It is quite typical to have a White Screen with only the cursor on startup page in Windows 11. Don't worry, follow the 10 methods listed in this article and you will effortlessly settle this issue.
Windows 11 Blank Screen before login
Intermittently on power-up, the screen will go white instead of showing the login page. Windows 11 will (sometimes) show the Windows logo and spinner for a few seconds before this event occurs. This blank screen continues for an extended time, up to five minutes, while unknown disk accesses are being made. The HDMI output may cut off near the end of this time, then the Windows login page appears as normal.
This may be related to Windows updates being made during startup and before login, but since the system refuses to output that is speculation. This abusive disregard of the user cannot be interrupted via keystrokes, only through the power or reset switches. Can anybody help, please?
- Question from Microsoft Community
As mentioned in the above case, some users encounter the Windows white screen on startup. Specifically, there is only a white screen and a moveable cursor display on the computer at the startup page, and the computer enters the system after waiting for a few minutes.
It sounds somewhat similar to the problem of Blue Screen on Windows 11, but the difference is that the white screen is not accompanied by an error code. So why exactly does this happen? how do I fix the white screen on Windows 11? If you are in the same need, patiently read this article and you will find the answer.
Why will the Windows 11 white screen just a moment error occur? According to most of the cases summarized, the following aspects may cause this problem.
โ Hardware corruption โ System file is corrupted โ Driver issues: typically the Graphics driver is outdated or corrupted โ Virus or malware attack
No matter what the causes of the white screen with cursor only are, we have effective fixes to solve this problem with ease.
In the following section, I've listed the 10 most likely effective ways to get rid of this trouble. You can choose one that may work for you best according to your real needs.
๐ #1. Force restart your computer๐ฅ ๐ #2. Disconnect peripheral devices ๐ #3. Update Graphics Driver๐ฅ ๐ #4. Modify the Registry file ๐ #5. Run explorer.exe in Task Manager ๐ #6. Boot your PC into safe mode ๐ #7. Use Startup Repair๐ฅ ๐ #8. Uninstall latest Windows Updates ๐ #9. Run repaire commands in Command Prompt๐ฅ ๐ #10. Perform System Restore
Best free backup software for creating Windows 11 backup regularly in case of a hardware failure.
When you are booting your computer, if the white screen with a cursor lasts for a long time, more than a few minutes, then you can choose to force restart your computer. Sometimes it is just a problem with your computer's widget and the problem may be solved after a forced restart.
To force restart your computer, just hold down the power button to shut it down completely when you see the startup logo screen. Repeat once, and then start normally to see if the white screen problem still exists.
Before proceeding with some of the complicated methods below, it is recommended to perform simple troubleshooting in advance. Sometimes, a faulty or improperly connected computer device can cause a white screen or other problems.
First, remove all connected external devices, including the keyboard and mouse. After that, restart the computer and see if the white screen problem still exists. If you find the faulty device that is causing the problem, repair or replace it.
Outdated drivers are often the cause of the problems you encounter when using your computer. Similarly, problems related to the computer screen and display are mainly related to Graphics drivers. In this case, updating the graphics driver will solve the problem.
1. Right-click the Windows Start button, and select Device Manager from the list.
2. In the following window, expand the Display adapters section and right-click on your Graphics driver. Choose Update driver to from the results.
3. It will provide you two options: Search automatically for drivers or Browse my computer for drivers. Choose the first option, Windows will search your computer for the best available driver and install it on your device.
1. Right-click Windows Start button, select Device Manager from the list. Then click File > Run new task.
2. In the pop-up window, type regedit and check the box next to Create this task with administrative privileges. Then Click OK.
3. Navigate to the following path:
4. Click Winlogon folder once on the left side, and double-click on Shell on the right side.
5. In the Edit String window, make sure the value is explorer.exe. If there is no value, please enter the value as explorer.exe. Then click OK.
6. Restart your PC to check whether the problem has successfully settled.
1. When you are on the white screen, press Ctrl + Alt + Del simultaneously, and then the blue screen with multiple options will occur. Select the option Task Manger.
2. On the Task Manager pop-up, locate your Windows Explorer service, right-click it and select End task.
3. Select the File and then select Run New Task.
4. In the Create new task window, Enter explorer.exe in the Open field and check the Create this task with administrative privileges checkbox.
