After Windows 11 22H2 update, after a reboot/ lock screen/ sign out, when a user does ctrl + alt + del they get a black screen.

Question

I had posted in another Microsoft Community forum and after a few responses the moderator suggested I post it here. After Windows 11 22H2 update, after a reboot or lock screen or sign out, when a user does ctrl + alt + del they get a black screen sometimes with a mouse cursor. They then need to do ctrl+alt+del 3-5 additional times to get a login window. This occurs on devices with 1 user or multiple users on the same device. The list below is everything I've found on posts that others have tried. I've given them a shot, the only 100% resolution I've found is a reload. In a lot of cases that is not a good resolutions. Anyone found a another solution to try?  1. Updates. Verify all Microsoft updates are installed. Verify all vendor updates are installed.

 2. Restart Graphics Driver After reboot or once logged into the device. Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B you should hear a beep. Wait 1 minute > Lock the device. Try ctrl+alt +del

3. Projector Settings. Laptop: Power it off. Connect to an external monitor / TV. Power back on. Try logging in. Once logged in> Press Windows + P (Projector settings) Change to PC screen only. Disconnect the laptop > Reboot > Test.
4. Power Options Settings Power & sleep Additional power settings Choose what the power buttons do. Uncheck Turn on fast startup. Reboot > Test
5. Restart in Safe Mode. (Note you may need a BitLocker key) Method 1 Use Windows + R Run windows type msconfig > click ok. System Configuration > Click a tab labeled Boot. Select Safe Boot > Minimal. Click Apply > Ok > Restart. Once in Safe mode > reverse steps above.

Method 2 Open Settings > Recovery Under Advanced startup click on Restart now Once it restarts on Choose an Option click on Troubleshoot Startup Settings click Restart. Now press 4 or F4 (safe mode) Once you are in Safe Mode > Restart the device.

6. Uninstall the Graphics Drivers.

• Device Manager > Select the Graphics card.
• Right Click > Uninstall device.
• Check the box Delete the driver for this device.
• Uninstall
• Reboot
• Login > download new video drivers.
• Install > Reboot > Test. 

7. Services

• Open services.msc
• Look for App Readiness
• Open the properties.
• Set Startup Type to Disabled.
• Apply > Ok.
• Reboot > Test

8. User Profile Caches folder

• Navigate to C:\Users%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\
• Locate the Caches folder.
• Right click > Delete.
• Suggest coping to another location as backup before deleting.
• **Note ** Some posts suggested coping the Caches folder from another active user’s profile and replace the users experiencing the issue. 
• Reboot > test

9. Regedit >HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon

• Shell > value explorer.exe

10. Logon this machine using administrator account. Open gpedit.msc Navigate to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Policies > Security Options Look for the following and set all to disable. Interactive logon: Don't display last signed-in Interactive logon: Don't display username at sign-in Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System . Logons Look for the following and set to Disabled or Not Configured. Block user from showing account details on sign-in Do not emumerate connected users on domain-joined computers
11. Delete user profile.
12. Reload Windows 11. - So far this has been the only fix. Part 2 of my original post. I maybe missing 1 or 2 things I tried, seem like I did more then this but here is what I tried today. Note that when I got on the machine today the user has a Windows update stuck which I had to resolve first. Went onsite found a Windows 11 2024-KB5034467 Cumulative Update stuck, the system was in a reboot / update loop. Was able to get into Safe Mode, was unable to uninstall update, message unable to uninstall feature while in progress. Ran troubleshoot Windows update, it detected problems but did not resolve them. Rebooted > opened cmd w/admin privileges. Ran the following commands: net stop bits
    net stop wuauserv
    net stop cryptsvc Manually deleted all files in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Network\Downloader (PS command would not work)
    ren %systemroot%\softwaredistribution softwaredistribution.bak
    ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 catroot2.bak
    net start bits
    net start wuauserv
    net start cryptsvc After 2 more reboots the update was able to complete. The login issue (ctrl+alt+del) – followed suggested Clean Boot steps suggested above. Still was not working as expected. Noticed under my profile and a local admin profile that the Cortana / Search was not working in the taskbar. Ran troubleshooting, did not resolve the issue. Ran the following: dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth
    dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
    dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup
    sfc /scannow Disabled indexing – still not working. Re-enabled indexing, reboot still not working. Login (ctrl+alt+del) was better but still not working as expected. In powershell as admin attempted to run Get-Packages command to fix Cortana, would not complete due to files being used. Wanted to download and run the Windows 11 23H2 update, users need to backup files to OneDrive, booksmarks, etc before attempting that. Some forums suggested that may also resolve this issue. Issue still does not appear to be resolved at this point. Thank you in advance. Wade

Answer 1

Hello Did the issue occur all the time or randomly? Did the issue persist in safe mode? Did the issue occur with all the machines or specific machines? Since the issue occurred after windows update, we could try to uninstall the latest update from update history control, reboot then check the issue again. Accroding to your description, the machine is stuck in windows update sometimes. There may be something with the windows components. Troubleshooting the related issue may be difficult.

1. Usually we could boot into safe mode then disable "windows moduler installer" service from services.msc control panel. Then the machine should boot well.
2. Sfc and dism command could be the first step.
3. We may need to check the C:\Windows\logs\cbs\cbs.log for details. But this may be complicated. For general troubleshooting steps, we could try to unstall the third party antivirus software temporarily then reboot if there is any third party antivirus software installed. An in-place upgrade repair would be more efficient. Mount the Windows 11 22h2 iso then follow the instructions, choose to "Keep personal files and data" option.

Answer 2

I am getting a black screen after this update; KB5046633. Have to boot with windows dongle and uninstall the latest quality update to get back to normal. Nothing else is possible with black screen. I also run bitdefender. Uninstalled bitdefender, installed the update, rebooted, black screen. Please advice