How to Fix Windows 11 Black Screen of Death?

The screen goes black at Windows 11 startup!

“A few days ago, I upgraded my laptop from Windows 10 to Windows 11. In the first few days, it worked well and it did give me much surprise. However, this morning, when I tried booting my PC, the screen went black at startup, prompting that there was something wrong with my device. Later, I learned that it was called Windows 11 Black Screen of Death (BSOD). I feel helpless now since I am no computing professional. How to fix it? Can anybody help?”

What is Windows 11 Black Screen of Death?

The standard version of Windows 11 was finally published on Nov 5^th and users worldwide can upgrade their computer from Windows 10 to Windows 11 to enjoy those new functionalities and features. As we all know, on Windows 10, there is a glitch called Black Screen of Death, which you may run into when there’s something wrong with your PC’s system. Now, on Windows 11, it turned to black. We have no idea why Microsoft changed the color but what we do know is that the causes of this error didn’t change.

The possible causes of Windows 11 black screen at startup

Before figuring out a way to troubleshoot the error, the first thing we need to do is to learn what causes the error. Here, I listed all possible causes of the BSOD issue.

1. App incompatibility.

2. Memory stick incompatibility and corruption or bad contact.

3. Hardware failure.

4. MBR (Master Boot Record) or system file error.

5. BCD errors.

6. Virus or malware attack.

Best solutions to the BSOD issue

Being unable to boot Windows is a headache, especially when you have little knowledge of computing. Since both hardware issues and software issues cause Windows 11 black screen on startup, the solutions are different.

Way 1. Remove external hard drive

Sometimes, external hardware of your PC can cause the BSOD issue. In this case, you have to unplug any external storage devices and drives, docks and other hardware that is plugged into that computer and not needed for basic functionality. Then, reboot your PC. 

If the BSOD is gone after unplugging the external hardware, then, we can be sure there's something wrong with the external hardware. Under this circumstance, you'd better contact your device manufacturer for support.

Way 2. Kill virus or remove malware

If your OS is infected with virus or malware, boot errors like the black screen of death may occurs. Under this circumstance, you’re suggested to download and install reliable anti-virus software or directly use Windows built-in Windows Security and run detection for all disks.

Way 3. Reboot Windows 11 in Safe Mode

Generally speaking, Windows 11 BSOD is most likely to be caused by problems of drivers. Under the Safe Mode startup environment, only a few necessary files and drivers will be loaded. In this case, impact of third-party software or drivers will be excluded.

1. Long-press the power button for 10s to shut down your PC and reboot the PC. Repeat this 3 times. 

2. Once entering the “Choose an option”, follow the screenshots – “Troubleshoot >Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart”.

3. Enter Safe Mode by hitting F4, F5, or F6 in different cases by following the onscreen instructions.

4. If you see no black screen or unlimited restart issue in Safe Mode, it’s likely that you have run into third-party software or driver issue. In this case, you’re supposed to uninstall them one by one and check whether it’s fixed.

Way 4. Uninstall or update drivers to troubleshoot the black screen error

On Windows 11, the black screen issue might arise due to outdated or incompatible drives. By uninstalling the problematic drivers or updating them, sometimes, the problem can be fixed.

Part 1. Update the driver software

1. Go to “Device Manager” on your PC.

2. Double-click on “Disk drives”, select the disk driver, and right-click on it.

3. Select “Update Driver Software”

4. Choose “Search automatically for updated driver software”. Then, a search will begin and later, the latest driver software will be installed.

Part 2. Uninstall the problematic drivers

1. Run “Device Manager” in the same way as you did above.

2. Double-click on “Disk drives” and select the problematic driver.

3. Right-click on it and select “Uninstall”.

4. Wait until the process is completed and then, reboot the PC. The OS will automatically launch a reinstallation of an updated device driver for the disk

If the black screen issue isn’t resolved in this way, you might as well sort by date to see which software is installed most recently. Then, uninstall it, restart the PC and check whether the issue is fixed.

Way 5. Rebuild MBR

Sometimes, an MBR error can also lead to OS reboot failure including “Windows 11 black screen of death”, “Operating System not found”, and “Error loading operating system”. If you run into any of them, you’re supposed to repair MBR to get rid of the boot issue. Usually, the Master Boot Record issue could be caused by malware infection or improper shutdown.

To rebuild or fix MBR, this time, I recommend AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, a powerful third-party disk management software utility. In only a few clicks, you can make a bootable USB on a working computer and then, plug the USB into the problematic computer where there is the black screen issue , boot from the USB, and fix MBR.

How to fix the black screen on Windows 11? Download the demo of the most powerful disk manager and have a try!

Step 1. Plug a USB stick into a working Windows PC, install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Hit "Tools"> “Make bootable Media” where the screenshot shows and hit “Next” to proceed.

Step 2. Choose your USB flash drive after ticking “USB Boot Device”. Click on “Proceed”.

Step 3. Them, you’ll be promoted that the operation format the USB and you should back up important data. If you decide to proceed, click on “Yes”.

Step 4. Wait until the media creation process is completed.

Note: The bootable USB flash drive contains the AOMEI software you previously installed.

Step 5. Insert the bootable USB into the problematic PC, change boot Order in BIOS and boot from it. Then, you can rebuild MBR for the system primary hard drive.

Way 6. Fix BDC error in CMD to resolve Windows black screen of death

BDC is an automated procedure for transferring large volumes of external or legacy data into the SAP system using batch input programming and is similar to LSMW. When there’s something wrong with BDC, system boot issues including black screen can occur.

1. Boot your computer from a Windows bootable drive or installation CD or DVD.

2. Follow the path “Repair your computer > Troubleshoot > Advanced > Command Prompt”.

3. After entering Command Prompt, type the following command lines and hit “ENETER” after each of them.

bootrec/Fixmbr

bootrec/FixBoot

bootrec/ScanOs

bootrec/RebuildBcd

4. When completed, shut down Command Prompt and reboot the PC to check whether the black screen problem is fixed.

Conclusion

How do I fix Windows black screen of death once for all?  In this post, you have not only learnt what the BSOD error is but also, how to fix it in 5 different ways. Several days ago, I was one of victims of the black screen issue as well. What helped me out lies in “Way 3” - third-party software AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. It’s easy to use and effect.