I have a few Windows 7 computers in an enterprise environment that have recently been reformatted and have a clean install of Windows 7 that will upon logging in, come to a blank black screen with a cursor. The cursor can be moved around with the mouse, keyboard input does NOT work. So no ctrl+alt+del or any other shortcuts to get out of the black screen. No matter how long the computer is left alone it will never finish logging in. What I have tried: Booting in safe-mode with networking will work. Booting up regularly and logging in with the network cable unplugged will work. I have also looked all over the Event Viewer many times and can not find any related errors/events that lead to fixing the problem. The computers that this occurs on have completely different specs and setups. I have also tried (on my own computer that this is happening to) going through the Services in msconfig and disabling all of them, then enabling 3-5 at a time to find the services in question and the only one that fixes this problem is disabling the network service, which obviously fixes the problem since this is the same as leaving the network cable unplugged (which also fixes the problem). I have reformatted 3 of the machines in question, and on ALL 3 the problem has come back within a day. There is literally nothing in common on any of the machines, except for them being on the same domain and maybe having similar group policies. More information: Some have only 1 monitor, some have 2. Most computers that this happens on are fairly new Dell computers, except one of them is a custom built computer (my work computer). All the computers are on a Domain, not all the computers are on the same subnet. If you need anymore information let me know and I will be happy to provide it, as this problem is driving me and my users crazy.

Hi, thank you for posting here. As you have tried many tests: It work find in Safe Mode and regular boot with unplugged cable. So the issue only occurs when you plug the cable, right? It seems the problem with your Network adapter. Try to reinstall the adapter driver, or you can update the Network driver. Also update BIOS and other device drivers. If any network/driver software is installed, temporarily remove it. Note: Please make sure the driver of Network adapter is compatible with Windows 7 or not. If the issue persists, I suggest you ask Dell to check if the hardware have problem. Regards, Leo HuangPlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

I have the exact same problem on two Brand New Dell computers - so a hardware problem is unlikely. I checked the NIC driver and it was OEM Broadcom & the newest available. After a full day of research I'm pretty sure this has something to do with the Network Service and/or Remote Procedure Call service and/or some Group Policy settings - it only happens to these two Windows 7 boxes; none of the many XP boxes have ever had any kind of problem like this. I have a large list of things to try tomorrow, so I'll post back if something works - Please let me know if you figure anything out... Thanks. (A quick & easy workaround is to hit the SHIFT key 5 times to bring up the "sticky keys" window & click "change settings" and then you can use the 'Search Control Panel' box to get to the task manager and close and re-run the explorer.exe process) Brief list of possible fixes or workarounds: (I Haven't tried any of these yet so use with caution) Boot to local administrator account first, then logoff and login to domain user account. Edit registry; Load Hive; Change the value: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\MySYSTEM\ControlSet00X\Services\RpcSs From: LocalSystem To: NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService (where X is the current running ControlSet) ;Unload Hive http://info.prevx.com/download.asp?GRAB=BLACKSCREENFIX Stop and Disable the "Desktop Window Manager Session Manager" service

Thank you for the response VikingTLM and Leo HuangLijun. Unfortunately, none of the suggestions resolved the problem. Since my posting on October 15th, this problem has occurred on Two More computers. To: Leo HuangLijun, the problem with contacting Dell is I'm almost positive this is not a hardware issue. The affected computers have very few things in common (different Dell models ranging from 2 years old to brand new to a custom built 680i/q6600 desktop computer), which leads me to believe it is a software problem or maybe Group Policy/network related? Does anyone else at all have any other suggestions? Not even reformatting the computers has fixed anything, as the problem is BACK within 24 hours.

The Sticky keys method of getting into taskmanager works and I am then able to end explorer.exe and then start explored.exe. This is a temporary fix and obviously not an actual fix. With that in mind I added a startup script to end any explorer.exe process and then start a new one. This didn't fix the problem, but still might be a better temporary solution if i can get it working until I or someone else finds a real fix.