Windows 10 has this weird issue where after a successful login, everything disappears leaving behind a deadpan black screen and a mouse cursor. In fact, the problem is not new and it has been happening on Windows 7 for years. Clearly, the problem is with the Windows Explorer or the user account profile which goes corrupt due to various issues. So, in this article, we are going to share four easy ways to fix the black screen issue on Windows 10. Along with that, we have also mentioned some workarounds in case you want to back up your data. So, without further delay, let’s begin the guide.

Before we move forward, let me clarify, the black screen error does not mean your data has been lost. Everything including your personal files to disk drives are intact, just that the GUI which allows you to interact with the computer has gone bust. So to fix that, we have offered four different methods and hopefully, by the end of the guide, you will have a working PC again. So with all that said, let’s begin the tutorial with the most preliminary method.

  1. Explorer is the GUI element of Windows computers so we will restore that first and see if it’s working or not. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del keys at once and a new window will open up. Here, click on “Task Manager”.

  2. Next, scroll down and look for the “Shell” entry. Double-click on it and ensure the value data is explorer.exe . If it’s not the case, enter explorer.exe manually and click on the “Ok” button.

  • Manage Graphics Driver
  1. Similar to what we did in the first section, press Ctrl + Alt + Del keys at once to open a new window. Here, click on the power button at the bottom-right corner. Now, press and hold the “shift” button and then click on “Restart”. Release the Shift button only after the screen shows “Please Wait”.

Manage Graphics Driver

  1. The computer will boot into the Advanced Options screen. Here, click on Troubleshoot and then open Advanced Options. Once you are here, click on “Startup Settings” to boot into Safe mode. After that, click on “Restart”.

  2. However, if you find that Windows 10 is installing incorrect drivers from the internet then select “Browse my computer..” and choose the proper driver folder manually. You can download the compatible graphics driver directly from the manufacturer’s website or find it in the original CD that would have come while buying the PC. After that, restart your computer and it should boot normally without any black screen issue.

Uninstall Malicious Programs

  1. In case, the above steps did not work, restart your computer back to Safe mode (Follow step #1 to #3 from the above section) and uninstall the apps that you think might be causing this problem. You can do so by pressing “Windows” and “X” keys at once and then open “Apps and Features”.

Go Back to the Previous Stable Build

  1. If none of the above steps worked then you can roll back your PC to the last stable build. To do so, go to the Advanced Options screen and click on “Go back to the previous version”. Your PC will move to the last working build of Windows 10. Worry not, it won’t delete any of your personal files.
  • Restore System Health
  1. There can also be issues with system files that might be causing this issue. To check and restore the authenticity of Windows 10 system files, open “Command Prompt” in the Advanced Options screen.

Restore System Health

Sometimes when the user profile goes corrupt, the black screen shows up after logging into the system. In that case, you can create a new user account and move your old files to a new profile. Basically, you can clone the old user profile to a new one. Do not worry, all your files and disk drives will still be accessible on the new profile. So if you want to back up your data, this is the best way you can do it.

  1. Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and then type compmgmt.msc in the task run. After that, check the box for “administrator privilege” and then hit enter.

If your PC is showing a black screen just after turning on the computer then as a last resort, you will have to reset your computer. We have already made a detailed tutorial so click on the link to go through it and perform a reset operation. Make sure to go through the “Non-functional PCs” section where we have offered many solutions that can bring your PC back to life without formatting any personal data.