Tech Support Guy banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Dell Laptop = Black Screen

Solved 
1K views 15 replies 3 participants last post by  Macboatmaster 
#1 ·
A relative has given me the task of finding out why their DELL Latitude 5591 goes to a black screen when the password is entered.
When the machine is powered up, everything lights up, a background picture appears, the clock is there and correct; I press Enter and it goes to a password screen; I enter the password and press enter again and it immediately goes black.
I can move the mouse cursor around on the black screen and that is all.
The only way to get out of the black screen is to power down.
This must be a very common problem with DELL laptops due to the many things that come up in a search.
Alas, this machine is plagued with having Windows 10 and none of the remedies I have tried are even remotely close to what I am seeing.

When I attempt to boot into SAFE mode, I don't get the familiar black screen with options to select; I just get some silly soccer-mom mess of foolishness; and, no matter what I select from there, the stupid thing goes straight to the password screen.

Several remedies mention removing the battery pack --- however, when I look at the examples of a DELL Latitude 5591, they don't look like what I have to work with.
On the back of the machine, there is nary a seam, nary a crack, just solid plastic.
The only way I can see to access anything is to remove the screws and take off the back cover --- is that what I need to do ?

The dumb thing doesn't even have a disc drive, so I cannot use any of my many boot discs.

Can anyone enlighten me as to how to fix this ?

Thanks for reading and all help is appreciated.
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Press Ctrl Alt Del on the black screen - what happens please
Does anything appear
 
#5 ·
In task Manager - Click on File > Run new task. Type explorer.exe and hit Enter.
 
#7 ·
If it reboots OK you are done
If it goes back to black screen. you may need to try other options
Test it and see
 
#9 ·
Open Command Prompt as Admin and type:

sfc /scannow and press Enter key
If it reports that errors could not be fixed
Then
In the elevated command prompt, copy and paste the command below and key Enter:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Post the result please of both cmds.
 
#10 ·
Open Command Prompt as Admin
This may take a bit as I will have to contact her and hopefully (but doubtfully) she will remember the Admin name/password; I tried the defaults and had no luck.
If push comes to shove, I may be able to use my password eliminating program and just obliterate the passwords.
She has the standard user name/password on a sticker beside the track-pad, so it leaves me kinda doubting that she would remember the Admin name/password.
 
#11 ·
If you are logged into a user account with admin rights
then you simply open the cmd prompt as admin
https://www.howtogeek.com/194041/how-to-open-the-command-prompt-as-administrator-in-windows-8.1/

so the cmd window is headed Administrator Command Prompt
you do this by right click on the Microsoft symbol left of taskbar and click Cmd Prompt Admin -Option One on the link

It is therefore the normal user account with admin rights you are using and not the system admin account
 
#14 · (Edited)
Cheers you would have been better waiting for me to post after your reply to the system file check and the Deployment Imaging Servicing
Commands as it may have been possible to make an in house repair install of windows 10, when more or less everything would have been kept.
In case you need it again, you download the installation media and then from within Windows you mount the ISO of the install media and run setup from there.
You DO NOT boot from the install media, as you would for a clean install
The full procedure is here
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html
I am not quite sure what you have actually done, but I do not think it was RESTORE point
I think you have RESET has here - using the option to keep files
https://www.howtogeek.com/132428/ev...t-refreshing-and-resetting-your-windows-8-pc/

However the important point is that you got it working
Check if you have a Windows Old Folder I DO NOT THINK you will have - if so it will have the personal files in it
When you have the personal data from the windows old folder copied to the user account, you may then delete the windows old folder using disk cleanup
  1. Go to This Computer in Explorer
  2. Double-tap or double-click the drive that Windows is installed on (typically, the C: drive).
  3. Double-tap or double-click the Windows.old folder.
  4. Double-tap or double-click the Users folder.
  5. Double-tap or double-click your user name.
  6. Open the folders that contain the files you want to retrieve.
  7. Copy and paste the files that you want from each folder to a folder in the C:/Users
How to delete Windows Old
https://helpdeskgeek.com/how-to/remove-windows-dot-old-folder/

disk cleanup - clean up system files
 
#15 ·
I am not quite sure what you have actually done, but I do not think it was RESTORE point
I think you have RESET has here - using the option to keep files
https://www.howtogeek.com/132428/ev...t-refreshing-and-resetting-your-windows-8-pc/
That is what the screen looked like where I chose the option, so that is what I must have done.

But then, it hung up when restarting and began the process --- or some process --- all over again (or at least it seemed to, and said "wait while windows is being installed" and after a bit "windows is installing"

These experiences I have with other peoples machines make me so happy that everything I own is Windows 7 or Linux; and, every time I have to deal with a laptop, it makes me appreciate my desk-tops/towers.

I really appreciate your patience and in depth assistance; I would never have gotten as far as I did without your help.
 
#16 ·
Cheers
Pleased to have been of some assistance
The in Windows repair install is good, insofar as it keeps all as I said
I like 7 far better than 10 or 8.1 but of course our time is limited, when it goes end of life - next year

When you are ready mark it solved please, click mark solved on your opening post
Regards
Macboatmaster
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top