Author Topic: Black screen at login (Read 9128 times)

Bobh · « **on:** March 27, 2012, 06:59:35 AM »

Hi -
I am running Vista Home Basic 32 bit on an E-Machine desk top.
Problem: When I login I get the Microsoft logo then "Welcome" with a rolling circle. If this stays on for 30 seconds then I get a black screen for a minute and a half. The background screen then comes up and everything else is normal. This procedure does not happen everytime but appears to be randum.
The normal procedure is for the "Welcome" with the circle to stay on for 5 seconds and then the background screen to appear.
What I have done: My thoughts was the problem was related to the start up programs. I deleted all start up programs except Avast which I left. That did not help. I then deleted all temp files except 19 which I thought were necessary. That did not help. I have ran security (Avast, Malwares, Spywares) and all my cleaner programs. That did not help.
I read all the forum notes but none seemed to be related.
This is not a big problem but I would like to run faster. My computer is 5 years old. I have not blown the dust out because I am afraid to mess something up. Is my computer about to crater with old age?
Thanks for help. Bob

Allan · « **Reply #1 on:** March 27, 2012, 07:16:06 AM »

Aside from anything else, you MUST blow out the dust.

truenorth · « **Reply #2 on:** March 27, 2012, 07:35:57 AM »

In addition to the cleaning you might want to run a free Crucial RAM scan to see if you can increase your RAM. The additional factor you should consider if you wish to increase the RAM is that unfortunately older RAM (which your computer probably uses) is often considerably more expensive than modern RAM. So given the vintage of the computer that should be considered.truenorth

Bobh · « **Reply #3 on:** March 28, 2012, 03:47:23 PM »

Allan -
I blew the dust out. In taking the case apart (I didn't know what I was doing.) I took more sides off than I needed to as I found out later . I though for a while I would not get it back together. We will see if that helps my problem. I will let you know the results. Thanks for your time. Bob

Allan · « **Reply #4 on:** March 28, 2012, 04:00:12 PM »

Bob, I don't know that dust was your problem, but you MUST blow out the dust on a regular basis or the heat buildup will be phenomenal. I do it every six months on all systems.

Bobh · « **Reply #5 on:** March 29, 2012, 12:07:58 PM »

Allan -
Apparent dust was not my problem. I did not see much dust when I blew it out. I can not detect any change in the black screen. It is so random I don't see how any one can help the problem until it happens every time I login. I am willing to live with the problem for now. I just wondered if this was an indiction that my computer was telling me to go buy a new one. Thanks for your help. Bob

Allan · « **Reply #6 on:** March 29, 2012, 12:11:53 PM »

It may be a faulty driver taking time to load - or it may be something else. If it was happening every time we could try a selective startup, but as you say - intermittent problems are extremely difficult to troubleshoot.

truenorth · « **Reply #7 on:** March 29, 2012, 12:34:57 PM »

In the event that my earlier suggestion re the Ram was overlooked it was proposed in relation to this " but I would like to run faster" truenorth

Bobh · « **Reply #8 on:** March 29, 2012, 05:54:29 PM »

Truenorth -
I should have replied to your suggestion. Sorry I do not know how to check my Ram, I'm not too smart about computers.
However I do not think the size of my Ram is related to my problem as I have not changed the way I use this computer and the problem has recently started. The problem is only at start up when I turn the computer on and login. As I said before this is not something I am going to worry about. I will just wait a couple minutes and go on about my business. I just thought maybe someone had had the problem before. Thanks Bob

Allan · « **Reply #9 on:** March 30, 2012, 05:47:43 AM »

I don't think it's ram related either, but if you ever want to check:

download memtest (http://memtest.org/). Burn it to a cd using a dedicated .iso burning utility (http://www.petri.co.il/how_to_write_iso_files_to_cd.htm), make sure the cd drive is at the top of the boot order in bios, then boot to the newly created cd and run the utility.

Bobh · « **Reply #10 on:** March 30, 2012, 12:19:02 PM »

Allan -
I may have fixed my problem. I went to "start" and clicked on "Bob". This brought up over 60 file folders. A lot of them looked like this:
ntuser.dat{f4c3413a-5ceb-1
REGTRANS-MS file
512KB

I went to the bottom of the list and deleted the last 3 just to see what would happen. Since then the black screen has not appeared. What did I do? Nothing seems changed except I got rid of the black screen. From such a poor description can you tell me what these file folders are for and can I delete them or at least some. If they are not useful I could save space by my deleting.

jill8beans2 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 30, 2012, 11:03:33 PM »

probably a very stupid question, but, have you tried manually turning your system of by taking out the battery and pressing in the power button for about 10 seconds? When all else fails for me, I resort to this and it always works.

Bobh · « **Reply #12 on:** March 31, 2012, 05:39:14 AM »

jill8beans2 -
This maybe a stupid answer but I am not aware I have a battery. I have a desk top computer not a notebook which I assume has a battery.

Allan -
I spoke too soon. The problem I spoke of in my first post is still with me. I will just put up with it until something bad happens. Maybe I will call in a geek. Can you tell me anything about the file folders I mentioned? What are they and can I delete them? Thanks Bob

reddevilggg · « **Reply #13 on:** March 31, 2012, 05:40:10 AM »

Quote from: jill8beans2 on March 30, 2012, 11:03:33 PM

probably a very stupid question, but, have you tried manually turning your system of by taking out the battery and pressing in the power button for about 10 seconds? When all else fails for me, I resort to this and it always works.

