Windows 10: SOLVED: Windows 10 start-up hanging @ desktop screen load after login

Well, the restore attempt from the initial boot phase failed (going from F11 System Recovery to Windows Restore options). However, thankfully she can get to her desktop after logging in. It's just that her video display is screwed up--"screen door" mesh like effect, low resolution. I had her check "Display Options" and it's giving her only one choice on resolution. Whatever system fixes were attempted, it did clear up the crash she was getting when attempting to connect to the Internet. She's now logged into WiFi. I tried to utilize the Windows Remote Assistance feature, got her to send me an invitation... but at that point, she suffered a Visual C++ crash. So there is still some system corruption.

I'm going to have her install Team Viewer next... hoping I can establish a remote connection without depending upon Windows system files (just Team Viewer software). At least my hope is that if I can get remote access and see her desktop, I'll know for sure if the video problem is hardware or software. If it's hardware, the screen will look fine to me. If it's software, then I should see the same "screen door" like pattern. And then from there, I can get to work on downloading the 3rd party driver software and installing it, to see if I can fix the video.

 

Thankfully, it worked. I was able to get her set up with Team Viewer and can now successfully access her computer remotely.

The video looks perfectly fine on my computer. I don't know if the video hardware circuit is being completely bypassed... Her screen still looks grainy from her point of view. I updated the video driver... didn't make any difference for her. I can't change the resolution to anything larger than 1024 X 768, but maybe that's a forced condition when using remote desktop software.

 

Teamviewer is a great product. I use it to connect to a dozen computers that I support. Of course, it needs an internet connection so, at least you got that far, so you can see what she sees. *Party

"I updated the video driver... didn't make any difference for her. I can't change the resolution to anything larger than 1024 X 768, but maybe that's a forced condition when using remote desktop software."

What did you use for a driver source ? Did you try the MS Basic driver ? Can you change the resolution in her 'All Settings\System\Display\Resolution drop down menu ? Is the laptop in tablet mode, that might account for the resolution limit and the funny look of desktop at startup ? Teamviewer also has it's own connection display settings like this -

 

Thanks for the tip, Mr. Geek. I had gone to the HP Support site specifically for her laptop model. But because it's older, there isn't an explicit driver for Windows 10. I had to resort to a Windows 8 driver package. I installed that. Her resolution was still capped at 1024. Then... DUH... I realized she was still in SAFE MODE. So I took a chance and put it back into normal mode. And the PC rebooted normally. I was able to reestablish a TeamViewer connection. But, the resolution option was still capped at 1024x768.

I went to the AMD site and selected their own Catalyst software utility, considered compatible for this PC. I ran it... and it installed newer drivers, dated 11/2015. But that didn't change anything. The laptop resolution is still capped at 1024x768. I had her restart the computer and not activate TeamViewer, then try to change the resolution... assuming that while running it the laptop resolution was inherently capped. But, she found the same limitation still in effect when TeamViewer wasn't running.

Now, in all your years of PC troubleshooting, have you ever seen a laptop do this? That after suffering a physical shock, the video would be damaged just-so that it would cause a drop in maximum resolution? The only thing I can think of is that because the screen is still showing that "screen door" mesh on her side (not for me--screen looks clear and sharp in TeamViewer), the driver software somehow detects a physical issue and imposes the limitation.

 

"because it's older, there isn't an explicit driver for Windows 10. I had to resort to a Windows 8 driver package. I installed that."
Not surprising, I haven't seen driver updates for mine in over 2 yrs. Did you try to uninstall the display adapter and select MS Basic instead (see post 7) ? This would install the generic driver that a clean install would and a subsequent WU would then install the correct one.

"able to reestablish a TeamViewer connection. But, the resolution option was still capped at 1024x768."
What do you see in the All settings/System/Display settings (or r-click empty space on desktop, then Display settings), as below ?




"I went to the AMD site and selected their own Catalyst software utility, considered compatible for this PC. I ran it... "
I have done this too and given up on updating this way.
Most likely, this installed a different driver than one you fetch from Device Manager and installed AMD Catalyst Control Center. Open that (r-click empty space on desktop) & scroll down to 'My Built-in Displays'/Properties (Built-in Display). What is the max reported resolution ? Should be same as mine 1600x900.
There were so many settings with AMD software, I had to uninstall the video driver, go back to MS Basic then use WU, as prev described, which is how I know the process works. Then I checked each month if HP WU can find one newer.

