Black Screen w/ cursor - Logon.scr failed to initialize

Working on friends Toshiba Satellite L305-S5885 laptop running Vista 32 Home (32bit) operating system.
Disconnected from external speaker system and video device with the following result.
Computer starts, splash screen appears then goes to black screen with cursor. Computer is going through complete boot up but screen remains black with cursor (able to move cursor). Finally after about 3 - 4 minutes the following message appears:
Application Error
Logon.scr failed to intialize properly ....
((0Xc0000135)

Get the same result in Safe Mode

Have run Recovery CD in repairr mode. After it checks the OS it says to disconnect any peripherals or contact system admin. The system check shows the operating system is working fine and no errors are pointed out.
Got the same result when the HDD was connected to my laptop.

Have run chkdsk with no apparent issues uncovered.

Have searched the drive for logon.scr and compared to my laptop running Vista Business (32) and find that my laptop has one more file in the Windows\winsxs folder than the toshiba. Here is the file that is missing:
x86_microsoft-windows-logon_316f3856ad364e35_6.0.6001_none_56c4901dcc413661.

Also the Toshiba has the following file in the windows\prefetch folder:
logon.scr-30601369.pf.

Have determined that the error message has something to do with Screen Saver.
Have connected a monitor to the computer and switched back and forth with same outcome.

Any suggestions as to next steps are appreciated.

 

Does your computer have any networking software from Novell on it? I read some other forums, and in those threads there seemed to be some connection between the two.

 

Darn forgot to mention that I did try to restore to an earlier point when I was using the recovery disk but it indicated no restore points existed.

I know some existed as I have worked on the laptop before.

I also ran SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes on the HDD while it was connected to my laptop but no malware was found.

Again any advice or instruction is appreciated.

 

Hello Abeki,
I checked program files and don't see anything from Novell.
Thanks for the hint.

 

Not sure if this is goning to help or confuse further.

The HDD continues to be connected to my laptop via USB.
While starting my laptop I noticed I had option to boot via the the Vista installation that is having the problem.

A couple of notes of interest.
1) when listed on my computer the Vista Home installation that has the problems is showing in parenthases (recovered)
2) I ultimately tried to boot my laptop using the Vista Home install on the HDD and got the following error message: system registry file is missing or corrupt.

Not sure if this is just noise or helpful as I have never tried to boot like this before.

 

Over 10 days and no feedback. Not sure where to turn. Not sure how long the que is or the normal waiting period is supposed to be.
Help! Is anyone out there?
Any help or assistance is appreciated

 

Hello,
If you have sticky keys enabled you can use the solution here to try and get back into the computer.

 

tgel,
Thank you for your input.
I put the drive back inot the Toshiba laptop and followed the instructions at the link you provided.

Good news is the Sticky Keys window popped up just like it said it would in the link.

Bad news is the Sticky Keys window does not have the Ease of Access shortcut nor the Yes - No buttons shown in link.

Went ahead and turned on Sticky Keys but aside from the processor running for about 60 seconds ended up in the same spot with black screen and cursor.

I an not familiar with Sticky Keys but am comfortable following instructions if you have any ideas on how to proceed.

 

Hi,

I've heard a lot about the Black Screen of Death in Vista, so much so that I thought there would be a definitive solution but upon searching I haven't found much that you haven't tried.

The answer in the second post here by ubman1 couldn't hurt and it doesn't do any damage as you are just renaming a folder and creating a new one. The problem is slightly different because you get the logon.scr error and the original poster does not but it may be worth trying since there appear to be so few solutions out there besides reloading the OS.

 

sach2, thanks for the lead.
followed ubman1 instructions in the link you posted.
Since I still got nowhere with Sticky Keys, I used the Vista Recovery CD to get to the c: prompt.
renamed the log file and created a new one, then rebooted.

Ended up in the same place except the reboot took a lot longer.
I assume that was because a new event log was being created.

Now have a black screen with cursur but so far have not got the logon.scr application error message as has appeared in the past.

