Windows 7 stuck on black screen with cursor. Help pl0x

[aryamanp56]

I woke up today to find that my pc wouldn't boot up and was stuck on a black screen with the cursor. I tried everything from clearing the CMOS to trying to to repair windows in the troubleshooting menu you get when pressing F8 during startup. I even tried to revert the pc to the last known "good" settings but was left with the same results. Is there anything i can do apart from re-installing the OS? I've got the OEM version of windows 7 ultimate that i had someone install after i'd built the pc back in march of this year.It's been running smooth as butter up until now. On another note, a few days prior, someone gave me their flashdrive to put a ppt onto after which i'd noticed some strange on-goings like chrome becoming really sluggish during use. Note: i didn't transfer any files to or from the flash drive because i needed to edit the work i was to put on the drive later. Could files on the drive caused this in some way? any help would be appreciated =]  My specs are as follows- 

 

FX-6300@stock cooled by a cm hyper tx3 evo

R9-270 dual-x OC edition 2gb

1x4GB kingston hyper-x blu

corsair cx-500

Ssus M5A97 r2.0 LE version

Seagate barracuda 1tb 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[UnknownEngineer]

You could try and repair the OS with an installation disk, that would have a higher chance of working as opposed to the broken OS trying to repair itself.

The thing is that you could have gotten some sort of malware from the USB, although I doubt this for some reason. The problem could be caused by other things as well.

 

I would probably re-install the OS myself, I already have a list of things to do once the OS installs so I will most-likely not miss anything.

 

I would suggest trying to repair the OS with a disk. That way you can at least try to get the activation key for a re-install. Note that the activation serial you see in the "system" page in the control panel will not work if you are using an OEM code. You will need a separate program to find it for you.

[aryamanp56]

You could try and repair the OS with an installation disk, that would have a higher chance of working as opposed to the broken OS trying to repair itself.

The thing is that you could have gotten some sort of malware from the USB, although I doubt this for some reason. The problem could be caused by other things as well.

 

I would probably re-install the OS myself, I already have a list of things to do once the OS installs so I will most-likely not miss anything.

 

I would suggest trying to repair the OS with a disk. That way you can at least try to get the activation key for a re-install. Note that the activation serial you see in the "system" page in the control panel will not work if you are using an OEM code. You will need a separate program to find it for youIs there anything i can do to get 

Is there anything i can do to recover files off the hard drive? And what kind of malware could have caused this? I scanned the system with hitman pro a few days prior to this incident and got one suspicious result that i wasn't familiar with, but it didn't do anything because my "free" trial had expired and refused to budge until i was to pay like 30$ for it. 

[UnknownEngineer]

Is there anything i can do to recover files off the hard drive? And what kind of malware could have caused this? I scanned the system with hitman pro a few days prior to this incident and got one suspicious result that i wasn't familiar with, but it didn't do anything because my "free" trial had expired and refused to budge until i was to pay like 30$ for it. 

You can use a different OS like Zorin to take what you need. That is what I did when I personally screwd up win7. I don't know about any particular malware that could do it, it is just a remote possibility.

As long as you use linux to copy the files you want you wont have any risk of further issues by the possible malware.

[aryamanp56]

You can use a different OS like Zorin to take what you need. That is what I did when I personally screwd up win7. I don't know about any particular malware that could do it, it is just a remote possibility.

As long as you use linux to copy the files you want you wont have any risk of further issues by the possible malware.

Sorry to sound like a complete noob, but can you give me a basic rundown on how to do this? Btw, i do have a second home pc which i could use for something. thanks!!!

[UnknownEngineer]

Sorry to sound like a complete noob, but can you give me a basic rundown on how to do this? Btw, i do have a second home pc which i could use for something. thanks!!!

I am going to list you two options, they are the only ones that come my mind ATM, there are others I am sure, but you will have to find those elsewhere. I suggest you consider trying other peoples advice as well. I am assuming the you have a WIN7 installation disk.

