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General discussion

Windows 7 blank screen after login

Oct 4, 2010 1:14AM PDT

Hi, I have Dell studio series 1558,I have two issues:
1> After Powering on the laptop and inputting the password for login to Windows 7, I get a black screen with the Mouse cursor active. In the background the login seems to have happened but I don't get to see the Desktop.
2> When i open any program or web page, e.g. yahoo messenger, the messenger/webpage display is very small, i had to manually enlarge it to view properly, i tried changing my screen resolution, but didnt work. My screen resolutions are:
Display: 1.Mobile PC Display
Resolution: 1920*1080 (recommended)
Orientation: Landscape.

Please help.
thanks

Discussion is locked

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What Happens If You Login As A Different User?
Oct 4, 2010 4:27AM PDT

Good practice shows us that having a second admin user on the computer is best for emergencies such as yours.. What happens when you log in as a different user? The current one may be corrupted..

Or...with the computer start in Safe Mode? If you can start in Safe Mode, try using System Restore back to a time when things were working correctly.

And of course, because malware could be causing the issue, try downloading, installing, updating, then running a full system scan with the free tools below:

Malwarebytes Antimalware

SUPERAntispyware Removal Tool

Hope this helps and let us know more.

Grif

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What Happens If You Login As A Different User? - New!
Oct 4, 2010 11:41PM PDT

Thanks Grif,
I have just created a single user,and i dont think the user will be corrupted as laptop is new(recently purchased.

If have any suggestion for 2nd issue, then please let me know.

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It Still Appears Like The Profile Was Damaged..
Oct 5, 2010 1:46AM PDT

It doesn't matter whether the computer is new or old, corruption can occur at any time.. It's till important to create a second admin user.. I would do so NOW if you can. Even if you never use it, it will stay as a backup for use when needed.

Of course, using System Restore will take your computer back to a time when things were running good.. Try using it..

As to opening Internet Explorer maximized, try the steps below:

1. Right click the IE icon by the Start button, (If you don?t have one there, click on Start-Programs, then RIGHT click on ?Internet Explorer?) choose Properties, change it from 'normal' to 'maximized'....now open IE. It will be maximized.
2. Now right click any link on the page, choose ?Open in New Windows?, resize that window with your left mouse button until it's the size you want it to be.
3. Now close the FIRST window you opened, leaving the resized one on the screen. Now close the resized one.
4. Open IE again, and then right click any link, choose open in new window and it will be the size you created.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Same problems on a Dell inspiron 1720.
Oct 8, 2010 3:24AM PDT

My 1720 is 3 yrs old. I upgraded the OS from Vista
to Win 7 upon replacing the HD in the machine, under Dell warranty. About a month later I started having the problem you describe. Dell support suggested pressing the FN button and the power button at the same time and then quickly releasing at the same time.
That gave no response - it should have started a diagnostics. Dell is sending yet another HD.
After getting off the phone with them, I placed the Win 7 disk in the machine and changed the boot order to the disk on reboot. The first time through the I saw a message about startup options needing repair. The second time booting on the Win 7 disk, a repair option appeared, I selected it. The memory was checked. No memory errors were noted on restart.
My machine is working properly.
I hope this helps you.

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Same problems on a Dell inspiron 1720
Oct 8, 2010 3:30AM PDT

Prior to chatting with Dell from the browser on my phone, I tried system restore on the laptop. The roll back gave me a few hours of use. My browser froze so I rebooted. The blank black screen with cursor happened again. Most reboots would stick on the Welcome screen and eventually get to the blank black screen with cursor.

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That freeze could be a sign.
Oct 8, 2010 4:24AM PDT

I find most laptop owners to never clean the vents and by the time I get to the laptop I have to do a deep cleaning. And by that time they have reloaded the OS, rolled back, done driver hunts and more.

Tell the forum about your yearly air blast in the vents of this laptop. If none, look in the CNET Laptop Troubleshooting forum sticky for links about cleaning.
Bob

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Biweekly cleanings on this laptop
Oct 8, 2010 6:41AM PDT

I have 2 cats, a dog, and a bunny so the vents and ports get cleaned bi-weekly.
The keyboard and display are cleaned more frequently.

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Software QA
Oct 8, 2010 6:43AM PDT

I did this for a living for 10 years on workstations that often sat on the floor in the midst of large dust bunnies, so I know about cleaning.

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If this machine is on warranty
Oct 9, 2010 6:19AM PDT

contact the manufacturer, it might have a faulty graphics chip/card. (blank screen + screen resolution problems = graphics card tor me.) This can be done over the phone.

Yes, it could be a denial of service malware program. Denial, meaning you can't use functions within the PC, like log on.


This thread is untracked.

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black screen
Oct 9, 2010 6:49AM PDT

i have purchased windows 7 64 bit and mine has gone wrong so many times that i have to phone microsoft to activate my softwear. 35 times so far. been on to microsoft and they have no clue its a new computer with a good grafix card wich microsoft said was the problem. after doing some research found the three updates from microsoft were causing the problem. all this is well documented if you type in black screen of death in your web brouser you will get all the details . you dont get any problems with windows7 32 bit which i wish i had bought had xp for years and never had any problem

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Try sfc
Oct 10, 2010 3:04AM PDT

If system restore doesn't work, then try using sfc (system file checker) to check and repair system files that may have been corrupted. You do this by inserting your windows 7 CD and then going to the system prompt. There you type sfc /scannow. Another option would be to just reinstall Windows again. Make sure you back up first of course.

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Windows 7 blank screen after login
Jan 21, 2013 1:04AM PST

I've been having this problem. So far i have had 4-5 different pc's with this problem. I still haven't discovered the problem, but have managed to figure out a fix. By doing this i haven't seen it happen twice to the same pc yet.

Problem: Black screen after logon, can see and move curser, if left on this black screen pc will eventually load the desktop anywhere from 10-20 minutes.

before applying this work arround backup your desktop/favorites/documents in a different location on your local disk

Work Arround (because i haven't identified why this is happening yet): Logon to pc with a different admin name and password /start/right click my computer/properties/advanced system settings/advanced tab/user profiles/settings in this window after you backed up all your files pertaining to the user account with this problem and delete this users account. Upon logging in it will create a new user profile and it should not black screen anymore. Now move backed up files and desktop back onto that user.