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- HP Community
- Notebooks
- Notebook Boot and Lockup
- After BIOS update, laptop boots but no image

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05-17-2025 01:07 PM
Hello! I have an HP Aero 13 from I believe 2021. I just recently decided to update some drivers, so I first went and updated my BIOS with a download from the HP website.
The update seemed to go smoothly (?) but afterwards I found myself at a black screen with my cursor present. I’ve force restarted the computer a number of times, done troubleshooting system and hardware tests after pressing escape on startup, but I still just see a black screen with my cursor.
I’m even able to log into my computer, and the cursor changes over different items/text boxes, but it’s as if everything is running fine except I only see the cursor.
Can anyone help me with this? Thank you!
05-19-2025 06:45 PM
@eunjchaii, Welcome to HP Support Community,
Thank you for posting your query; I’m here to help by guiding you through steps to resolve this issue
First, try booting into Safe Mode
We’ll want to boot into Safe Mode to isolate the problem — especially since Safe Mode doesn’t load full graphics drivers.
Here’s how:
Force shut down your computer (hold power for ~10 sec) 3 times to trigger Windows Recovery.
On the third boot, you should land on the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) screen.
Choose:
Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart
After restart, press 4 to enter Safe Mode (or 5 for Safe Mode with Networking).
If Safe Mode works:
Your issue is likely with the display drivers or the Windows shell.
In Safe Mode: Fix Display Drivers
Once in Safe Mode:
Uninstall the display driver:
Press Win + X → Device Manager
Expand Display adapters
Right-click your GPU (e.g., AMD Radeon or integrated graphics) → Uninstall device
Check Delete the driver software for this device if available.
Reboot normally.
Windows will use a basic display driver, which often resolves black screen issues temporarily.
Run Explorer Manually
If you're logged in and see only a cursor, Windows may not be launching explorer.exe correctly.
Try this:
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
File → Run new task → Type explorer.exe and hit Enter
If the desktop loads, your system may have had issues initializing the shell.
Use System Restore (If Available)
Reboot into WinRE again (like in Step 1)
Go to:
Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → System Restore
Pick a point before the BIOS update or driver changes.
I hope this helps.
Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps.
Take care and have a good day.
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Regards,
Garp_Senchau
I am an HP Employee