Option 1 (Easiest option):

Step 1: Take the HDD to you second PC and copy the files you need. After you are finished you can format the drive .

Step 2: Take the HDD back to the problem PC and re-install using the WIN 7 installation disc. 

 

Option 2 (requires a USB drive or an empty DVD):

This will be a bit of a hassle, if you want it easy then just plug the old HDD to a working PC and copy what you need. (option 1)

I am going to link the things that you will need and make a small guide if you decide that you will use Zorin on the current machine, it is up to you to decide what to use.

1. Zorin download (Core is the default version) Download the version you need &4 bit if you can.

2. Use universal USB installer to mount the image to the USB (If i recall correctly there was no need to erase the drive, but still, you may want to)

2.5. Using the prgram should be simple, there is a guide on the page the shoes the very simple process of installing.

3. Go to BIOS and set the USB as the primary boot option.

4. Boot into Zorin, you shouldn't need to install it to be able to copy the files, the OS itself will just be slower.

5. Copy the files you need to an external HDD or directly to the USB, just make sure you know which folder you place your files in.

6. Once done with copying you can use Zorin to format the HDD, or the WIN 7 installation disk.

7. Enjoy as you now you have Zorin OS on a USB and you can use it essentially everywhere, you can even install it alongside Win 7. 

NOTE: You can also install Zorin to a DVD and get the exact same result, you just wont be able to copy the files to separate device unless you have an external mass storage devise. 

Disclaimer: When I did this it was not of my own initiative, I was helped by a friend and thus there may be things that I have forgotten. Take my advice with a grain of salt, or even two grains.

[aryamanp56]

I am going to list you two options, they are the only ones that come my mind ATM, there are others I am sure, but you will have to find those elsewhere. I suggest you consider trying other peoples advice as well. I am assuming the you have a WIN7 installation disk.

Option 1 (Easiest option):

Step 1: Take the HDD to you second PC and copy the files you need. After you are finished you can format the drive .

Step 2: Take the HDD back to the problem PC and re-install using the WIN 7 installation disc. 

 

Option 2 (requires a USB drive or an empty DVD):

This will be a bit of a hassle, if you want it easy then just plug the old HDD to a working PC and copy what you need. (option 1)

I am going to link the things that you will need and make a small guide if you decide that you will use Zorin on the current machine, it is up to you to decide what to use.

1. Zorin download (Core is the default version) Download the version you need &4 bit if you can.

2. Use universal USB installer to mount the image to the USB (If i recall correctly there was no need to erase the drive, but still, you may want to)

2.5. Using the prgram should be simple, there is a guide on the page the shoes the very simple process of installing.

3. Go to BIOS and set the USB as the primary boot option.

4. Boot into Zorin, you shouldn't need to install it to be able to copy the files, the OS itself will just be slower.

5. Copy the files you need to an external HDD or directly to the USB, just make sure you know which folder you place your files in.

6. Once done with copying you can use Zorin to format the HDD, or the WIN 7 installation disk.

7. Enjoy as you now you have Zorin OS on a USB and you can use it essentially everywhere, you can even install it alongside Win 7. 

NOTE: You can also install Zorin to a DVD and get the exact same result, you just wont be able to copy the files to separate device unless you have an external mass storage devise. 

Disclaimer: When I did this it was not of my own initiative, I was helped by a friend and thus there may be things that I have forgotten. Take my advice with a grain of salt, or even two grains.

Thanks so much for taking the time man! i'll try these methods as soon as possible. 

