Power up my computer I didn't use for a full year

>power up my computer I didn't use for a full year
>it installs windows' updates on its own
>lock my computer and go take a leak
>come back and screen is black with cursor
>wait 10mins, reboot computer because fuck it
>black screen and cursor after loading, it reboots 20 seconds after trying ctrl+alt+suppr
>now black screen without cursor
It's been 20 minutes now. What do?

install gentoo

Something happened.

Unplug and plug back in. Same shit happened to me at work today.

Done and it solved nothing.
Tried uninstalling the latest updates in safe mode but one was permanent (KB3061102). So I wanted to reenter in safe mode but it undo the changes I made and restarted. Now I can't even access safe mode and got this.

You were supposed to insert your install DVD and do a system restore. Now I'm not sure if that would even work because you prob. created new restore points manually uninstalling the updates. tl;dr you dun goofed.

I'd just reinstall windows or get a Linux distro.

To save your files, get your hands on a live copy of any Linux distro (ubuntu and variants may be your best bet) and boot the livecd to transfer the files you want from your HDD onto a USB or something.

Then install windows. Hopefully it won't be a pain in the dick to get all your drivers back. Alternatively, install a Linux distro.

Good luck!

what's giving this error?

that's not a windows component recommending gparted, is it?

Christ. Is there nothing to repair the boot at least? I read people saying you can fix the mbr and shit.

Well, that's a good question. I have only Windows 7 installed on it so I don't know what's telling me to use gparted.

You can fix it if you have a Windows DVD/USB. You just have to boot into it, but instead of installing pick the fix my pc option

looking into the message, it seems to be part of GRUB
windows can get confused when it's not the sole user of a disk

some posts i saw are saying to do
bootrec.exe /fixmbr
bootrec.exe /fixboot

you can do this by booting a windows install dvd, hitting shift+f10 on the first screen (the one where you pick your locale), then entering those into the command prompt that shows up

Ok, it's fixed.
Return to the black screen with cursor problem, I can now access windows in safe mode with network.

can you bring up taskmgr by pressing ctrl+shift+esc in normal boot?
you can try running explorer manually to see what happens (file>run/open, "explorer.exe")

No, I can't because I locked Windows with a password.

oh, it's doing that at/before the login screen?
that could be a problem

since you can get into safe mode, perhaps try running sfc (command line)

It happens right before the login screen, yeah.

Done a sfc /scannow in safe mode, nothing wrong is detected.

then i suppose you could try removing some services/drivers that start with windows normally, that don't in safe mode
for example, graphics drivers, antivirus services, etc

I didn't deactivate nothing but try to run on low resolution 640x480, and I can boot just fine on Windows.
Now I recall Windows was updating a graphic driver for Intel HD graphics 4600.

i imagine this is obvious, but then download the latest version of your graphics driver and reinstall it
if there's an option to clear its settings, consider using it

Fucking retards. Windows is updating and you shut it down. Only after a half hour at least, and when disk activity has stopped. Jesus fuck.

Fucking this. My Windows Server installs go black for upwards of an hour sometimes during patch day with absolutely no response except for HDD activity light. Only way of knowing they're updating is by RDPing into the server and getting kicked with some obscure as fuck error number.

this would be a fine argument if it was clear that it was still updating
i'd say "black screen with a cursor for 20 minutes" doesn't really qualify
if the hdd light was still on, then leaving it longer might have been a better idea, would have to ask OP if he noticed this though

You need to reinstall it. You definitely shouldn't go a year without updating, on any operating system.

What this guy said is your best bet, and actually pretty easy to do. All you need is an Ubuntu livecd and something like an HDD to backup all your files to. Then just reinstall Windows, it will fix everything for you. You COULD try fixing your system as it is, but it's probably more trouble than it's worth and well, you need a fresh system after going a year without updating. Good luck

You don't even need to do all that if all you're doing is reinstalling. It's not like Windows setup forces you to format or anything, you just need to not mess with the partitioning stuff on your way through. It'll simply shove your old install into a separate folder where you can delete or harvest it as you please, and leave everything else alone.

Or at least *a* Linux. PClinuxOS might be better for the newbie.