 

^ Thanks, Mr. Geek -- sounds like rolling back to an MS Basic driver is the only way to fully scrap and refresh the video driver. Microsoft should inherently provide this capability... but I guess this is part of their grand plan to keep PC troubleshooting consultants in business. *Wink

 

This thread has a screenshot that has the 'screen door' effect on the display, somewhat like yours. It was eventually solved by rolling back the driver (likely there are older drivers listed in Device Manager but rather than test them one by one, I would go Basic and let WU do it's own thing before going there). Look it over and see if the display issue is like yours. -
White screen with vertical lines after sleep mode

 

Well, I'm back to where it all started... and baffled.

Last night, before finishing up the troubleshooting session, I figured it would be a good idea to run the disk defrag. This way if there were any bad sectors still floating around, they would be cleaned up. I had her run the defragger. Well, when bed time came around for her (she's 3 hours behind me), she decided to shut off the computer. She did it normally, using the desktop menu option, and I'm presuming that it normally aborted the defrag utility at whatever point it was working.

Well, today when she started up the computer, it's as if the troubleshooting never took place. Square One.

My first thought is, go back to Safe Mode. So I had her select that. But unfortunate upon rebooting, Windows detected a problem and started automatic repair. That failed. Restarting kept triggering the automatic repair, which would fail. Endless loop. So I had her go back to the command prompt and enter "bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled No". Rebooted. And unfortunately, Windows was still detecting some problem... just not automatically trying to fix it. Had her go back to the Windows Restore menu and run the "Refresh PC". That didn't help. Then took her to Advanced Options and System Restore. The previous restore from 3/31 was gone and now there's one from 4/4. I had her select that. Attempting to restore it failed.

I was starting to wonder if there was some sector error causing this, so I had her run ChkDsk. It ran... and completed without errors. But rebooting resulted in a failure to start normally.


I'm stuck. Any advice on what I should try next?

 

"some way, Windows recovered."
So, Windows just needed a vacation, lol ?

"She has an external monitor, but misplaced the cable."
Could also try HDMI to TV, with spare or temp disconnect from cable box.

"I was able to talk her into buying a new laptop."
She'll probably be amazed how much more she can get for the money these days, in memory and drive size. Hope she'll reward you for all your skills and help.

 

Or just buy a new laptop, you can get a basic laptop for $300.

 

Hi,
This as said is a software issue for sure, since it is working fine in Safe Mode and HDD test also passed. I would suggest you to perform a clean re-installation of OS from the recovery partition. HP laptops comes with inbuilt recovery partition. She can launch it by tapping on F11 as soon as she power on the unit.
(NOTE: OS re-installation will wipe out all the data from the hard drive, so take a backup before proceeding with recovery.)
How to RUN RECOVERY on HP LAPTOP WINDOWS 10 - YouTube

 

Hi Jaxon, there are actually 2 issues... one being the display resolution and now the other being normal boot-up. The latter is definitely a software issue, whereas the former may be hardware.

The recovery is not working. It starts and then fails early on.
At this point, it's looking like Reset PC is the only viable fall-back. If I could be there in person, I'd be able to use the Media Creation Tool and load that from an SD card slot or USB.

 

The display resolution may not be hardware issue. I think the chances are less. Once the software issue is sorted out, will get to know the cause of display issue.
But I am wondering whether it is a user account issue. If so, from safe mode as administrator you can try creating a new account.

 

"run the "Refresh PC". That didn't help."
I think you went too far to fine tune after you got it to boot and the only issue left was the resolution, Windows defrags itself. What happened with 'Refresh' ? If Refresh didn't work, the files for Windows are corrupted. You can test if Reset works, next.
If not, you need to do an In-place Repair, using Option 4, mounting ISO (only feasible if her internet is good speed, dl=4gb), and only IF you can get to the desktop - Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade Lastly, wait until she comes back and use MCT to create a bootable usb (can do this in meantime), change boot order in BIOS, power off, plug in usb and either clean install, wiping everything incl partitions or reinstall basic version of Win10. Good Luck today.

 

@Jaxon -- it's impossible to switch accounts if boot-up won't even get as far as presenting a login

I hear you, but I used the built-in defrag utility... no risky 3rd party utility. Windows only does some minor defragging. The utility will manage bad sectors that it comes across. That's what I was hoping to clear up.
At this point, it's too complicated to have her mount an ISO. So I'm afraid any further remote troubleshooting is finished. The laptop is an HP Pavilion G7Z-2200, which I've now learned is close to 7 years old. She's due for a new laptop anyway. I'll have her go to a local store like Best Buy when she's home and get a new one. They may be able to access her hard drive and copy over all her personal files.

Anyway, thank you for all your help!