[aryamanp56]

Alright, my hard drive is now plugged into the old system and seems to have all the data intact but has not had any drivers etc.. installed so can i create a backup of the two partitions that WERE in use after i'm done cleaning them with Malwarebytes, Hitmanpro etc?(i have a feeling this might work) if not, can i just create the backup as it is- on a portable HDD and then re-install windows later on? Thanks in advance M8, you've been a great help so far. =)

 

EDIT: the old system is running 32 bit windows xp professional. so will i need to download the 64bit version of hitmanpro in order for it to scan the partitions correctly? (I know this sounds rather silly but i just want to be 100% sure about this whole process)

[UnknownEngineer]

Alright, my hard drive is now plugged into the old system and seems to have all the data intact but has not had any drivers etc.. installed so can i create a backup of the two partitions that WERE in use after i'm done cleaning them with Malwarebytes, Hitmanpro etc?(i have a feeling this might work) if not, can i just create the backup as it is- on a portable HDD and then re-install windows later on? Thanks in advance M8, you've been a great help so far. =)

 

EDIT: the old system is running 32 bit windows xp professional. so will i need to download the 64bit version of hitmanpro in order for it to scan the partitions correctly? (I know this sounds rather silly but i just want to be 100% sure about this whole process)

For cleaning and backing up:

You don't need the 64 Bit version to scan properly. (64Bit would not work unless you are running a 64 OS, you said you are running 32bit XP)

For backing up your data I would just recommend getting files/documents and that kind of thing only (the stuff you cannot re-download), you can always re-download programs and games. Even if you were to backup the 2 partitions fully you wouldn't necessarily benefit from it later on. The programs would need to be re-installed mostly or they would not function properly, also it would most-likely take a ton of time to copy everything.

 

You can just do as you are planning on doing and backing up the partitions after you clean them. Cleaning the drive with anti-malware shouldn't affect creating backups.

Backing up the 2 partitions shouldn't be an issue either.

 

For re-installing:

Unless you already have the WIN7 key written down somewhere, you may need to use a program on the old but working PC to extract it. This might not work however as I don't think they are usually used on additional drives. If the machine is OEM you should be able to find the key on a sticker on the original case or with the documents for the PC. Additionally you could also get it by contacting whoever you purchased it from. (you will need proof of purchase)

I am certain you can find tutorial for extracting the key on youtube in-case you need to.

 

After you are done backing up your files from the HDD with the broken OS you can just safely format it and re-install your OS.

 

On a side note. Are you using any program to backup your data? If you are then the data might be automatically encrypted and compressed. It will be difficult to access if this is the case. Copy pasting necessary files should do.

[barbana]

A black screen can be caused by either hardware or software problems. As for software, you need to delete, and as for hardware, you need to check, here is the guide: How to Fix Windows 7 Black Screen of Death
 

[deguzi]

when was your last update? i have a feeling the most recent update had something to do with this, because i am having similar issues. I thought it was my ssd showing signs of degradation, but seeing that my issues are similar to yours, it could be the update. (that is if you updated recently too) *shrug*

[You Scrub....The Floor]

Ctrl Alt Del

 

Thats how i fix mine 

[Uranus]

After you back up everything , do a surface scan on the hdd from another pc , try Hard Disk Sentinel , it's pretty easy to use , you need to pay for it but you can always get it for free ... That's just to check if the hdd is failing , it may also be just a corrupt windows .

[aryamanp56]

For cleaning and backing up:

You don't need the 64 Bit version to scan properly. (64Bit would not work unless you are running a 64 OS, you said you are running 32bit XP)

For backing up your data I would just recommend getting files/documents and that kind of thing only (the stuff you cannot re-download), you can always re-download programs and games. Even if you were to backup the 2 partitions fully you wouldn't necessarily benefit from it later on. The programs would need to be re-installed mostly or they would not function properly, also it would most-likely take a ton of time to copy everything.

 

You can just do as you are planning on doing and backing up the partitions after you clean them. Cleaning the drive with anti-malware shouldn't affect creating backups.

Backing up the 2 partitions shouldn't be an issue either.

