Windows Users Experience Black Screen of Death
By Chris Weiss
Not quite as sinister and frightening as the dreaded blue screen of death, but equally startling, the black screen of death is a recent phenomenon that has affected many Windows users. Apparently, during a security update earlier this month, Microsoft made some bad changes to the Access Control List (ACL) that result in a blank black screen that sometimes includes an open My Computer window. The black screen appears on login and locks the computer up. If you don’t already know it well, consider yourself lucky.
Luckily for Microsoft, the black void doesn’t affect only Windows 7 users, but has been reported by users of older versions of Windows including XP and Vista. So at least it’s not a knock limited to its prized new OS.
So what do you do if you experience this debilitating black screen? Apparently wait around. In an email, Microsoft explains: “Microsoft is investigating reports that its latest release of security updates is resulting in system issues for some customers. Once we complete our investigation, we will provide detailed guidance on how to prevent or address these issues.”
In the meantime, software company Prevx has issued a downloadable fix and step-by-step instructions toward a solution. [via PC World]
