Windows booting to blank screen after safe mode

Hi there,

Desktop is working perfectly running Windows 10 v2004 and I went to msconfig to boot the PC in safe mode.

After the reboot, the PC just boots into a blank screen and the monitor does not seems to get any input from the graphics card.

I cannot boot BIOS as it seems to skip the DEL/F2 prompt, and I have no idea what windows is doing as the screen in blank (CAPs, etc seems to register inputs)

Does anyone have any general idea of how I could proceed with touble shooting. Absolutely stumped as I cannot see anything on the monitor...

Cheers

Click these keys whenever you see a black screen:
Windows logo key + Ctrl + Shift + B > report what you see and hear

See if you can boot to the BIOS using the information in this link:
List of PC brands with their corresponding hot-keys

List the installed antivirus software.



See this link for additional troubleshooting steps:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...-screen-errors

dalchina said:

Hi, if you were able to boot from a bootable disk you could try using bcdedit to set booting to normal mode:
Boot into Safe Mode on Windows 10
Option 3

However it seems you may not be able to (have you tried?)

Asus desktop - appears to be F8 or F9 not F2..?
Boot Menu Option Keys for all Laptops & Desktops - System BIOS Keys

You might try repeating booting up and holding the power down to force a shut down 3 times. This may force the PC to boot to advanced startup options.

If you can get that far, you can see what options then work for you.

Thanks for the reply. I cannot boot into BIOS (the whole reason this started) because for whatever reason the BIOS/splash screen skips (seemingly) entirely and it normally (not now obviously) boots into Windows. Strangely previously it did show BIOS splash screen but now not - never noticed because never changed BIOS in a while.

I've mashed the F2 and DEL key (for ASUS motherboards) and no BIOS, just a blank screen. This is where it's so tricky, as I can't see anything to diagnose anything. The monitor is connected to display port on the GPU, I tried connecting my 4k smart TV (LG) via HDMI but no luck as well... no input message (it worked in the past).

I have no idea if the PC is even booted into Windows as everything looks like it did (keyboard LEDs light up as programmed etc), but I can't hear any audio, nor get any input into the monitors.

I think the chances of the monitor/GPU/motherboard going out EXACTLY the same time as trying to boot into safe mode to a blank screen is highly unlikely.

zbook said:

Click these keys whenever you see a black screen:
Windows logo key + Ctrl + Shift + B > report what you see and hear

See if you can boot to the BIOS using the information in this link:
List of PC brands with their corresponding hot-keys

List the installed antivirus software.



See this link for additional troubleshooting steps:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...-screen-errors

Thank you for the tips. The win+ctrl+shift+B does not seem to do anything. I can't hear anything via the connect speakers (USB - Katana soundbar), no the onboard audio of the monitor.

The BIOS key for my motherboard (x299 - Asus rampage VI extreme) is normally del or f2 (always worked in the past, until recently because the BIOS splash screen no longer shows, even if I mash the respective keys during boots... cold or restart). I checked the manual just now as well to confirm the keys. Also F8/F9 on the link didn't work either.

Ultimately, the PC seems to load, but there is no output to the monitor/DP, or smart TV/HDMI when connected.

This all happened precisely when I restarted the PC in safe mode via MSCONFIG.

- - - Updated - - -

dalchina said:

I suggested 2 things which I'll repeat for you:

Asus desktop - appears to be F8 or F9 not F2..?
Boot Menu Option Keys for all Laptops & Desktops - System BIOS Keys

You might try repeating booting up and holding the power down to force a shut down 3 times. This may force the PC to boot to advanced startup options.

Thanks, yes I did do those already. I've tried the "hold power button to power down 3 times" a few hours ago with no luck. When you say hold down the power button to force shutdown 3 times, you mean hold it constantly and the PC will restart 3 times (holding the power button the whole time), or you mean hold it down till the PC powers down, then hold it again, power down, etc (3 times)?.

The motherboard also has 2 BIOSs, I did switch to a backup/original BIOS, but again, seems to boot into a blank screen...

What did you want to check while in safe mode?

When in safe mode the non-Microsoft drivers are typically disabled.
The computer while in safe mode uses Microsoft default drivers.

Return to normal boot > perform Windows updates
Indicate any display problems.
If none, return to safe mode using shift + restart > report findings

zbook said:

What did you want to check while in safe mode?

When in safe mode the non-Microsoft drivers are typically disabled.
The computer while in safe mode uses Microsoft default drivers.

Return to normal boot > perform Windows updates
Indicate any display problems.
If none, return to safe mode using shift + restart > report findings

I just selected "minimal" under safe boot (boot options)

Unfortunately I can't return to normal boot (unless it automatically goes to this after a safe boot) because I can't see anything as my monitor is blank.

I think I'll try pulling out the m.2 ssd that windows is installed on (boot drive) and see if that can force it to stop POST with the BIOS splash screen instead of seemly skipping that and going directly to windows... unless someone has had this no input/blank monitor before and as a work around...

- - - Updated - - -

Berton said:

I have a computer that won't enter the BIOS Setup because of the KVM it's connected to. Same can happen with Wireless keyboards especially when plugged into USB 3 ports, many don't have that capability so a USB 2 port may work. And have seen issues with the Wireless keyboards so I keep an AT-Style, PS/2 and Wired USB keyboards on hand, never need when I'll need them.

Also, the BIOS can be set to 0 for how long to see the P.O.S.T. screen and it will never show, one of those things folks interested only in how fast things work that can be changed, sometimes a detriment.

Unfortunately I only have USB keyboards. I can relelate to that problem though because I've previously had issues to boot and when I unplug all the USB devices it booted fine. Hasn't happen for a very long time since though. I actually have tried unplugging literally everything from the PC and booting and same problem...

The problem with the POST/splash not showing is that even when I switch the motherboard to the 2nd/backup BIOS (where I'm 100% sure it's not set to fast boot), the same problem occurs, in addition to the usual LEDs etc coming on which is by default on (the BIOS I use normally has them set to off)

Next time you try booting, see if there's any disk LED activity.