Black screen on login

[reparto]

I get a black screen after logging in, I have to terminate and restart explorer.exe to get to the desktop, not a huge problem but a pita (also an unexpected means of stopping non-savvy users accessing my files...)

[ayu]

That sounds broken.
Maybe do a spring cleanup to start with?

* Install AVG or whatever AV you prefer and scan whole computer
* Install Malware bytes and do the same as above
* Install Spybot and scan for spyware etc
* Install ccleaner and remove temporary files, clean registry, remove unwanted programs and remove unnecessary program from startup

It's a start at least, and then if that doesn't work you can do a windows repair to the core system files.

[reparto]

I had already done most of that and it has made no difference.

I'll post the startup repair logs in a bit.

[bad_brain]

I needed startup repair a couple of times already, sometimes it did its job but it also failed in a really silly manner too already.
at least the basic system still starts, which points to a registry problem (with a little luck)....

[reparto]

I agree, it probably is a registry problem.

Something else I noticed is that perl scripts can't access the temp folder via %TEMP% even with admin rights.

I checked the registry to check that the right shell was being run, both the value and binary data say explorer.exe

[reparto]

Well, windows just decided to fix itself after an update...

[ayu]

Well, windows just decided to fix itself after an update...

That's .... convenient : |

[reparto]

The problem has come back again and I think I figured it out, my SSD is a Samsung 840 EVO which apparently has a firmware bug which makes old block read really slowly. Considering that I cloned my old SSD on to this, its possible that the bug is affecting me. Also, people have found that using certain drive cleaning utilities can alleviate the problem temporarily. There is a fix for the bug but I have yet to install it.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1507897/sams ... -the-drive" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bad_brain]

ouch....I have also an 840 EVO...and experience some weird behavior. I think it's just a messed up Win7, at least I hope so....will see as soon as I have time for a fresh setup...

[reparto]

There is a SSD speed testing tool in that thread I linked to. I just ran the test and there are a few GBs worth off data which are read at 1MB/s, I think this could be the source of my troubles.

Also, the age of the data is counted from when it was first written on my old SSD not when I cloned it which is kind of weird...

[bad_brain]

hm, what tool is it? the HD Tach one? because that one seems to output only very crude data and wasn't really made for SSDs......I just tried it and the data is TOTALLY different from what the Samsung benchmark tool gives me...

[reparto]

Oops wrong link

http://www.overclock.net/t/1512915/read ... ected-ssds" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SSDReadSpeedTester2.04.zip is the file you are looking for, it has a program that scan your drive and creates a graph showing read speeds of blocks of data of different ages, this is the kind of graph it outputs:


I also ran the firmware update and windows boots faster but i still have the black screen problem, i think ill just live with it for now.

[Kirk]

Try going to msconfig and disabling your windows management instrumentation service. It's probably stopping the desktop/taskbar from loading.

If that doesn't fix it, I just remembered a fantastic little program from bleepingcomputer.com called combofix. Google that. I'd provide you a link but I'm on my phone right now.