I recently bought a PC and was away from it for about two months. Around two weeks into the trip, my games—including Minecraft—started crashing. I tried replacing the RAM, reinstalling graphics drivers, running virus scans, checking system health, and monitoring temperatures and storage health. I was advised to factory reset Windows, but after the reset the computer showed the motherboard logo with a spinning circle and then stopped at a black screen. I can still see and move the mouse cursor, and the system's RGB lighting is working. The screen has been like this for 30–40 minutes, and Win+Shift+B did not restore the display. I also accidentally canceled a reset attempt yesterday, then started another reset today; after encountering the same black screen, I booted into Safe Mode and initiated the reset from there. The PC has a Ryzen 7 5700X, RTX 5060, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 1 TB SSD. Should I keep waiting, or is there another step I should try?
2 Answers
After 30–40 minutes, I wouldn’t keep waiting indefinitely. Since the cursor is visible, Windows has probably loaded partially, but the desktop shell or graphics driver may be stuck. Perform one controlled restart. If it returns to the same screen, enter Windows Recovery and try Safe Mode or Startup Repair. Because the reset was started from Safe Mode after an earlier canceled attempt, the installation may also be in an incomplete or corrupted state; if recovery options fail, use a Windows installation USB to perform a clean install.
The original game crashes may not have been caused by Windows. A factory reset can repair corrupted system files, but it cannot fix failing hardware. If the black-screen problem continues after a clean Windows installation, test the RAM with MemTest86, check the SSD’s SMART health, monitor CPU and GPU temperatures under load, and verify the graphics card and power cables are firmly seated. Testing with one RAM stick at a time can also help identify a memory problem.
The reset was already attempted more than once, including from Safe Mode, so I’d prioritize a clean installation from USB if Recovery cannot complete it normally.