer can start manually.

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc (or Ctrl+Alt+Del → Task Manager).

If Task Manager opens, choose File → Run new task and run:

explorer.exe

If Explorer immediately exits or nothing appears, there is likely a deeper system problem.

2. Look for pending update actions.

From WinRE Command Prompt:

dism /image:C:\ /cleanup-image /revertpendingactions

If Windows is stuck with an incomplete update, this can sometimes restore a bootable state.

3. Run DISM against the offline installation.

dism /image:C:\ /cleanup-image /restorehealth

If it requests a source, you'll need Windows installation media matching the installed version.

4. Check the disk.

chkdsk C: /f

If prompted, allow repairs.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProAMD Ryzen 9 9950X3DKingston FURY Beast 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 6000MT/sASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 OC Edition 16G...
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
    Motherboard
    ASRock B650E Taichi Lite
    Memory
    Kingston FURY Beast 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 6000MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 OC Edition 16GB GDDR6
    Hard Drives
    Solidigm P44 Pro 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeIntel Core Ultra 9 275HX64GB (2x 32GB) DDR5-6400NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 16GB GDDR7 Laptop GPU
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 16"
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
    Memory
    64GB (2x 32GB) DDR5-6400
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 16GB GDDR7 Laptop GPU
    Hard Drives
    2x 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD (SK Hynix)
What happened with : Startup Repair (did not fix it)

Was there a srttrail.txt?


Please boot to Windows RE > run these commands > post share links

Code: 
bcdedit

bcdedit | find "osdevice"

DISM /Image:W:\ /Add-Capability /CapabilityName:WMIC~~~~

(change the letter W to the partition letter in the result from the prior command)

DISM /Image:W:\ /Get-Capabilities

reg load HKLM\OFFLINE W:\Windows\System32\Config\SYSTEM

(change the letter W to the partition letter in the result from the earlier command)

reg query "HKLM\OFFLINE\Hardware\Description\System\BIOS" /v SystemManufacturer

reg query "HKLM\OFFLINE\Hardware\Description\System\BIOS" /v SystemProductName

reg query "HKLM\OFFLINE\Hardware\Description\System\BIOS" /v SystemSKU

reg unload HKLM\OFFLINE

wmic computersystem get manufacturer,model

wmic csproduct get identifyingnumber,name,vendor

wmic computersystem get systemskunumber
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryTyp...NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
OS
Windows 10
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
HP
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
Motherboard
Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
Memory
16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
Sound Card
IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
Hard Drives
Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
Other Info
Mobile Workstation
Celery said:
ChatGPT:

1. Check whether Explorer can start manually.

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc (or Ctrl+Alt+Del → Task Manager).

If Task Manager opens, choose File → Run new task and run:

explorer.exe

If Explorer immediately exits or nothing appears, there is likely a deeper system problem.

2. Look for pending update actions.

From WinRE Command Prompt:

dism /image:C:\ /cleanup-image /revertpendingactions

If Windows is stuck with an incomplete update, this can sometimes restore a bootable state.

3. Run DISM against the offline installation.

dism /image:C:\ /cleanup-image /restorehealth

If it requests a source, you'll need Windows installation media matching the installed version.

4. Check the disk.

chkdsk C: /f

If prompted, allow repairs.
Click to expand...
I tried all this still not fixing
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
HP
Search for > post a share link

c:\windows\system32\logfiles\srt\srttrail.txt



Run > post share links

bcdedit
bcdedit | find "osdevice"
DISM /Image:W:\ /Get-Drivers /Format:Table
(change the letter W to the partition letter in the result from the prior command)
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryTyp...NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
OS
Windows 10
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
HP
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
Motherboard
Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
Memory
16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
Sound Card
IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
Hard Drives
Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
Other Info
Mobile Workstation
Adityachaurasia said:
Thanks for the suggestion. I checked, but I cannot access Settings or desktop because the system goes to a black screen after login.
Click to expand...
Try WIN + I to get into Settings
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30MSI Suprim 5080 SOC
OS
Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
Motherboard
MEG X870E Godlike
Memory
64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
Graphics Card(s)
MSI Suprim 5080 SOC
Sound Card
Soundblaster AE-9
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
Samsung 870 Evo 2TB
Samsung T9 4TB
PSU
Seasonic PX-2200
Case
Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
Cooling
Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
Keyboard
Logitech G915 X (wired)
Mouse
Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
Internet Speed
900Mb/sec
Browser
Microsoft Edge
Antivirus
Windows Defender
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