Fix PC Black Screen with Cursor on Boot

8/11/2025

That Sinking Feeling: How to Fix Your PC When It Boots to a Black Screen with Only a Cursor

There are few tech problems more terrifying than booting up your PC only to be greeted by… nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. You’ve got a black screen & a lonely cursor, mocking you. Your files, your work, your games – they’re all trapped behind this digital iron curtain. It’s a super common problem, honestly, & it can send even the most tech-savvy among us into a panic.

But here’s the thing: it’s usually fixable. I’ve been there, staring at that black abyss, & I’ve guided a LOT of people through it. It rarely means your computer is totally dead. More often than not, something just got stuck or corrupted along the way, & Windows doesn’t know how to finish loading the desktop you’re used to seeing.

This issue, sometimes called the "black screen of death," can pop up for a bunch of reasons. Maybe a recent Windows update didn’t play nice with your system. Or it could be a cranky graphics driver, a software conflict, or even a hardware issue. The good news is, we have a bunch of tricks up our sleeves to figure out what’s wrong & get you back up & running.

So, take a deep breath. We’re going to walk through this step-by-step, from the simplest fixes to the more advanced stuff.

First Things First: The Quick & Easy Fixes

Before we dive into the deep end, let’s try a few things that are surprisingly effective. You’d be amazed how often one of these simple steps does the trick.

1. The Magical Keyboard Shortcut to Restart Your Graphics Driver

This is the very first thing you should try. It’s a little-known but powerful shortcut that can instantly fix display issues.

Press Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + B all at the same time.

You might hear a beep, & your screen will flicker for a second. This key combination forces your graphics driver to restart. If a temporary glitch in the driver was causing the black screen, this could bring your desktop right back. It's a low-effort, high-reward move, so give it a shot.

2. Check Your Connections & Peripherals

I know, I know, "is it plugged in?" sounds like the oldest IT joke in the book. But seriously, it’s worth a check. A loose cable can DEFINITELY cause display problems.

Cables: Make sure your HDMI, DisplayPort, or VGA cable is securely connected to both your monitor & your PC. If you can, try a different cable or a different port on your graphics card.
Monitors: If you have more than one monitor, try disconnecting all but your main display. Sometimes Windows gets confused about which screen to use.
Peripherals: Unplug everything that isn’t essential – your printer, external hard drives, USB hubs, everything. A faulty peripheral can sometimes interfere with the boot process. If your PC boots up normally after unplugging everything, you can plug your devices back in one by one to find the culprit.

3. The Ctrl + Alt + Delete Maneuver

If you have a cursor, it means Windows is running in some capacity. Pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete can sometimes bring up the security screen, which is a very good sign. From here, you have a couple of options:

Task Manager: Click on "Task Manager." If it opens, we have a direct line into the system. We'll get more into what to do with this in a bit.
Restart: In the bottom-right corner, you’ll see a power icon. Hold down the Shift key & click on Restart. This is important because holding Shift tells Windows to boot into the Advanced Startup Options menu, which is our next major stop for troubleshooting.

Diving Deeper: The Windows Recovery Environment

If the quick fixes didn't work, it's time to get our hands a little dirtier. The Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is a powerful tool that lets us fix problems even when we can't get to the desktop.

There are a couple of ways to get there:

The Shift + Restart Trick: As mentioned above, if you can get to the Ctrl + Alt + Delete screen, holding Shift while clicking Restart will take you there.
The Hard Shutdown Method: If your PC is completely unresponsive, you’ll have to force it. Turn your PC on, & as soon as you see the Windows logo or the spinning dots, press & hold the power button until it shuts down completely. Do this three times in a row. On the third boot, Windows should automatically launch into the Recovery Environment.

Once you’re in the blue WinRE screen, you’ll see a few options. We want to go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options. This is our command center for fixing the black screen issue.

Advanced Troubleshooting Steps

Here’s where we start tackling the most common culprits. Try these one at a time.

1. Uninstall Recent Updates

A buggy Windows update is a VERY common cause of the black screen problem. If this issue started right after an update, this should be your first move in the Advanced Options menu.

Select Uninstall Updates.
You’ll see two options: "Uninstall latest quality update" & "Uninstall latest feature update." Quality updates are the smaller, more frequent ones, while feature updates are the big, semi-annual ones.
Start with the quality update, as that’s the most likely suspect. Follow the prompts, & once it's done, restart your PC.

If that doesn’t work, you can go back & try uninstalling the latest feature update, but be aware that this is a more significant change.

2. Boot into Safe Mode

Safe Mode starts Windows with only the essential drivers & services. If your PC boots successfully in Safe Mode, it strongly suggests that a third-party application or a non-essential driver is the problem.

From the Advanced Options menu, select Startup Settings, then click Restart.
Your PC will reboot to a list of options. Press F5 to select Enable Safe Mode with Networking.

