Windows will not go to desktop


Recommended Posts

Yes, I have avast installed. Why?

Far be it from me to presume what another user is planning on saying, but I assume it's related to the troubles that Avast has been having of late.

They have caused all sorts of havoc on Windows 8 machines. I actually recommend staying away from them for a while until they work out their issues, especially considering that Windows 8 has a very robust AV/AM tool built right into the OS.

Far be it from me to presume what another user is planning on saying, but I assume it's related to the troubles that Avast has been having of late.

They have caused all sorts of havoc on Windows 8 machines. I actually recommend staying away from them for a while until they work out their issues, especially considering that Windows 8 has a very robust AV/AM tool built right into the OS.

OP has Windows 7

OP, have you tried Microsoft FixIt! http://fixitcenter.support.microsoft.com/Portal/

See if that thing finds out whats up.

OP has Windows 7

Doh. I noted that while working with them on earlier posts, but forgot about that during this latest reply. Thanks for spotting that.

So based on that I would still say to find something other than Avast for the time being.

SafeSurf over on the Avast forums posted up the following information in this thread:

I suggest an uninstall and clean install if you are still having problems.

1. Save a copy of Avast and save it to your HDD:

Version 7.0.1456:

Avast Free AV: http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/avast_free_antivirus_setup.exe

Avast Pro AV : http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/avast_pro_antivirus_setup.exe

AIS: http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/avast_internet_security_setup.exe

2. Download the Avast Uninstall Utility http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility and save it to your HDD.

3. Disconnect from the Internet at this time.

4. Go into Safe Mode (hit F8 repeatedly) and run the Avast Uninstall Tool. Uninstall ALL previous versions and products of Avast you had on this machine and reboot in between each uninstall.

6. Reboot.

7. Install the newest version of Avast and reboot.

8. Get Internet access and register your copy or add the license key for Free, Pro, or AIS online.

Free ? http://www.avast.com/registration-free-antivirus.php

9. Update the Avast definitions.

I would follow things up to the point of actually uninstalling Avast, and then when you're back in to the machine install something else. I generally recommend Microsoft Security Essentials, but it's really up to you.

My point about Avast have numerous issues of late is still valid for Win7. :)

Yea its a service hanging, the suggestion to uninstall Avast seems to help other similar cases

Also uninstalling any Virtual Drive softwares such as Daemon tools / Virtual Clone Drive etc were suggested as possible causes

Don't quote me on this, but from what I have just read on other forums with the same error, "Computer Browser service" is not essential and can be disabled until you work out what was causing the issue, it seems that service is the cause of the black screen

Running disk chk at the moment. Long process, seems to be taking awhile. On step 5/5. Will attempt previous suggestions if everything passes and I am back in safe mode.

back to my earlier post have you run a hard drive diagnostic, not chkdsk, see if it is the hard drive you're only gonna make things worse in the long run

Yes, I have avast installed. Why?

I'll bet you 5 bucks it's Avast. Try this; login to safe mode and uninstall Avast. Reboot back into safe mode, confirm Avast in no more, then reboot as regular. You should no longer have a black screen and be able to login. Re-install Avast. Problem should be gone.

I had the same issue you described on 3 separate machines, after system restore roll backs and other troubleshooting, I found it was some how related to a Avast; maybe a recent update.

back to my earlier post have you run a hard drive diagnostic, not chkdsk, see if it is the hard drive you're only gonna make things worse in the long run

That's what I was running. I ran the windows check disk utility. Right click HD -> Properties -> Tools -> Check now. This automatically checks the hard drive upon reboot and will fix any errors if its finds them. Is this not enough?

That's what I was running. I ran the windows check disk utility. Right click HD -> Properties -> Tools -> Check now. This automatically checks the hard drive upon reboot and will fix any errors if its finds them. Is this not enough?

That is a good tool, but I think that user meant to check who makes your hard drive, and then run their tool to check the hard drive for any issues.

Usually the tool made by those companies can find any issues that the tool in the OS might miss.

That's what I was running. I ran the windows check disk utility. Right click HD -> Properties -> Tools -> Check now. This automatically checks the hard drive upon reboot and will fix any errors if its finds them. Is this not enough?

Chkdsk just checks the file system not the physical state of the hard drive, if you don't know the make of your hard drive or if the manufacturer doesn't have diagnostic software use SeaTools. Its pretty good . When running , under basic tests, select long generic. Depending on the size of the hard drive it can take a few hours to run, but I highly recommend it...

Finally back home after a rigorous day at work, and I happy to report that I am back 100%. Turns out it was an avast! service conflict, and an uninstallation quickly fixed that. Thanks to all that helped, especially those suggesting avast! as the culprit.

Finally back home after a rigorous day at work, and I happy to report that I am back 100%. Turns out it was an avast! service conflict, and an uninstallation quickly fixed that. Thanks to all that helped, especially those suggesting avast! as the culprit.