The laptop seems to be totally idle (processor lite off, no activity)

Can activate the Sticky Keys Do you want to turn on Sticky keys? window by pressing left shift key 5 times. When I follow the window istruction to turn on by pressing Shift key 5 times all I hear is a zip sound but nothing on the screen changes.

Any other ideas are most welcome.

 

Maybe, try the Recovery Cd in repair mode again to see if any change. Also try Safe mode with command prompt just to be sure it still doesn't work. [I don't anticipate any change just want to be sure].

Can you describe the difference in activity a bit more? Compared to previously does the system seem to run a much shorter period of time? Did it make more noise or processor light run longer before the change? [I'm wondering if it is sitting at a login screen? Do you know if there was more than one user on the laptop or a password set?]

--I think the Sticky keys is a dead end. From the original link it had to do with the OS having started the Aero environment. In your case, as others have seen, it doesn't seem to start so you don't see the hyperlink.

 

The logon.scr application error message has reappeared about 10 minutes after the reboot.

 

I haven't tested this out but I wonder if it might be useful to get to msconfig to follow the rest of the instructions in tgell's link. [It is a way to get the computer to start a command prompt when the shift key is hit 5 times rather than sticky keys. You wouldn't do any of the password part just rename and replace the sticky key command.]

It is a matter of whether or not it works to give you a command prompt and then whether or not you can run msconfig from the command prompt.

I can't test it now but will look at it later tonight. I thought I would post it if you wanted to give it a try.

****
I've been thinking about the logon.scr error and think that is a bit of a red herring. Vista runs for several minutes and then tries to start the screensaver which fails. I was associating it with the login process but I think it is just an inactivity process.

 

Hello Sach2,
Thank you for the quick reply and the additional guidance. Have performed all tasks with the following result:

Retry CD Recovery Repair:
It ran the the same as prior repair attempts.
It is instruction me to disconnect any recently added devices or check with System Admin

Opened the repair additional details and note the following:
Last successful boot time: 2/12/2011 6:58 PM GMT (this was the time when I ran the start up repair)

It then gives system details and then tests performed including
System disk check
disk failure diagnosis
disk meta test
target OS test
volume content test
boot manager diagnosis
system boot diagnosis
event log diagnosis
internal stat check

All tests Completed Successfully

Tried to start in safe mode with the following result

ended up with the same black screen with cursor and logon.scr application error message

However, SAFE MODE and Microsoft Vista ..... are visible in the corners and top center of the screen.

How man users and is it password protected?
there is only 1 user and not password protected.

Have restarted the computer 5 or 6 times;
Startup behavior seems to the same until the balck screen/cursor appears.
Processor seems to run a lot longer with solid light before totally dimming out.

My guess is the system is sitting at login.

One additional piece of information:
When I had the HDD connected to my computer I noticed that the User folder was not visible yet when I backed up the HDD using Windows Backup I could see many Docments being saved in the backup. I can't see or find these documents when I search the HDD.

I've been wondering if there is anyway to avoid/disable the logon.scr application as I am fairly confident that the computer is working but masked by the black screen?

Ideas and suggestions are welcome and most appreciated.

 

I had a chance to test out the link in my last post and it seems to work on a functioning computer.

It would get you to a command prompt where you could type in msconfig.exe and then follow the steps in tgell's link to use Selective Startup and disable services.

 

Hello Sach2,
I'm all in and starting down the path you outlined in your last two posts.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time and effort to continue to assist in this quest to overcome the black scrren of death.

Cross your fingers as I dive in.

 

Hello Sach2,
followed all instructions and got to c:\windows\system32 prompt.
Confirmed msconfig was in this folder
then ran msconfig.exe
processor ran for nearly 4 minutes but nothing ever changed in the open window.
At 5 minutes the computer regressed back to the black screen/cursor.