If you can get to your desktop in Safe Mode, you can try a few things:

Uninstall recent software: Did you install a new program recently? A new game, antivirus software, or anything else? Go to Settings > Apps & uninstall it.
Update or roll back your graphics driver: This is a big one. In Safe Mode, right-click the Start button, select Device Manager, & expand the "Display adapters" section. Right-click your graphics card & you can try to "Update driver." If that doesn't work, you can also "Uninstall device." When you restart your computer, Windows will automatically try to reinstall a basic driver, which can often solve the problem.

3. Restarting Windows Explorer

Sometimes, the core components of Windows are running, but the process that controls your desktop & file explorer,

explorer.exe

, has failed to launch. If you can get to the Task Manager (either through Ctrl+Alt+Delete or Ctrl+Shift+Esc), this is an easy fix to try.

In Task Manager, go to the Processes tab & look for "Windows Explorer."
If you see it, right-click it & select Restart.
If you DON'T see it, go to File > Run new task.
Type
1explorer.exe
into the box & hit Enter.

If your desktop suddenly springs to life, you've found the issue. This might be a one-time glitch, but if it keeps happening, it could be a sign of a deeper problem, like corrupted system files.

4. System File Checker (SFC) & DISM

explorer.exe

is crashing or other weird things are happening, you might have corrupted system files. Windows has built-in tools to fix this. You'll need to open a Command Prompt from the Advanced Options menu.

In the Advanced Options menu, select Command Prompt.
First, run the System File Checker. Type this command & press Enter:
1sfc /scannow
This will scan all protected system files & replace any corrupted versions. Let it run completely.
Next, run the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing & Management) tool, which can repair the underlying Windows image. Type these commands, pressing Enter after each one:
1DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

1DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

1DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

These scans can take a while, but they are very thorough at fixing system-level corruption.

5. System Restore

If you have System Restore enabled, it can be a lifesaver. It allows you to roll back your PC's settings to an earlier point in time, before the problem started.

In the Advanced Options menu, select System Restore.
Choose a restore point from the list. Pick one that you know was before the black screen issue began.
Follow the prompts to start the process. This won't affect your personal files like documents or photos, but it will uninstall any programs & drivers you installed after that restore point was created.

When to Consider Hardware Issues

If you've tried all of the above & you're still stuck, it's time to consider that the problem might be with your hardware.

Failing Hard Drive: A hard drive that's on its last legs can cause all sorts of boot problems, including the black screen with a cursor.
Faulty RAM: Bad memory sticks can also lead to system instability & boot failures.
Overheating: While less common for this specific issue, an overheating CPU or GPU can cause a system to shut down or fail to boot properly.

Testing for hardware issues is more advanced & might involve running diagnostic tools from a bootable USB drive or even swapping out components. If you're not comfortable with this, it might be time to call in a professional.

A Note on Business & Customer Support

Now, imagine this isn't your personal PC, but a customer's. Or what if your business website suddenly went down, showing a blank page to potential customers? In the business world, downtime like this is a HUGE problem. Every minute your system is down, you're losing potential sales & frustrating users.

This is where having robust automated systems in place can be a game-changer. For example, many businesses are now using AI-powered tools to handle common customer issues & provide instant support, even when the main website or application is having problems.

Here at Arsturn, we help businesses build no-code AI chatbots trained on their own data. So, if a user is having a common issue, like trouble logging in or finding a specific page, a custom Arsturn chatbot can pop up & provide instant answers 24/7. It can guide them through troubleshooting steps, answer their questions, & engage with them so they don't just give up & leave. It's a pretty cool way to provide personalized customer experiences & boost conversions, even when things aren't going perfectly behind the scenes. It turns a potential crisis into a helpful, automated interaction.

The Last Resort: Reset or Reinstall Windows

If all else fails, you have one final option: resetting or reinstalling Windows. This is the "nuclear option" because it will wipe your system, but it will almost certainly fix the problem.

Reset This PC: From the main Troubleshoot menu in WinRE, you can select Reset this PC. You'll be given the option to "Keep my files" or "Remove everything." "Keep my files" will save your personal documents but remove all installed applications. It's a good first step.
Clean Install: If a reset doesn't work, a full, clean installation of Windows from a USB drive will. This will erase everything on your main drive, so make sure you've backed up any important data (which you can sometimes do from Safe Mode or by connecting the drive to another computer).

Wrapping It Up

Dealing with a black screen & a cursor is incredibly stressful, but as you can see, you have a LOT of options. The key is to be patient & methodical. Start with the easy stuff, & work your way up to the more complex solutions. More often than not, a simple driver reset, a quick trip to Safe Mode, or uninstalling a recent update will be all it takes.

Hope this was helpful! Let me know in the comments if you've ever faced this issue & what ended up working for you. It's always good to share what we've learned.