Windows 10: Black Screen after Windows Update (Windows 10)

Hi folks,

Not sure where to ask this question (posted both here and on SevenForums) as this involves both Win7 and Win 10.

Background

I had an old DELL laptop (originally running Vista) which I upgraded to Windows 7 some years ago (genuine copy of Win 7 Home Premium) and again upgraded to Windows 10 around July last year.

Given that the laptop is some 8 years old and ran both Windows 7 and Windows 10 without a problem, I was a happy bunny - until last week that is.

After a Windows Update, the machine re-booted to give a black screen with a flashing white cursor in the top left hand corner. Nothing else. Leave for several hours - no difference. No HDD activity either.

I can't boot into Safe Mode - I still get black screen with flashing white cursor.

Removing the HDD and putting it in an external USB caddy, I can read all the files/data in the drive - such as photos and documents which leads me to suspect that the update screwed the boot area of the OS somehow.

My questions for Windows Ten forums are these...

Can I use a Windows 10 .iso to repair the OS without losing any files?

If I have to reinstall the previous OS (Win 7) on the HDD, can I still download Windows 10? I presume that I can, since I already did that last year.

What is the process of reinstalling Windows 10 - I presume that I can't simply d/load an .iso of WIn 10 to stick onto the HDD because the upgrade needed a valid Win 7 license? If I can download an .iso of Win 10, can I input the Win 7 licence into Win 10 to activate it?

Any help gratefully appreciated.

Art

:)

 

Windows 10 shows black screen with frozen cursor during installation of updates

Hi,

A corruption or incomplete installation may be the possible reasons why you experience black screen during installation of the update. To resolve your concern, we suggest that you download and run the

Windows Update Troubleshooter for Windows 10 to diagnose update issues. You may also perform the instructions in this article:

Troubleshoot black screen or blank screen errors. This will let you see a black screen before signing in to Windows 10, see a black or blank screen after signing in to Windows 10, and see a black or black screen during setup or upgrade.

Feel free to post back if you need more help.

 

Stuck on preparing windows and then black screen

Hi Kaiser,

One of the possible reasons that the black screen error occurs is due to corrupted or missing system files. To resolve this issue, you can follow troubleshooting steps provided on this article on how to
Troubleshoot black screen or blank screen errors.

You can also refer to this article if you encountered Black screen when
Windows 10 restarts after a Windows update on some OEM factory-imaged devices.

Give us an update if this process resolves your concern.

 

Hello ArtDent and welcome to the TenForums *Smile

There will be multiple suggestions and ways of how you can proceed. To start you off here are a couple of suggestions.

As you can read all the files via a USB caddy why don't you make a backup of your data and then do a clean install of W10 on the Dell laptop? Activation will not be a problem as you have digital entitlement on your laptop.
https://www.windowsphoneinfo.com/threads/clean-install-windows-10.246/


Alternatively try creating a recovery disk and doing a repair. See
Windows 10 Recovery Tools - Bootable Rescue Disk

or

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4...dows-10-a.html

 

Thanks for the swift reply Phil and thank you for the warm welcome *Smile

As per my OP - would a repair (I have a Win 10 .iso disc) wipe any files on the HDD?

Cheers

Art

 

You could try a startup repair which might fix the bootup problem but I would always create a backup of your files first in case anything goes wrong. There is always a risk you will lose personal files. The only repair that does not do this is an inplace upgrade but you need to be able to start this from within W10 which you can't do.

 

Hi again,

Seems from the link above that you can only create this from within Win 10. Is there another way to create this USB tool?

Cheers

Art

 

I had hoped you would have access to another W10 PC to make the USB recovery drive from which you can then start the repair.

 

Sadly, no.

I have downloaded the Win PE Recovery Tools disk and a Win 10 Home .iso

Will try to repair the Win 10 installation first before I try anything more aggressive - but first I need to transfer all the documents just in case.

Art

 

Okay,

So I downloaded and burnt to a DVD the Windows PE Recovery Tools for Windows 10 (this link: Windows 10 Recovery Tools - Bootable Rescue Disk)and popped it in the machine with the borked Win 10 HDD in and booted the machine.

I just got a black screen with the blue Windows 10 icon mid centre and nothing else - despite waiting for 15 mins or so. The CD ROM light was flashing so presumably loading something - but no HDD activity or any sign of anything else happening.

Is this normal??

So I gave up on that and popped a Windows 10 Home .iso disk in and again booted the pc.

As I write this, the machine has been busy (doing who knows what) for the last 40 mins. Again I have the black screen and blue WIndows 10 icon mid centre, but this time I also have the looping circles and als a blinking HDD light.

What is going on I have no idea - again is this normal?

I was expecting an install WIndows 10 screen giving me the option to do a fresh install or a repair - but that hasn't appeared.

Why oh why did I trust Micro$oft and install Windows 10??

Thanks to an update last week, I now appear to have a borked Windows 10 OS and no way to fix it.

Any advice (apart from buy a Mac or install Linux) gratefully received.

Anyone have a link to a legitimate Windows 10 Home .iso from Micro$oft or Digital River so I can try it again??

Cheers

Art

 

You can create a new W10 installation disk from any PC and use it on your Laptop. Follow the tutorial here for other ways to install W10 as an upgrade which you can do from your existing W10.

 

err...

No, I can't as my current Windows 10 installation is borked!

Art

 

UPDATE:

I have no idea what is going on with my laptop.

I have downloaded TWO Windows 10 .iso images and burnt them to disc (one made by the Media Creation Tool the other a direct d/load from Microsoft (Link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...b7511%29%28%29 ).

When placed in the PC with the borked Win 10 HDD in the machine and BIOS set to boot from CD/DVD first, I get a black screen with the Windows 10 logo in the centre and the circling dots underneath. There is also a blinking HDD light showing that the PC is doing something - but I dont get an installation screen nor the chance to do a recovery.

It sits like this for hours (see image below)





Shouldn't the PC boot from the CD directly into the installation package??

I know Windows 10 is different from other Windows OS's but THAT DIFFERENT?!?!?

What am I not doing that I need to do in order to launch the installation package and have the choice of repairing the OS?

In short HELP!

Art

 

Sorry, I did not explain myself very well, I meant you can create the installation disk or USB drive on another PC and use it to boot from on your laptop to do the upgrade from your existing W10 to the latest W10 version.

 

It would seem that you are not booting from the CD drive but are going straight to your hard disk. Have you got a legacy or a UEFI boot mode?

Is there a secure boot setting which is preventing the CD drive from booting?