Black Screen at Startup

essenbe · 09 Sep 2016

@DaFees and @simrick this is the new thread.

simrick · 09 Sep 2016

Thanks very much @essenbe!

simrick · 09 Sep 2016

@DaFees
Please fill in your system specs with the specs of your friend's system for now. Please be as specific/detailed as you can. Use Speccy (free) if you need to identify items.

Please give me a rundown of how you're dealing with the black screen: you get into the computer eventually (obviously) so, how long does it take before the desktop finally populates? Did clean boot make any difference? How does the system act when in safe mode? I'm trying to get an idea of what you are able to do/how difficult it is to do anything. That will make a difference in what we try to do.

Thanks.

DaFees · 09 Sep 2016

simrick said:

@DaFees
Please fill in your system specs with the specs of your friend's system for now. Please be as specific/detailed as you can. Use Speccy (free) if you need to identify items.

Please give me a rundown of how you're dealing with the black screen: you get into the computer eventually (obviously) so, how long does it take before the desktop finally populate? Did clean boot make any difference? How does the system act when in safe mode? I'm trying to get an idea of what you are able to do/how difficult it is to do anything. That will make a difference in what we try to do.

Thanks.

Let's see. I turn the PC on and the login screen comes up as normal. I login and then seconds later I get a black screen with cursor. From there I can use ctrl+shift+esc (or the ctrl+alt+del route) to bring up the task manager. From there I can use that bring up an explorer window, a command/PowerShell prompt, or even Chrome. I haven't timed it exactly but I would say it takes about 45 minutes to an hour before the taskbar and desktop icons appear but even when they do the Win10 exclusive stuff doesn't work. The Start Menu, Cortana, Task View, Notification Center, etc. I can right click on the sound and network icons but I can't right click on the Start Menu Button. Clean boot made no difference. The system acts the same in safe mode. As for what I can do, I feel like I can't do anything in the way I normally would (I mean going through task manager isn't normal) and I definitely can't do anything that is pretty much Win10 exclusive. I mean I can't use Cortana (not that that really mattered anyways), I can use apps especially the settings app. If I try to open the settings app via explorer then explorer just crashes. If I try to do it via command/PowerShell prompt it just hangs.

As for system specs I will list them here but I will also fill them in as you suggested then:
OS: Windows 10 Home 64-Bit v1511
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3340 CPU @ 3.10GHz (Ivy Bridge)
RAM: 12GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard: Dell Inc. 084J0R
Graphics: Intel HD graphics (Dell)
Storage: 1TB Seagate ST1000DM003-1CH162
Optical Drive: PLDS DVD+-RW DH-16AES
Audio: Onboard

Oh and thanks @essenbe for making this its own thread and thank you @simrick for all your help thus far.

essenbe · 09 Sep 2016

See if this will help with the system specs

Please fill out your System Specs

Information

Your System Specs will help us to help you, and doing it in this manner will make them available to all helpers in every post and keep us from hunting for them. We ask that you fill them out in as much detail as possible including Desktop or Laptop, Model number if it is an OEM computer and all components with the Manufacturer and Model number if possible.

If you will go to your last post and click the 'System Specs' in the bottom left of the post, you will find a link to update your system specs. Please fill those out in as much detail as possible, making sure to click save at the bottom of the page. If you would like to know what we would like, you can click 'My System Specs' at the bottom left of this post to see mine. If you do not know what your components are, this will help you accomplish this task. System Specs - Fill in at Ten Forums

DaFees · 09 Sep 2016

I just wasn't sure how quickly I would fill out that specs page so I wanted to at least include them in the thread. Either way though I've updated my system specs page.

essenbe · 09 Sep 2016

Great, thanks a lot. Trust me, it helps.

simrick · 10 Sep 2016

Just a quick recap (for my own reference)

sfc /scannow fails at 49%; "appears" to set everything for repair (but one issue); subsequent scans show same results/same failure
DISM /restorehealth error 1392
ISO repair error 1392
in-place upgrade error: setup couldn't start properly
chkdsk reports no issues
Crystal Disk Info shows SMART healthy
clean boot makes no difference
safe mode makes no difference
created new admin account and errors persist

sfc results

Cannot repair member file [l:27]"Windows.Devices.Sensors.dll" of Microsoft-Windows-Sensors-Universal, version 10.0.10586.0, arch amd64, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35} in the store, file is missing

Fast Startup is turned off.

Takes 45 mins to 1 hour for desktop to populate; even then it's pretty much crippled.
Attempting to open settings crashes explorer; via command prompt it hangs.

------------------------------

Did your friend give you any idea of what the trigger might be when this started happening?
Have any anti-telemetry programs been run on this thing?
How many instances of explorer.exe are running in Task manager, when you finally get to the populated desktop?

It would be helpful if you could run Ccleaner and save the list of installed programs; post it here in a code box.

Black Screen at Startup-ccleaner-installed-progs.png

Can we get a Macrium image of the entire drive (all partitions) before we proceed?
You can use Kyhi's bootable PE rescue media, run Macrium from that, and image the hard drive to an external drive (EDIT: Image + Verification).
Windows 10 Recovery Tools - Bootable Rescue Disk - Windows 10 Forums

Then, I'd also like to see a Malwarebytes scan run from the same media; update the definition database, use the Custom Scan option, check the box for rootkit detection, and run a complete scan on the drive. We just have to rule out any malware issues.