 

For re-installing:

Unless you already have the WIN7 key written down somewhere, you may need to use a program on the old but working PC to extract it. This might not work however as I don't think they are usually used on additional drives. If the machine is OEM you should be able to find the key on a sticker on the original case or with the documents for the PC. Additionally you could also get it by contacting whoever you purchased it from. (you will need proof of purchase)

I am certain you can find tutorial for extracting the key on youtube in-case you need to.

 

After you are done backing up your files from the HDD with the broken OS you can just safely format it and re-install your OS.

 

On a side note. Are you using any program to backup your data? If you are then the data might be automatically encrypted and compressed. It will be difficult to access if this is the case. Copy pasting necessary files should do.

 

when was your last update? i have a feeling the most recent update had something to do with this, because i am having similar issues. I thought it was my ssd showing signs of degradation, but seeing that my issues are similar to yours, it could be the update. (that is if you updated recently too) *shrug*

I don't recollect when exactly it was but it might have been fairly recent so i don't think they're the culprit.

[aryamanp56]

 

A black screen can be caused by either hardware or software problems. As for software, you need to delete, and as for hardware, you need to check, here is the guide: How to Fix Windows 7 Black Screen of Death

 

Do you have any positive experience with this piece of software?

[aryamanp56]

After you back up everything , do a surface scan on the hdd from another pc , try Hard Disk Sentinel , it's pretty easy to use , you need to pay for it but you can always get it for free ... That's just to check if the hdd is failing , it may also be just a corrupt windows .

The drive has everything intact and doesn't seem to be making any rattling noises, clicks etc.. which usually means the eminent faliure of the drive. i think it's just windows. 

[aryamanp56]

For cleaning and backing up:

You don't need the 64 Bit version to scan properly. (64Bit would not work unless you are running a 64 OS, you said you are running 32bit XP)

For backing up your data I would just recommend getting files/documents and that kind of thing only (the stuff you cannot re-download), you can always re-download programs and games. Even if you were to backup the 2 partitions fully you wouldn't necessarily benefit from it later on. The programs would need to be re-installed mostly or they would not function properly, also it would most-likely take a ton of time to copy everything.

 

You can just do as you are planning on doing and backing up the partitions after you clean them. Cleaning the drive with anti-malware shouldn't affect creating backups.

Backing up the 2 partitions shouldn't be an issue either.

 

For re-installing:

Unless you already have the WIN7 key written down somewhere, you may need to use a program on the old but working PC to extract it. This might not work however as I don't think they are usually used on additional drives. If the machine is OEM you should be able to find the key on a sticker on the original case or with the documents for the PC. Additionally you could also get it by contacting whoever you purchased it from. (you will need proof of purchase)

I am certain you can find tutorial for extracting the key on youtube in-case you need to.

 

After you are done backing up your files from the HDD with the broken OS you can just safely format it and re-install your OS.

 

On a side note. Are you using any program to backup your data? If you are then the data might be automatically encrypted and compressed. It will be difficult to access if this is the case. Copy pasting necessary files should do.

The pc i built myself, i just got someone to install oem windows rather than pirating it or spending a fortune on it. i used the default windows backup tool to create an image on a portable HDD a long time ago when the pc was still "new" and didn't have much installed yet.

 

I booted the faulty pc back up again and chose the re-image option. and detected the image i'd created on the portable hdd. it now gives me the option to format and repartition disks which i can't do for some reason. It says i can fix this by installing the drivers for those specific disks? it also gave me the option to exclude disks which i wanted to select to avoid the trouble of re-installing and rec-configuring the apps on that disk. 

 

On the other hand, since nothing has been done yet, will a program like "windows boot genius" work? someone on this thread mentioned it when they listed a guide. 

[UnknownEngineer]

The pc i built myself, i just got someone to install oem windows rather than pirating it or spending a fortune on it. i used the default windows backup tool to create an image on a portable HDD a long time ago when the pc was still "new" and didn't have much installed yet.

