I've been having an issue with Windows 8.1. My lock screen is completely blacked out. Nothing is visible except for the cursor and a blinking connection symbol (the icon with an ascending row of bars that takes you to available connections) in the bottom left corner. The cursor is movable, but after some amount of time it goes away quickly and re-appears in the center of the screen. This screen is the first place I'm taken to when I turn my computer on, so I haven't been able to make it past this point.

This might have something to do with a lock screen customizer mod I downloaded from a website called winaero. The program itself ran without problems. It wasn't until I reset the computer that I encountered my problem. I e-mailed the person who made the mod, but it has been a week and he still has not responded. I'm sure it was not a malicious program, I have used other mods from the website without any problems.

Given that the developer has not and probably will not respond, I need help figuring out a way to disable this mod and get my computer working again.

• Edited by Brandon RecordsModerator 12 hours 2 minutes ago clarified title

How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC

Hi,

How about uninstall this program? Will this problem resolved? We don't suggest you use 3rd program to modify system theme, like winaero.

You can also check Windows startup items if this program process list there, if that it is, disable it.

On the other hand, reset Windows theme to default for test.

If this mod installed as an application, you may be able to boot to safe mode and then uninstall the application. One method to access safe mode is to boot to a USB Recovery Drive, then select TroubleshootStartup SettingsRestart4 or 5 (Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking)

Brandon
Windows Outreach Team- IT Pro
Windows for IT Pros on TechNet