Feel free to ignore this post

Salmon Trout · « **Reply #14 on:** March 31, 2012, 06:18:12 AM »

Quote from: reddevilggg on March 31, 2012, 05:40:10 AM

Feel free to ignore this post

jill8beans2 is a spammer.

verystrengt · « **Reply #15 on:** April 01, 2012, 06:44:40 PM »

I had the same problem...I cleaned the registry using ccleaner and Iobit advances systemcare 5(this did the most I think) and it was fixed, the black screen probably comes from a file that went missing and your computer is searching for it during the black screen, try cleaning the registry with the 2 programs I suggested.

Bobh · « **Reply #16 on:** April 01, 2012, 11:03:11 PM »

verystrengt -
Thanks for your reply. However I am afraid to mess with the registry so I will just put up with the 1 1/2 minute delay.
Bob

Bobh · « **Reply #17 on:** April 02, 2012, 05:09:10 AM »

Allan -
Help me with this. Verystrengt suggests that the random black screen is caused by "comes from a file that went missing and your computer is searching for it during the black screen". It seems to me that if I was missing a file the black screen would show every time, but it does not. He suggests cleaning the registry. I have been told by many "never touch the registry". His suggested program costs $20 which isn't much money but some programs make errors so they can fix them and tell how great they are. Is this program safe to use? Thanks for help. Bob

Allan · « **Reply #18 on:** April 02, 2012, 05:34:28 AM »

Ignore his post

jason2074 · « **Reply #19 on:** April 04, 2012, 01:27:50 AM »

Quote

I deleted all start up programs except Avast which I left

If you keep a recent Avast installer in your hard drive, try removing the software using an avast uninstaller/remover or by add or remove program. Reinstall Avast if no changes were made.Try also updating/reinstalling video driver or lowering resolution a notch and reboot to check on the difference.

Allan · « **Reply #20 on:** April 04, 2012, 05:48:56 AM »

If you want to continue troubleshooting, please boot to safe mode and see if the problem exists there or if it is a normal boot.

Bobh · « **Reply #21 on:** April 04, 2012, 12:57:36 PM »

Allan -
jason2074 -
Thank you both for suggestions. I will try them but since it is a random problem I don't think it will do much good to persue it farther. If it gets worse or happens every time I login, then I will ask for help again. Bob

Gray1989 · « **Reply #22 on:** April 07, 2012, 08:44:37 PM »

It sounds to me there may be some registry corruption. it also seems that it may be limited to your one user account. try creating a new user account from control panel, restart your computer and login to the new account. see if that helps. if it does try deleting the affected account after backing up what you need.

Bobh · « **Reply #23 on:** April 08, 2012, 06:29:22 PM »

Gray1989 -
It appears that you are right about the way to solve my problem. I'm not too sure what I did but I set up another account and so far there is no black page. However, because the black screen occurs randomly I will use the new account for a day or two and let you know the results. The new account is using Internet explorer 8. I have been using Internet Explorer 7. I would prefer using IE 7 because I have written each and every step to use the web pages I have. This is so my wife can use the computer. She is not very good with a computer but she can follow directions. Is it possible to delete IE 8 and go back to IE 7? Thanks for your help. More later. Bob

Bobh · « **Reply #24 on:** April 10, 2012, 06:15:39 PM »

Gray1989 -
As I said , setting up another account got rid of the black screen. I deleted the other account as I did not have a use for it and when I did the black screen came back. I sat up an extra account again and the black screen has not appeared since. I don't have any idea why it works this way but if it isn't broke don't fix it. Thanks for your help. Bob

verystrengt · « **Reply #25 on:** May 15, 2013, 02:22:23 PM »

Quote from: Bobh on April 02, 2012, 05:09:10 AM

Allan -
Help me with this. Verystrengt suggests that the random black screen is caused by "comes from a file that went missing and your computer is searching for it during the black screen". It seems to me that if I was missing a file the black screen would show every time, but it does not. He suggests cleaning the registry. I have been told by many "never touch the registry". His suggested program costs $20 which isn't much money but some programs make errors so they can fix them and tell how great they are. Is this program safe to use? Thanks for help. Bob

I know you probably don't need any help anymore but the programs I suggested were free, just saying.

reddevilggg · « **Reply #26 on:** May 16, 2013, 02:07:06 AM »

Quote from: verystrengt on May 15, 2013, 02:22:23 PM

I know you probably don't need any help anymore but the programs I suggested were free, just saying.

There are HUNDREDS of registry cleaning 'programs' out there, it does not mean they do any good.

Computer Hope Forum

News:

Author Topic: Black screen at login (Read 9128 times)

Bobh

Allan

truenorth

Bobh

Allan

Bobh

Allan

truenorth

Bobh

Allan

Bobh

jill8beans2

Bobh

reddevilggg

Salmon Trout

verystrengt

Bobh

Bobh

Allan

jason2074

Allan

Bobh

Gray1989

Bobh

Bobh

verystrengt

reddevilggg