I can’t log in to my laptop after overheating

[maddieizzy84]

My laptop overheated and a black screen with a bunch of white letters showed up on the screen. I closed my laptop. I opened it back up and it had a black screen with a circle with a random percentage and it said that my laptop was updating. It finished and when I was brought onto my screen where my apps/files are, nothing was working so I turned off my laptop. Now whenever I turn it back on, it is stuck on the screensaver yet it has no time, date, or any extra words or buttons. What do I do? 

[Garp_senchau]

@maddieizzy84, 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

It sounds like your laptop experienced a serious system crash—likely caused by overheating—and then tried to install a system update, which may have either failed or been corrupted in the process. Now it's stuck in a semi-boot loop or freeze state at the lock screen.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on what to do:

⚠️ Important:

If you have important unsaved files that are not backed up, avoid reinstalling Windows until you’ve attempted data recovery.

Force Shut Down and Restart

Hold the power button down for at least 10–15 seconds until the laptop completely turns off.

Wait 10 seconds, then turn it back on.

See if it boots past the screen.

Boot into Safe Mode

If that doesn’t work:

Force shut down your laptop 3 times during the boot process (i.e., when the screen is stuck, hold the power button to turn it off before it fully loads).

On the 4th restart, it should go into Windows Recovery Environment.

Select:

Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Click Restart

Press F4 to boot into Safe Mode (or F5 for Safe Mode with Networking)

✅ If Safe Mode works:

Uninstall any recent Windows updates from:
Settings > Windows Update > Update History > Uninstall Updates

You can also do a system restore from:

Control Panel > Recovery > Open System Restore
(if a restore point exists)

Reference: HP PCs - Windows Safe Mode (Windows 10) | HP® Support

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,