Some users of Windows 11/10 are experiencing a Black Screen with the cursor after they’ve logged in. What’s interesting about this problem, is the fact that while some users can only gain access to the Task Manager, others do not have even this access. If you have access to the Task Manager it makes things easier. You see, this is key because were going to make use of the Task Manager to aid us in solving the issue once and for all.
Windows 11/10 Black Screen with cursor
Booting your Windows 11/10 computer into a Black Screen with a cursor can be annoying. If you see a Windows 11/10 Black Screen with the cursor before or after login, try these suggestions:
- Disable App Readiness Service and see
- Run Automatic Startup Repair
- Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State
- Uninstall/Reinstall or Update your Graphics Card
- Use System Restore via Advanced Startup Options
- Perform an In-place Upgrade.
Go through the list and see what may apply in your case. You can try the suggestions in no particular order.
As a general first step, press WinKey+Ctrl+Shift+B keyboard shortcuts to restart your Display driver and see if that helps. If it doesn’t, then you can also use the online Black Screen Troubleshooter from Microsoft and see if that helps. If it doesn’t, then read on to learn about the specific troubleshooting suggestions.
1] Disable App Readiness Service and see
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to start the Task Manager. Press File > Run new task. Enter services.msc and hit Enter to open the Services Manager.
You will now need to open the service, App Readiness by double-clicking on the option. After that, change the Start-Up type to Disabled. Click Apply, then hit the OK button to complete.
The App Readiness Service gets apps ready for use the first time a user signs in to this PC. The default Startup Type is Manual. Disabling this Service has been known to help.
If the problem is solved, remember to set it again to Manual on the next boot.
2] Run Automatic Startup Repair
Run Automatic Startup Repair and see if that works. When the computer boots up, and the OS detects that there is something wrong with the files. It will trigger Automatic Startup Repair. If it doesn’t, then try interrupting the boot process three times in a row – for when you do this, Automatic Repair mode will appear.
3] Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State
Perform a Clean Boot and try to identify the offending process that may be interfering with the startup process. Clean-boot troubleshooting is designed to isolate a performance problem. To perform clean-boot troubleshooting, you must take a number of actions, and then restart the computer after each action. You may need to manually disable one item after another to try and pinpoint the one that is causing the problem. Once you have identified the offender, you can consider removing or disabling it.
Related: Computer boots to black or blank screen with blinking cursor.
4] Uninstall/Reinstall or Update your Graphics Card
First press WinKey+Ctrl+Shift+B keyboard shortcuts to restart your Display driver and see if that helps. Else proceed.
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to start the Task Manager. Press File > Run new task. Enter devmgmt.msc and hit Enter to open the Device Manager. When here, you may uninstall/reinstall or update your Graphics Card driver.
5] Use System Restore via Advanced Startup Options
Boot in Advanced Startup Options and use System Restore. Once there click Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore.
6] Perform an In-place Upgrade
Perform Windows 11/10 in-place upgrade and see if that helps you. Remember to select the option to keep your personal files.
Ctrl+Alt+Del or Ctrl+Shift+Esc does not work when on the Black Screen
If you cannot use to open the Task Manager then you have two options:
- Boot in Advanced Startup Options and use CMD to perform various tasks mentioned above. You can also use System Restore here.
- Boot using the Installation media and go to the Safe Mode. Here you can uninstall the device driver, disable the Service, etc.
Once you have completed your troubleshooting, you may power down your computer, wait for 10 seconds and power it on again.
We hope that you will be able to get to your desktop.
Further reading: