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black screen with mouse

Alex Sherrick 0 Reputation points
2026-04-08T06:19:28.53+00:00

My formerly Windows 7 computer, now Windows 1,0 has started to boot up to a black screen with only my mouse visible where my login screen should beand IIi can still use my mouse and all, but nothing else works. I have tried to use keybinds to reset mt grapics driver and to also open the task manager, but nothing works. This all started when I ran the anti-virus when I got the computer from my brother, and it said it found some things on it,t and when I tried to remove them, the computer shut off and has not booted up correctly since.

I have tried to use most of the options in the Windows repair screen, but even when I try to erase all the data from it, it fails at that, too, and I just don't know what to do at this point

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows Hello, lock screen and sign-in
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  1. DaveM121 864.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-04-08T06:58:17.24+00:00

    The anti-virus may have removed or corrupted some system files.

    In the Recovery Environment, did you try to uninstall the latest update, and perform a system restore to a date before the problem occurred and also try accessing Safe Mode to delete the graphics drivers.

    If so, and if none of the available options in the recovery environment are resolving the problem, you will need to create a bootable Windows 10 USB on another working PC and boot your PC from that, then rather than installing Windows 10, select ‘Repair this Computer’ that will give you access to the Recovery Environment from there

    In the Recovery Environment on the USB, try each available option.

    Click this link:  https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows10

    to download the Media Creation Tool (Click on Download Tool Now), with that you can create a bootable USB flash drive (min 8GB) using that tool.

    Then, Boot your PC from the Installation Media you just created.

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  2. Q&A Assist
    2026-04-08T06:19:56.44+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    The symptoms match a Windows black screen issue where only the mouse cursor is visible and normal sign-in never appears. Because Task Manager and key combinations do not respond, troubleshooting must be done from Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) and Safe Mode.

    Follow these steps in order:

    1. Force Windows into Recovery Mode
    2. Power on the PC.
    3. As soon as the spinning dots or logo appears, hold the power button for about 10 seconds to force shutdown.
    4. Repeat this power-on → force-shutdown cycle 2–3 times.
    5. On the next boot, Windows should enter the Recovery Environment and show Choose an option.
    6. Try Startup Repair
    7. In WinRE, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Repair.
    8. Choose the Windows installation and let the tool run.
    9. When it finishes, select Shut down, then power on and see if Windows starts normally.

    If Startup Repair cannot fix it and the black screen persists, continue.

    1. Boot into Safe Mode
    2. From WinRE, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
    3. When the Startup Settings menu appears, press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.
    4. If Safe Mode reaches the desktop (even with low resolution), the core system is still bootable.
    5. In Safe Mode: repair graphics and recent changes If Safe Mode works:
    6. Open Device Manager.
    7. Expand Display adapters.
    8. Right-click the display adapter and choose Update driver. If the problem started after a driver or antivirus change, instead choose Uninstall device, then restart to let Windows reinstall a basic driver.
    9. If the issue began right after antivirus removed threats, use System Restore:
      • In Safe Mode, open Control Panel > Recovery > Open System Restore, or from WinRE use Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore.
      • Choose a restore point from before the antivirus cleanup and let it complete.
    10. If Safe Mode also shows a black screen If even Safe Mode never shows a desktop and only the cursor appears, treat it as a deeper startup/boot issue:
    11. Boot again to WinRE.
    12. Use System Restore from Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore and restore to a point before the antivirus run.
    13. If no restore point works and Startup Repair has already failed, the installation is likely badly damaged.
    14. When reset/“erase all data” fails If Reset this PC (even the option that erases everything) fails from WinRE, the Windows installation may be too corrupted to repair in-place. In that case, the remaining supported option is a clean installation using external installation media:
    15. On a different working PC, create Windows installation media as described in Create installation media for Windows.
    16. Boot the affected PC from that USB/DVD.
    17. On the Install Windows screen, select Next > Install now and perform a clean install to the system drive.

    If important files must be saved before a clean install, they would need to be copied off the drive first (for example, by attaching the drive to another PC or using a bootable environment that can access the file system) before proceeding with a full reinstall.

    References:

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