 

I booted the faulty pc back up again and chose the re-image option. and detected the image i'd created on the portable hdd. it now gives me the option to format and repartition disks which i can't do for some reason. It says i can fix this by installing the drivers for those specific disks? it also gave me the option to exclude disks which i wanted to select to avoid the trouble of re-installing and rec-configuring the apps on that disk. 

 

On the other hand, since nothing has been done yet, will a program like "windows boot genius" work? someone on this thread mentioned it when they listed a guide. 

I don't know anything about Windows boot genius, it might be the best thins since sliced bread or not. I would most-likely give it a try, in the end there is nothing a re-install shouldn't be able to fix if it messes up. 

 

Otherwise I wouldn't necessarily use an image to re-install. Personally I would just install the OS from the installation disc and enter the code, both of which you  should be able to get from the person/company you had install windows for you, unless you have them lying around. 

To recap you only have 2 fazes to go for the easy route.

1. Get your OS key handy and have it ready (this I mentioned last time and the time before that as well I think).

2. Re-install using an installation disc.

After that it is just re-installing your programs and drivers.

 

I haven't re-installed windows using an image my self, therefore I cannot help you much in those terms. What I can tell you is that installing from an image is going to be more complicated then just using an installation disc.

 

Other than that I think I have told you everything I can, now it is just up to you to decide which thing to do.

[Epicurwin]

I have a similar issue and I'm wondering if I should do anything differently if I have two drives in my computer. I have a SSD which has my OS and a HHD which I use for bulk storage. Should I try to back up both drives before reinstalling windows 7 or just the SSD?

[UnknownEngineer]

I have a similar issue and I'm wondering if I should do anything differently if I have two drives in my computer. I have a SSD which has my OS and a HHD which I use for bulk storage. Should I try to back up both drives before reinstalling windows 7 or just the SSD?

No need to do anything to the HDD, I also have an SSD and a HDD. The HDD's files are detected just fine even if I re-install. If you are going to re-install then just remove the HDD from the PC while you are doing it. After you have re-installed you just need to plug it back in and it will be assigned the next available letter after C.

 

Programs on the drive will obviously need to be mostly re-installed as they often have something on the C drive regardless of where you chose to install.

[handymanshandle]

op

Ubuntu.

[aryamanp56]

You could try and repair the OS with an installation disk, that would have a higher chance of working as opposed to the broken OS trying to repair itself.

The thing is that you could have gotten some sort of malware from the USB, although I doubt this for some reason. The problem could be caused by other things as well.

 

I would probably re-install the OS myself, I already have a list of things to do once the OS installs so I will most-likely not miss anything.

 

I would suggest trying to repair the OS with a disk. That way you can at least try to get the activation key for a re-install. Note that the activation serial you see in the "system" page in the control panel will not work if you are using an OEM code. You will need a separate program to find it for you.

Hey man! just a heads up my pc's fixed now. restoring it with an image was extremely easy and even kept some of my files and configs the same from AFTER the pc was backed up so i don't need to replay through all me games or reconfigure skyrim again. anyways thanks a bunch for teh help m8!!!

[UnknownEngineer]

Hey man! just a heads up my pc's fixed now. restoring it with an image was extremely easy and even kept some of my files and configs the same from AFTER the pc was backed up so i don't need to replay through all me games or reconfigure skyrim again. anyways thanks a bunch for teh help m8!!!

Ok, personally I haven't had any good experiences with restore-points or images of things, so I prefer to do things clean. I always backup small things like game-saves, and as for skyrim I just have it on a separate drive so I didn't need to reconfigure the mods.

 

Anyway good luck with your PC, only thing left is to just mark the thread solved. EDIT: I didn't notice it was already done, my bad. 

[Epicurwin]

If I'm using another computer to hook up my SSD to copy the data. Should I worry about having two drives with is on one computer? Will the computer automatically use it's usual OS or should I force it to use it's original?

[koli9]

Hi,

Can someone tell me how much RAM memory can win7 32bit address?

I have 8GB RAM. Will Win7 see them all?