I have a brand new desktop with a new SSD. So I installed my copy of Windows 8.1 on it and got it all done fine. When I first went to the desktop I thought to install a graphics card driver first. So I installed the NVIDIA 9800 GTX graphics driver for 64-bit Windows 8.1 found here.
However, when I did that the screen went black with my mouse flickering when I moved it. I waited for 4 hours and still nothing, the screen was black. I looked it up and saw that many people are having this issue with windows 8.1 getting a black screen upon updating.
I tried doing a fresh installation a 2nd time but now I ran windows update instead of installing nvidia's driver first. Everything downloaded and installed fine but then when I restarted same thing. It seems ANY update whatsoever will break this OS.
Anyone have any idea on what the problem is? Could it be a BIOS issue?
Best Answer
1st of all, try running Windows in safe mode (this article explains how to do that : http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/a/open-advanced-startup-options-windows-8.htm). After you boot in safe mode, Windows should load the default drivers for the video card.
If Windows is running in safe mode, you have a driver issue. You can try this driver (not sure if it will work - http://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/73218)
If Windows doesnt start in safe mode either, you should troubleshoot the video card to see if the problem is in the card.(You can do that by running a OS from a USB (like Ubuntu))
If you need more help, comment on this answer. I will see if I can help more.