Pointing DISM to a Source:
Error 1392: For DISM, we must use a "WIM" ISO which is the same version as what's installed on the machine (v1511). Have you tried DISM, pointing to a v1511 WIM file? Or do you not have that ISO? I'd like to see what results you get from DISM-(1) scanhealth (2) checkhealth (3) restorehealth (in that order), using a v1511 WIM ISO, pointing the tool to the WIM each time, and limiting the access to WU for now.
DISM - Repair Windows 10 Image - Windows 10 Forums

(To prevent DISM from using Windows Update for online images)

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:Full Path to install.wim file:1 /limitaccess

For example:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:D:\sources\install.wim:1 /limitaccess

If you don't have that ISO, please let me know, and we'll get you one.

-------------------------------
Normally, I would recommend a repair install using an in-place upgrade. Either v1511 or v1607 could be used for that.

Anniversary Edition v1607 download
Windows 10 ISO
Select Windows 10>Confirm
Select English>Confirm
Download the 64-bit architecture

However, you indicated an in-place upgrade failed as well, with the error "Setup couldn't start properly." So I'm back to DISM for now.

If you have any questions, please ask. I did not get into a lot of details on the DISM steps, as it appears you are quite comfortable with this stuff.

simrick · 10 Sep 2016

p.s. I don't see the model number of the Dell system - wanted to look it up on their support page; can you provide that please?

DaFees · 10 Sep 2016

Model # & Service tag should be there now. Did a malwarebytes scan and that came back clean. No rootkits were found. As for CCleaner here is the info from that you requested:

Code:

7-Zip 16.02 (x64)	Igor Pavlov	9/9/2016	4.75 MB	16.02Adobe AIR	Adobe Systems Incorporated	1/17/2016	19.0 MB	3.2.0.2070
Adobe Reader XI (11.0.17)	Adobe Systems Incorporated	7/14/2016	373 MB	11.0.17
Amazon 1Button App	Amazon	12/6/2013	9.85 MB	1.0.3
Bitdefender Anti-Theft	Bitdefender	1/17/2016	29.1 MB	1.0.9.44
CCleaner	Piriform	9/10/2016		5.21
Conexant SmartAudio HD	Conexant	1/8/2016		8.50.12.0
CrystalDiskInfo 7.0.3	Crystal Dew World	9/9/2016	10.3 MB	7.0.3
CyberLink Media Suite Essentials	CyberLink Corp.	1/17/2016	98.4 MB	10.0
Dell Backup and Recovery	Dell Inc.	9/7/2013	581 MB	1.7.5.63
Dell Digital Delivery	Dell Products, LP	6/7/2015	6.67 MB	3.1.1002.0
Dell Support Center	PC-Doctor, Inc.	1/17/2016	88.5 MB	3.2.6032.125
Dell Wireless Driver Installation	Dell	9/7/2013	22.6 MB	10.0
Disciples	UNKNOWN	1/17/2016	2.09 MB	1.3.10
Google Chrome	Google Inc.	3/9/2014	493 MB	52.0.2743.116
Google Earth	Google	6/12/2015	213 MB	7.1.5.1557
Intel(R) Control Center	Intel Corporation	9/8/2013		1.2.1.1008
Intel(R) Management Engine Components	Intel Corporation	6/6/2014		8.1.0.1281
Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology	Intel Corporation	9/8/2013		11.6.0.1030
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware version 2.2.1.1043	Malwarebytes	9/10/2016	66.9 MB	2.2.1.1043
Microsoft Office	Microsoft Corporation	9/7/2013	284 MB	15.0.4454.1510
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007	Microsoft Corporation	1/17/2016	18.9 MB	12.0.4518.1014
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition [ENU]	Microsoft Corporation	9/7/2013	3.85 MB	3.1.0000
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable	Microsoft Corporation	9/7/2013	9.69 MB	8.0.59193
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.17	Microsoft Corporation	9/7/2013	20.5 MB	9.0.30729
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010  x64 Redistributable - 10.0.40219	Microsoft Corporation	9/7/2013	27.7 MB	10.0.40219
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010  x86 Redistributable - 10.0.40219	Microsoft Corporation	9/7/2013	22.2 MB	10.0.40219
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x64) - 11.0.50727	Microsoft Corporation	1/8/2016	20.4 MB	11.0.50727.1
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x86) - 11.0.50727	Microsoft Corporation	1/8/2016	17.3 MB	11.0.50727.1
PocketCloud	Wyse Technology	12/1/2013	15.2 MB	2.6.21
Realtek USB 2.0 Card Reader	Realtek Semiconductor Corp.	9/7/2013	14.5 MB	6.1.8400.30136
Shared C Run-time for x64	McAfee	9/7/2013	2.76 MB	10.0.0
Speccy	Piriform	9/9/2016		1.29
VLC media player 2.1.1	VideoLAN	1/17/2016	99.9 MB	2.1.1
Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant	Microsoft Corporation	9/8/2016	5.00 MB	1.4.9200.17354
Windows Live Essentials	Microsoft Corporation	9/7/2013		16.4.3505.0912

With regards to the DISM commands you wanted me to run I cannot do /ScanHealth and /CheckHealth using the /Source option or at least I get an error when I try. So am I somehow doing this part wrong or no?

As for that Macrium image I will get it as soon as I can because right now the recovery disk iso is taking longer to download than expected.

Oh and my friend couldn't really tell me what he was doing at the time this happened. He just turned it on one day and it was like this. The best he could tell me is that he is currently letting his daughter and her 2 year old stay with him. Perhaps the little child might have done something he thinks. I doubt this but then again I can't be sure.

I will get you that Macrium image as soon as I can but if you anything else let me know.