5. When all the setting is done, click OK to start the explorer. Now your problem should be fixed.
Safe Mode is a special way of booting Windows that allows you to operate your PC in a very basic state, disallowing any third applications to start. Sometimes, a large number of applications running or some of them malfunctioning can cause the problem of Windows 11 white screen just a moment on your PC.
When you start Safe Mode without any third-party programs, you can easily determine the cause of the Windows 11 white screen and fix it precisely. Here’s how you can boot into safe mode in Windows 11:
1. Press Windows + I to open Settings, then select System๏ผRecovery option.
2. Click on the Restart now button to the right of Advanced startup.
3. Click on the Restart now button again followed by Troubleshoot then Advanced options.
4. Click on Startup Settings then Restart button to open the Startup Settings window.
5. Windows will show you multiple options on this page, you can press 4/5/6 or F4/F5/F6 depending on your needs.
Startup Repair is one of the Windows repair tools that can help you fix issues when your operating system won't boot, including white screen of death Windows 11, or you can’t use safe mode. You can follow the steps below:
1. Turn your computer on and off three times to access Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
2. Select Troubleshoot, and click Advanced options. Then, click on Startup Repair.
3. Then, the Startup Repair tool will run an automatic repair. Select Shutdown after the repair and check if the Windows 11 white screen flickering or flashing problem is solved.
If you encounter the Windows 11 white screen after update, you can try to remove the latest Windows updates to get rid of it.
1. Access the Windows 11 WinRE with the steps mentioned in the foregoing method, and select Troubleshoot > Advanced options likewise.
2. Choose the Uninstall Updates option, and select Uninstall latest feature update.
After that, reboot your computer and see if the Windows 11 flashing white screen issue persists.
System file corruption could result in a white screen of death in Windows 11. In this case, you can run an SFC scan and DISM scan to repair your system files. Also, you can run some commands to fix hard drive errors and damaged MBR that may cause a white screen of death on Windows 10/11.
1. Select Command Prompt on the Advanced options page in Windows 11 recovery environment.
2. Enter sfc /scannow and click Enter to perform a system scan. It will repair the detected damaged system files automatically.
3. You can also run the following DISM commands to repair and prepare Windows images:
4. To fix hard drive errors, use the chkdsk /r /f command.
5. At last, you can run the commands below to repair damaged MBR, which is the most common cause of boot failure.
If nothing has worked for you yet, there is one left option which is to restore your Windows 11/10 PC to a point where the white screen of death has not occurred. This requires that you have created at least one restore point before. To get this, select the System Restore in Advanced options under WinRE. Then, follow the on-screen guide to finish the restoration.
The above-summarized methods can solve the White Screen on Windows 11 problem to some extent, but due to the different actual situations, they may not be effective all the time. What should we do? To prevent similar system problems from causing trouble or risk of losing data, it is recommended that you always create a backup of your computer regularly as a recovery solution.
To enable that, the best free backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard can be the exact choice for you. It has the following wonderful features:
Θ Designed for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, it allows you to do File Backup, System Backup, Disk Backup, and Partition Backup. Θ You can back up to multiple destination paths such as internal/external hard drives, NAS devices, USB drives, clouds, etc. For example, you can backup Windows 11 to Synology NAS. Θ You can set up Schedule Backup to automate your backup tasks so you won't forget. You could set the system backup task to run daily, weekly, or monthly, event triggers, USB plug-in, etc. Θ It supports setting up incremental backup or differential backup, so to backup only changed files for saving storage space. You can use differential backup once upgrading to AOMEI Backupper Professional.
Here's how to create a backup of Windows 11 PC with AOMEI Backupper Standard (free):
Step 1. Download and install this freeware on your PC.
Step 2. When you launch it, click Backup๏ผSystem Backup. Then, follow the wizard to complete the system backup process.
When the process is completed, you will have a system backup image in hand as a data rescue solution. Once you encounter hard-to-fix system issues, you can easily restore your Windows 11 PC to previous date using this image file.
Now you may get the idea of how to fix Windows 11 white screen on startup page. This is not a difficult problem so I hope one of these 10 ways can get you out of trouble effortlessly. Such problems are unpredictable and unavoidable, so it is sincerely recommended that you always back up your computer so that it can be simply recovered in case of a disaster.
AOMEI Backupper can be your exact choice, which can not only help you with the issue mentioned in this article but also is the best WD clone software to help you clone HDD/SSD to WD SSD in a few steps.