Instead of Avast! , try out Microsoft Security Essentials.

  • Like 1
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • AltSendme 0.4.2 is out.
    • Simple answer is yes, you will still get the Windows updates and as long as browser is up to date, you will be good. Only thing secure boot does is protect you against boot level threats and make it harder to install other OS's. I've been looking into this pretty thoroughly lately myself as wifes computer has secure boot disabled plus my other, older computers that run Linux, don't have secure boot enabled. Have seen all kinds of questions about this on the Linux Mint and MX Linux forums. Just don't suddenly enable secure boot now.
    • How many other companies will follow Ford's lead? Or, have they already gotten lazy and become enslaved to AI--and now can't figure out how to get out of that mess.
    • Why would any self-respecting intelligent person follow any recommendation by Donald's GOP administration? With almost two years of fabrications, deceit, and blatantly illegal behavior, why believe them now? They had best be gone after the November 2026 election, so we'll wait and see.
    • AltSendme 0.4.2 by Razvan Serea AltSendme is a minimal, cross-platform application designed for fast, secure, and private peer-to-peer file transfers. It allows users to send files or entire directories directly between devices without relying on cloud servers, accounts, or any personal information. Everything is encrypted end-to-end using modern protocols like QUIC and TLS 1.3, ensuring both strong security and low-latency performance. Transfers are verified with BLAKE3 for data integrity, and interrupted downloads automatically resume, making the experience reliable even on unstable connections. You can transfer anything—images, videos, documents, and more. Integrity checks are performed on both ends, so your files are automatically verified for correctness during both sending and receiving. AltSendme works seamlessly across local networks or long-distance links, capable of saturating multi-gigabit connections for extremely fast delivery. With built-in NAT traversal and encrypted relay fallback, it connects devices almost anywhere. The app integrates with the Sendme CLI and will soon support mobile and web platforms. Fully free and open-source, AltSendme offers a lightweight, privacy-first alternative to traditional cloud-based services, removing size limits, upload costs, and unnecessary data exposure. AltSendme 0.4.1 changelog: Release Highlights Self-hosted relays: Run your own iroh relay so transfers don't rely on public infrastructure. Includes a full deployment template in deploy/relay/ with Docker Compose for a VPS and configuration examples for production use. Fly.io support: One-click deploy template for Fly.io, including a quick-start config (fly.dev.toml) for testing without a custom domain, plus production setup with Let's Encrypt and your own hostname. Relay settings UI: New Settings → Network panel to choose how AltSendme connects: automatic public relays, custom self-hosted URLs (with optional auth token), or disabled. Test connections, verify latency, and see live relay status in the footer. Disable relays: Turn off relay servers entirely when you only need same-network transfers (e.g. LAN). Direct connections only. No relay hop required when devices can reach each other. Android graduates from beta: Android is now part of the regular release cycle alongside desktop. APKs ship with each version (universal, arm64, and armv7). Other improvements Private relay access control via shared auth token Relay fallback notifications when a custom relay is unreachable Broadcast mode toggle in sharing settings Android release build fixes (split-per-ABI APKs, universal APK preservation) UI polish: mobile safe-area insets, dropzone layout, transfer progress animation Bug fixes for minification-related serialization issues and system tray icon loading What's Changed feat(relay): add relay status functionality and settings UI (a120cdf) feat(relay): implement custom relay server configuration and verification (51276c7) feat(relay): add configuration for private relay access and enhance observability features (48fbabf) feat(relay): enhance relay URL validation, display connection status (d4fffa0) feat(relay): add RelayChangeGuard component and enhance relay-related translations (16ba514) feat(broadcast): add toggle setting for broadcast mode in sharing UI (ca6d977) fix(relay): correct QUIC discovery port, pin image, templatize fly.dev (52a2ba5) fix: More broken serialization due to minification (67491a9) fix(android): preserve true universal APK across per-ABI builds (e9f256f) fix(ui): conditional safe-area insets padding on mobile (1182f0e) refactor(transfer): CircularRing component animation fix (944572b) chore(android): drop x86 and x86_64 release APKs, keep universal+arm64+armv7 (34ada0b) AltSendme 0.4.2 release highlight: Modern Debian & Ubuntu support. The .deb package now declares compatible dependency alternatives (libayatana-appindicator3-1, libgtk-3-0t64) alongside the older Ubuntu 22.04 names, so it installs cleanly on Debian and Ubuntu 24.04+. Fixed settings sidebar header being covered by the custom title bar on Linux. What's Changed #172 Fixed #168 Addressed feat(tauri): support for modern debian (80f548d) fix(setting-sidebar): linux-only custom title bar covering nav header (fb55c9d) Download: AltSendme 0.4.2 | ARM64 | ~9.0 MB (Open Source) Download: AltSendme for MacOS | Android Links: AltSendme Home Page | GitHub | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Woland13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Woland13 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      bernmeister earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      494
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      225
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      149
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      75
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!