Black Screen of Death

Does anyone have any computer experience? It appears my desktop is not working and so I am trying to research how to fix it but am rather computer illiterate.

Problem: shut down my 'puter last night and it took it FOREVER to shut down, which is bizarre because it wasn't getting an update or anything (we currently don't have internet).
This morning, I turned it on. Computer sounds like it is powering on but it is simply a black screen on my monitor. Has been that way for hours.

Any thoughts or ideas would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks!

^{For a start, make sure your monitor is turned on/connected properly and that's you're starting from the computer being fully turned off. Make sure the power supply is working properly too. If your monitor is working, you could try starting it in safe mode and see if it boots then, I'm not sure what system you have though. A slow shutdown can be caused by a lot of things, have you installed any recent programs or updates? I recently had a problem with Avira "speed-up" that decided to install itself whilst trying to get rid of Avira antivirus, it caused a very similar problem where it caused the laptop to be very sluggish (the irony) on start up and black screens, I eventually got it to boot fully and uninstall both programs properly in safe mode.}  

It is an Asus something or other. It hasn't gotten any recent updates as we just moved so we don't have internet. But a couple days ago, I did install a new keyboard that came with a software disk. I hope that there wasn't something on the disk that corrupted my computer.    :(

Thanks for the advice, maple. I will try to see if I can access safety mode.   *fingers crossed*

^{You could try starting up without that keyboard and using another usb one if possible. Problems like that aren't usually caused by keyboards but I'm assuming it's wireless if you had to install additional software? (I've never heard of additional software for usb keyboards that wasn't just plug in, find/install driver and go).} 

It is a gaming keyboard with customizable settings. It is a plug in but, from my understanding, the cd with it installs the ability to actually customize it, like a mini program for the keyboard settings.

^{That was my other thought, totally makes sense to me. Again it shouldn't be causing problems with your computer unless the installation was incompatible or there was a driver conflict but assuming you have windowsx64 then it should be fine. And, stupid question, but you definitely don't have two keyboards/mice plugged in?}

It is windows 10 ×64 bit. The keyboard has been working great so I assume there wasn't an incompatible driver? And no, I have 1 mouse and 1 keyboard hooked up currently. Checked the cables, all seem firmly attached. Switching keyboards now, hard shut off, then will try rebooting in safe mode.

@maple, so I had an *impossible* time trying to figure out how to get safe mode to start from the Windows 10 BIOS screen. BUT! I disconnected the new keyboard, plugged in my old one and viola! My computer started! Seemed a hair slow but I suppose that is understandable since I have had to do 2 hard shut offs with it?

In your opinion, do you think my new keyboard is causing an issue? Since I plugged in my old one and my computer started?

I also wonder if the computer itself just needs some updates since it hadn't been connected to the Internet for almost a month....

Last edited on 2017-11-28 at 07:45:51 by Nevermore

^{gHave you turned it off with the new keyboard before? It could be the problem or a coincidence. Did you start it into safe mode with the old keyboard or boot normally? If it boots normally with the old keyboard but not the new one then it's a likely cause.} 

I have turned it off and successfully restarted with the new keyboard yesterday morning. I couldn't figure out safety mode so it has booted and restarted with the old keyboard. I plan to try rebooting with the new keyboard after my husband gets home as he is slightly more computer savvy than me. I don't like messing with the BIOS and stuff cause I worry I will mess it up. Thanks again, maple. I will post later if it is yay or neigh on the new keyboard.    :)

^{Could have just been a fluke with a failed boot.  Or you may have to plug the keyboard in from after start up. If it's a dodgy usb usb and it disconnects/reconnects during start up it can cause problems. I had a particular problem with Apple usbs and drivers that would bsod my laptop if I disconnected at the wrong time or left it plugged in on start up.} 

i had this same exact issue with an asus computer a few years ago. after lengthy researching, my best bet was just to complain to the asus tech department, who told me to just send it to walmart's protection plan, who then basically sent me a refurbished version of the same exact laptop. 

never trusting that brand again ;-; 

good luck figuring it out though, especially if it is just a keyboard. i have a keyboard issue with my current computer right now actually - solved by using an external one but it's still a pain to lug around an extra piece. 

A new keyboard is exactly what killed my old Dell laptop.
And I mean KILLED. After plugging in the new keyboard my computer started deleting deleting required filed (C++ stuff among other files) by itself until it ended up simply not even starting up anymore. It was a huge bummer. Had so many files on that laptop. Note, I also didn't have internet as I was living with my aunt and she only had an ethernet cable which was connected to her desktop and I never used it.

@leah, in my research I saw a lot of Asus laptops with the BSOD issue. Sorry to hear you had a poor experience with Asus. This is my first desktop in a long time (laptops, unless they are really high end, don't hold up well for me and since I can't afford the high end ones...) and it has been working great. Hopefully it is something as simplet as the keyboard as that as an easy fix compared to a varietypical of much more complicated things that can go wrong with a computer.

@vos, my goodness! Sorry about your Dell. How did you figure out your keyboard was eating your files?

I have been trying to research the keyboard as well and can't seem to find any association between this particular keyboard and the BSOD. First time for everything. And I have been having poor luck for the last week so maybe it is just a stroke of bad luck.

<sup>I actually have an ASUS (laptop) and it's my baby >>. The only time it's ever had a BSOD was when it was overheating (fans needed cleaning), and from a bad usb cable that wasn't sending responses back to it so it basically did a "ohno can't deal" moment, but on both occasions the issue was my fault or easily fixable. It's just coming up on 5 years old now and still running perfectly fine, the only things I've needed to replace have been due to wear and tear (charger + charger port) and a random hard-drive failure when it was two years old (which isn't actually uncommon in laptops), but the hard-drive was replaced with no issues or files lost. 

The only other thing I could think of is that it could be clashing with the driver for your old keyboard on start-up? You can manage it in device manager (uninstall, update drivers, rollback, etc). But more than likely it was just a fluke if you've managed to start it up several times without the problem recurring? I would also say to do a complete reinstall of the program/keyboard just in case something was corrupted during the install and see if that changes anything. Alternatively if it's not the keyboard and you've moved recently, could any of the internal components been knocked loose or damaged (assuming it travelled with you)? It sounds like it was working just fine before you installed the keyboard though.</sup>