Windows Vista Boots to a Black Screen with only the Mouse Cursor
Problem
Upon startup, Windows Vista Boots to a Black Screen with only the Mouse Cursor
Resolution
This is most likely due to the Remote Procedure Call service (rpcss) running under the LocalSystem account rather than NT Authority\NetworkService account.
To resolve the issue, follow this procedure on the problem machine:
1. On the affected machine, boot using the Vista Media (i.e. the Vista install DVD or any Vista Media that is bootable will work) and Select “Next”
2. Then in the bottom left you will see “Repair your Computer”
3. Select Next
4. Then Select Command Prompt.
5. At the command prompt, launch regedit.exe and load the SYSTEM hive, following the next steps below.
a) Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
b) On the File menu, select Load Hive.
c) Browse to %WINDIR%\System32\Config Folder (typically C:\Windows\\System32\Config) and select “SYSTEM”
d) Select Open.
e) In the Load Hive dialog box, type in “MySYSTEM” box for the registry hive that you want to edit.
6. After the hive is loaded, modify the following key value per the instructions below:
You will need to know what ControlSet the machine is currently running on, this can be determined by going to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\MySYSTEM\Select
and find the “Current” value in the Right hand side. (Example: Current value is 1 then the ControlSet will be ControlSet001)
7. Navigate to the following key:
Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet00X\Services\RpcSs (X is the Number from the Current Key from above)
Double click the value:
Value Name: ObjectName
Change the value:
Old Value: LocalSystem
New Value: NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService
8. Unload the SYSTEM hive by selecting the key “MySYSTEM” and then select File -> Unload Hive… menu item.
9. Exit regedit.exe
10. Restart the system normally
* If you do not have the Vista Boot CD, you can download Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset from this link:
We are still investigating root cause of this issue. At this time, a 3rd party remote access program is suspected.
Author:
Tanner Slayton
Senior Support Engineer
Microsoft Corporation
Technorati Tags: black screen,Vista,repair,recovery
Comments
- Anonymous
January 01, 2003
And what if you have the same black screen and cursor, but the above mentioned is already set to NT AuthorityNetworkService.....?? any other options or recommendations? - Anonymous
January 01, 2003
thanks - Anonymous
May 25, 2010
Re-image - Anonymous
July 03, 2010
Just happened to my Acer vista laptop after microsoft update. Lost everything and had to re format and re-install everything. - Anonymous
September 22, 2010
Instructions say to navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMControlSet00XServicesRpcSs. Graphic just below that says to go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEMySYSTEMControlSet00XServicesRpcSs. - Anonymous
January 12, 2011
This just happened to my computer after my ISP connected to my machine remotely. I'll try this fix later tonight I hope it works. - Anonymous
February 13, 2011
I already have the value "NT AUTHORITYNetworkService" - still black screen. I really wonder why there is not a functional fix from MS for this bug... - Anonymous
March 25, 2011
Like the above this did not solve my problem. - Anonymous
April 04, 2011
I also have the same issue, does anyone have an update?? - Anonymous
April 05, 2011
I have the same problem - I followed the instructions to the letter, and when it came time to change the value, it was already showing the correct value. The only difference going through this process has made is that now, I still get a black screen, but sometimes even the mouse cursor is missing! It would appear that the explanation given at the top of this posting for the cause of the problem is not the correct diagnosis for why I can't load Vista - even in Safe mode. And when I use the startup repair option on the recovery disk, all I get is a message that no errors or problems were found. Where do we go from here??? - Anonymous
May 24, 2012
Tx - Anonymous
June 20, 2012
I put in my Vista Dell cd in an reboot but nothing comes up, it just goes straight toBlack screen and cursor again... Help! - Anonymous
October 14, 2012
thanks tom working for microsoft, but i still have blakc screen. "object value" was already NT AUTHORITYNetworkService. Big thanks to Tom and Microsoft!! - Anonymous
November 01, 2012
The comment has been removed - Anonymous
June 03, 2013
The comment has been removed - Anonymous
August 21, 2013
Thanks a million. It just worked for me. The steps with screenshots have simplified the procedure. Thanks a lot ! - Anonymous
September 10, 2013
The procedure above does not work....... - Anonymous
November 01, 2013
the value is ALREADY "NT AUTHORITYNetworkService"So your instructions are useless. - Anonymous
November 01, 2013
The comment has been removed - Anonymous
March 03, 2014
There are a lot of people angry that the post above did not fix their issue which is rather premature as this is one of the potential causes of this black screen. Here's the list of items to try that can often lead to a resolution:
- boot in Windows PE environment and chkdsk
- try F8 "Last Known Good Configuration"
- sfc /scannow (either in D.A.R.T. or safe mode if it works or last known good config)
- make sure winlogon shell is not overridden, delete this if it exists:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWinlogon]
- make sure both these keys have the right information:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWinlogon]
"Shell"="Explorer.exe"
"Userinit"="C:Windowssystem32userinit.exe," (note the comma, required)
- ren c:windowssystem32winevtlogs to logs-backup or something different
(or you could try disabling the windows eventlog service)
- system restore as a last resort
- someone suggested disabling the following services:
-XAudio Service
-Windows Audio
-WLAN AutoConfig
-Server
- make sure RpcSs is starting with NT AUTHORITY/NetworkService
(you need to ensure you're checking the right controlset by checking Select key)
- could be permissions issue with the registry
- can always try an upgrade install (make note of install procedure for words upgrade) - Anonymous
September 25, 2014
I have a slight issue with this..
At first I could not access the system when trying to load the hive.
After trying a couple other things before coming back to this fix attempt, I notice that "Current" value is "002" under "MySystem", but "001" under "SYSTEM"
Anyone have any idea why that may be & how I can fix this?
Thanks,
- jDelgado1025 - Anonymous
September 25, 2014
Otherwise, ObjectName already holds the value NT AUTHORITYNetworkService under "MySystem" - Anonymous
March 01, 2015
I can get to the point of opening the system file, but I get an error saying the process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process. Any suggestions. - Anonymous
September 03, 2015
I solved this black screen using this: http://arbel-ks.com/windows-server-2008-r2-wont-start-after-update-installation/ - Anonymous
September 11, 2015
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February 23, 2016
Hello i had this problem with Vista business, there was two administrator account related problems, first the local administrator account was disabled and the second, local administrator account was disabled in Local security settings also. After enableing both cases and restarting the computer there was no black screen with limited user account logins.