Windows 10: Windows 10 commonly boots to a black screen with no cursor?

Can you mark the thread as solved, please?

 

This is interesting. Could you say if Windows is activated?
From MS:

Activation of Windows 10 - Check - Windows 10 Forums

 

(After FINALLY getting it to boot to the Logon UI) I checked the system properties and it says it's activated.

 

Very unusual. Thanks for posting back. Don't forget to update drivers if you're struggling with speed.

 

Has activation been a known issue with a black screen at boot? (I needed to boot into Windows 7, restart, and then boot into Windows 10. Startup repair says it isn't compatible with this version of Windows, safe mode freezes at "Please Wait", and no other repair options have allowed me to boot past a black screen. Just thought I'd put it out there, since I tried it *Huh)

 

Activation is only a known issue when you change out the motherboard, as you said you did. I'm wondering if you changed the motherboard before or after you updated to Windows 10, because from what I can tell, if you did it before, it shouldn't have worked. Even if you did it after, you probably would have needed to update to the old OS first.

Black screen has more to do with a combination of problems: 1) just a simple Windows 10 bug, 2) improperly updated drivers or not at all, and 3) a slow computer with slow hardware, or software that is bogging things down.

Are you saying you are still having issues, or that you solved your issue by what you describe? This is an interesting method of activating where normally, you can't.

 

I'm saying the issue is still there, but I described how I can sometimes get it to boot past the black screen. Booting to 7 and then 10, how ridiculous... I'm certain I used Reset PC to fix the preview after changing boards, then once it wouldn't update to higher builds, I installed the RTM over it. Now I have heard that using programs such as ones that give your titlebars glass transparency similar to that of 7, might cause a black screen if you uninstall improperly, but I only installed it yesterday. And my hardware should be of considerable speed, hence it being a machine meant for games (NVIDIA GT 610... don't judge, I was on a low budget...).

 

I've received a black screen from time to time, and it usually lasts no more than 15 seconds. But those 15 seconds can seem like a really long time.

Many people recommend a clean install to start 'from scratch'. If you're interested, give it a go. Since your OS was already activated, it will automatically activate again with the clean install. Just follow the tutorial on how: Windows 10 - Clean Install - Windows 10 Forums

 

I created an installation CD for Windows 10, dumb question but, will that still work in this case? The tutorial asks for a bootable USB, and I have such a bad history with those. Plus, I'm dry on spare flash drives.

 

Go to the tutorial within the tutorial I posted (or just click here) and follow it up to the point where you choose what media to use. Choose ISO. Afterwards, you may have to find the ISO image file and manually 'burn' it to your DVD yourself, because it sounds like the media creation tool will not do it for you. At least it creates it for you, though. Let me know if you encounter any further problems.

EDIT: oh, if you already did it, yes it will work. Just boot to DVD by pressing F8 (usually) when the computer is booting up, repeatedly.

 

When I boot from the disc and it asks about how to install and where, would I format the partition or just say to do a custom install? If I remember from IT 1, that's practically doing the same thing... Now that I think about it, I should clean install 7 too... Aero problems...

 

If you have 7 installed on a separate drive, then no problem, disconnect the drive. If it is on the same drive, I'm not sure if the install will cause it problems or not, you might want to look up how to install for dual-boot. I personally find it pointless since 10 pretty much seems like the polished version of 7.

Normally, you would just delete the drive, and have Windows 10 install over it. No need for partitions. You could create those later if you need to.

 

Here we go, perfect: Windows 10 - Dual Boot with Windows 7 or Windows 8 - Windows 10 Forums

 

I'm going to go ahead and remove the 10 partition and reinstall it on a new partition. (7 is still my primary OS and 10 is here just because I could say I had it, and because I might make it primary later and ditch 7. Plus if one fails, I have another already installed.) They're both on the same hard drive.

 

It may be better to just backup one OS or create an image of it on another device, than to have two OSes for the purpose of having one if the other fails. If the drive itself fails, all operating systems fail also. If something doesn't work in one OS, it is usually fairly simple to repair. System restore, for example. Having only one allows you to have more storage space freed up as well. You might consider looking into creating an image in case of future failures if you like; there are many free programs online that will do this, such as macrium reflect.

The main reasons to have 2 OSes is due to program compatibility, or testing. But you are the captain of your own ship, and if you like having both, it works for me too. *Smile