Dark outlines around desktop icons progressing to black screens. Easy fix for old chemistry major?

Based on the symptoms and the steps already tried, the next low-risk path is:

1. Try the graphics reset when the screen starts going black
   Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B. This resets the graphics driver. If the issue is only a temporary display/driver stall, the screen should flicker or beep and recover.
2. Use the built-in black-screen checks
   If the display goes black again:
   • Press Windows + P, then press P again and Enter to cycle display modes.
   • Press Ctrl + Alt + Del and open Task Manager.
   • If Task Manager opens, restart Windows Explorer.
3. Check the shell setting again
   Since the shell path was already checked, confirm that this registry value is still correct:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
   The Shell value must be explorer.exe. Warning: registry changes are risky. Back up the registry before changing anything.
4. Do a clean boot
   A clean boot is the documented next step when black screen appears after sign-in and the shell setting is correct. Its purpose is to identify whether a startup app or service is causing Explorer or the desktop shell to fail.
5. If clean boot does not isolate it, check whether Explorer is hanging
   Open Event Viewer:
   • Press Windows + R
   • Run eventvwr.msc
   • Go to Windows Logs > Application
   • Look for Event ID 1000 around the time of the problem
   • Check whether it references explorer.exe or userinit.exe
6. If Explorer or userinit is involved, capture diagnostic data
   If Task Manager is accessible during the issue, check whether explorer.exe and userinit.exe are running on the Details tab.
   • If they are running, capture dumps with ProcDump:

          procdump -ma explorer.exe explorer.dmp
          procdump -ma userinit.exe userinit.dmp
     

   • If they are not running or appear to exit, use Process Monitor boot logging or configure ProcDump to capture on exit:

          Procdump -e 1 -x C:\Temp explorer.exe
     

7. For blank or damaged icons specifically, clear the icon cache and re-register Shell Experience Host
   Since icon corruption is part of the symptom pattern, the documented steps are:
   • End Windows Explorer in Task Manager
   • Run elevated cmd.exe
   • Run:

          CD /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
          DEL IconCache.db /a
     

   • Restart explorer.exe
   Then open elevated PowerShell and run:

      Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation -like "*ShellExperienceHost*"} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
   

   Restart Windows afterward.
8. If the issue started after a Windows 11 upgrade or corruption is suspected, use the Windows repair reinstall path
   One accepted Microsoft Q&A resolution for recurring Explorer-related black background behavior is Settings > System > Recovery > Reinstall now in the Fix problems with Windows Updates section. That process is described as repairing Windows corruption without affecting files, settings, or installed apps.

For the concern about Outlook files, Office, and access to the PC: the provided material does not include a documented procedure for repairing a corrupted user profile or preserving Outlook data during profile repair, so the supported guidance here is to use the black-screen troubleshooting path above rather than profile-repair steps.

References:

• Troubleshooting blank screens in Windows
• Scenario guide: Black screen after you sign in to the system
• Application shortcuts on the desktop, Start menu, and taskbar show blank icons
• Background of my laptop screen turns black when I have multiple apps open, Windows 11 - Microsoft Q&A