Black screen on startup, explorer.exe doesn't start automatically

advancedcaveman said:

When I start windows I get a black screen with a command prompt. I have to use ctrl-alt-del and start explorer.exe as a new task. This is also happening in safe mode. I have looked through multiple forums to find a solution: most of them recommend running sfc /scannow and this does not fix the problem for me. They also all suggest looking under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon and making sure the shell value only reads "explorer.exe," This doesn't help me either as the value under shell is already explorer.exe.

Hi advancedcaveman and welcome to Tenforums.
What happened or what was the event that caused this to start happening? Do you suspect an infection?

advancedcaveman said:

I have no idea, this just started happening one day.

So you're not sure if you're infected, or if the latest Windows version may have caused this?

Can you run msconfig and post some screen shots of the General and Boot tabs?
Also, run winver and post that window as well?
Do you have an SSD in that system? If so, what brand please?

advancedcaveman said:

There is a samsung manufactured SSD.

Thanks.
Do you make regular system images with Macrium Reflect or a similar backup program?
Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect | Windows 10 Tutorials
Is (at least) your data backed up?
Do you have a 3rd-party anti-virus program installed?

Once your backups are all in place, I'm thinking your best bet is probably to download the latest ISO and perform a repair install. Watch the video in this tut:
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade | Windows 10 Tutorials
If you have a 3rd-party AV installed, I would uninstall it before doing the repair.