Some obsrevations along the way:
When I tried to rename the sethc.exe command to sethc222.exe I kept getting a "syntax of command is incorrect"
so I just went ahead and ran the next command which was to copy cmd.exe to sethc.exe

All went according to plan as I followed the instructions in tgel's link.
Got to the same point you did C:\windows\system32

Tried to run msconfig.exe a couple of times with the same resullt
Computer went into a processing mode for nearly 4 minutes but nothing happened on the screen. In the window that opened we had a blinking cursor next to c:\windows\system32>

At the 5 minute mark the screen went to black/cursor

What to do? What to do?

 

I'm unsure how much more you can try if msconfig won't run.

Try at the command prompt to type explorer.exe and see if you get any response.

Also try taskmgr.exe and see if any response.

 

Hello Sach2,
Don't you ever rest?
thanks for the additional directions.
msconfig.exe and explorer.exe get no repsonse beyond the processor activating for a short time and the blinking cursor.
taskmgr.exe yeilded the same application error message as I got with the logon.scr

Next moves;
I am going to restore the backup I made near the begining of this journey and then re-try this last set of instructions to get me to the command prompt to try msconfig again.

I have tried a lot of different actions over the last couple of weeks and suspect I may have messed something up along the way.
Best way to know is to go back to the beginning and try to see if that makes a difference.

Wish me luck.

I will let you know how I make out.

thanks for all your guidance.

 

Good Luck with the backup/restore.

While you have the HD hooked up to your computer put this program in what would be the C: folder of the Toshiba's HD. (Download link at bottom of page)

So download and unzip on your PC and then copy the unzipped folder over to the root (C directory of the Toshiba's HD.

I don't know if it will be useful or not but I was looking at using the stickykey/cmd trick on an XP machine and I could use that nircmd program to open IE and to get a screenshot of where I was on the login screen. Just thought I'd mention it while you may have the HD hooked up to your PC.

***
I'm going to experiment on a Win7 machine to see if there is anything that can be done in terms of turning Aero on at the command prompt.

I don't have a clear path forward because I can't duplicate not being to open taskmgr or msconfig. It seems that with your machine as soon as it tries to open a window that includes buttons to push or maybe tabs it stops the application.

 

Hello Sach2,
Had to be away for a week to attend to family matter.
Back again and now proceeding down the path of trying last ditch efforts before a reinstall.
Will try your last suggestings as well.
I'll let you know how things turn out.

 

Sach2,
Let me open by thanking you for your patience and efforts to attempt to recover the operating system.
In the end I did have to reinstall the Vista operating system. At least that went fairly smoothly and the laptop is now running properly.
I did discover something that may be of use to others in the final steps of the qwuest.
I used a computer with XP pro to attempt to restore my backup to a fresh Vista install on the target HDD. It turns out I had options on how to restore the backup. The restore function on XP Pro determined that Vista was already installed on the target HDD. It then gave me an option to restore all files from the backup overwriting the Vista install, restore only files that where newer than the Vista install and another option that I can't recall the detail.
I my case I selected the install only newer files hoping that the corrupt file was going to be older in the restore. well that didn't work for me and that is when I ran out of steam and decided to do a clean install.
Now having the benefit of hindsight I would likely approach the situation slightly differently.
This time I would do a clean install and then make sure all service packs and updates are installed as well. Then go ahead with a restore and select restore only unique and/or newer files from the backup.
Now chances are very good that the corrupt file from the backup would be older than what is in the clean install.
Odlly enough the options on how to restore a backup on a Vista system do not exist. go figure.
Anyway some food for thought.
Many thanks!

lckc

 

Thanks for posting back.

It looked from the beginning that a fresh install would be necessary. You had already tried most of the viable options on your own. :major

I just figured that if you were dead set against a fresh install we could try a last ditch effort. I never was able to get around some of the permission issues when using the sticky keys trick. I know there has to be a way in but I can't break my system quite the same way yours was broken. (I can always run msconfig so that means my account isn't as limited as the one you saw).

Look at the bright side--a fresh install once a year or so is a good thing! It is even better when your personal/important documents/files are backed up.