Solved Black screen with movable cursor (vista x64)

I was having some trouble with the firewall (could not start the service), I then tried to do a restore but got an error. After reading some topics on these forums I did a clean boot followed by a SFC scan. The scan came back saying there were some errors so I rebooted so I could see the resulting log file but now I can't get into windows.

Instead of the usual user login screen I get a black screen with a movable cursor. No commands seem to work (shift+f10 or ctrl+alt+del) I have tried regular safe mode, I have tried with networking and with command prompt but they all lead to the same black screen with movable cursor (the resolution on the cursor changes tho).

I've tried using every recovery option available; every option on the default manufacturer software except restoring to factory condition, I've tried using system restore (gives error 0x8007002), two types of hardware diagnostics both of which say nothing is wrong, every repair option on a vista (and win7) cd, I've every managed to make a live win7 cd booting from which yields the same black screen. I've also tried using an ubuntu live cd but that didn't get me anywhere.

If I had anywhere to put the contents of the nearly full 500GB drive I would have reset to factory defaults by now but can't. I'm at the end of my rope here and need some help.

Hi tole,

I appreciate the technical expertise and the steps that have been done. We check if the computer is able to boot in Last known good configuration and check if it works: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/88009-advanced-boot-options.htm

Please post the results.

Thank you for your reply MadhurB,

Sadly no change, same black screen with movable cursor.

One thing I noticed is that the system seems to be loading something from the sound of the drive and the drive activity light but no matter how long I wait nothing changes.

edit: I just tried to upload the results from my SFC scan but the log file seems to exceed the forums 2MB limit (the .txt log file is 11.8MB)

Hi tole,

Here is a link which might help, follow the steps mentioned and check if it works: Vista Boots to Black Screen with White Cursor and Nothing Else - Microsoft Community

If issue persists, please follow the steps in the below mentioned link:
Fix for Windows Vista Black Screen of Death, aka KSOD

Note: Please backup complete registry before cleaning the registry just in case of problems.

If issue persists, try system restore after booting from the Windows Vista DVD.

Please post the results.

Sorry for the delayed reply.

I tried the solutions on both of those websites, read through the comments and tried several of the commented solutions but either there is no change or the solution doesn't apply.

However thanks to the links you posted I found out how to get into the registry, I hadn't thought about using the command prompt (facepalm). I referred back to one of the threads I saw on this website (link below) and I found that in my profile list the long entries (S-1-5-21 followed by a lot of numbers) are missing I only S-1-5-(18-20).
http://www.vistax64.com/general-discussion/130435-0x80070002-error-vista-backup-centre.html

I tried to restore the registry from a full backup I made 2 years ago but got an error ("Error accessing the registry"). The missing profiles returned but once again disappeared after a reboot.

edit: I got it!

First instead of importing the entire backed up registry every time, I exported just the profile key from the imported backup, named the file 'profilebackup.reg'. Initially I tried restoring it through command prompt because I thought this was a permission problem and an elevated cmd would work if a direct import didn't (regedit profilebackup.reg). I still got errors the first time I tried it but the second time it worked.

Tried various things and eventually just decided to do something simple; after importing the profilebackup.reg and adding Windowsbackup key (HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsBackup) I tried running system restore instead of restarting and it worked! The first attempt failed but the second worked. Took a few hours and after the restore finished I am now able to log in.

The restore didn't seem to affect the original problem which was the system security; mcafee anti-virus and spyware and windows firewall/defender not being able to turn on, but at least now I'm able to log in again.

Hi tole,

Check for virus or spyware on the computer by using |MG| Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows 4.1.0522.0 Download and also Malwarebytes : Malwarebytes Anti-Malware removes malware including viruses, spyware, worms and trojans, plus it protects your computer

Download and install the program, check if it able to find any virus or spyware on the computer.

Please post the results.

Ok, problem solved. Thank you very much for all of your help MadhurB,

Did a malwarebytes scan and found a bunch bunch of entries, most from something called "translation buddy' and a trojan. After cleaning out the system the firewall/defender services were still gone. So I just did a repair install which fixed the problem.

I think I'm going to take a few more preventive measures now, shrink the C partition, make an image of it so if something crashes again I can just restore the small C rather than have to spend days shifting through the whole 500gb drive.