Windows 11 Black Screen After Sign-In? How to Fix It

Recent Windows 11 updates left some PCs with a black screen and crashing File Explorer after logging in. The quick workaround and the update that fixes it.

You log in to Windows 11, and instead of your desktop you get a black screen. Maybe the mouse moves, maybe nothing loads. Microsoft has confirmed that recent updates caused exactly this on some PCs.

What happened

After the August 2026 preview update (KB5120996) and some later updates, some PCs on Windows 11 24H2, 25H2 and 26H1 showed:

A black screen after sign-in
File Explorer crashing (no taskbar, no desktop icons)

Microsoft says it mostly hit virtual desktop setups, but home users reported it too.

Quick fix: restart Explorer

This gets your desktop back right now:

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Click Run new task.
Type explorer.exe and press OK.

Your taskbar and desktop should come back. It's temporary, though: the problem can return next time you sign in.

Permanent fix: install the latest update

Microsoft's release health page says updates from September 22, 2026 onward resolve it, and further fixes went out with the October 13 Patch Tuesday updates.

Restart Explorer using the steps above.
Go to Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates.
Install everything, then restart.

For IT admins

Microsoft published Known Issue Rollback policies: KB5124010 for 24H2 and 25H2, and KB5124006 for 26H1. Deploy the policy with Group Policy and restart the device.

Still getting a black screen?

Unplug extra monitors and docks, then sign in again
Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B to restart the graphics driver
Update your graphics driver from Intel, AMD or NVIDIA
Uninstall the last update: Settings → Windows Update → Update history → Uninstall updates. If you can't get that far, hold Shift while clicking Restart, then go to Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Uninstall Updates

Once you're back up, see how to speed up a slow Windows PC and whether Windows 11 26H2 is worth installing yet.