I updated my Maxtor video driver and now when I

Restart your computer and then press and hold F8 keys until you get Advanced Options menu screen.Use the arrow key to highlight Safe Mode, and then press Enter, your computer will boot automatically to safe mode.
If you able to start in the safe mode then Scan your computer for viruses. Some viruses can cause a black Screen , especially ones that infect the master boot record (MBR) or boot sector.
Update drivers for your hardware. black Screens are hardware or driver related so updated drivers could fix the cause of the STOP error.
Return BIOS settings to their default levels. An overclocked or misconfigured BIOS can cause all sorts of random issues, including black screen.
If it didn't helps you then simply get the system utility program like PC Fresher that will fix windows errors that cause of black screen screen

you should check your video card,and try to upgrade any drivers you have,or go to video card website and check for updates,unplug card from computer,and reinstall reboot and hit F8 button and go into safe mode,go to control panel,hardware manager and look for your video card,clik on plus sign and open it look for update your card or roll back drivers,clik to update and go to file with update and install, then after install, reboot, chek computer video, see if improves if not sounds like video card is done....

You should try to boot in safe mode without the card removed..If this got on after an update it is possible (almost sure) it messed up with your graphic card driver and now it needs to be reinstalled > To do so ..try to boot in safe mode...To do that press the key indicated on screen for boot menu and choose safe mode ...usually it is f8 key or f12 ..depend on the model .If it seams not to be able to find the safe mode boot ..try to stop the computer by unplugging it ..This will force it to stop improper way ..and will show the screen for safe mode and other ways to boot-up .select the first safe mode ..and let it start ..This mode will not load any drivers and work just with the minimum needed for to start .Go to control panel ...remove programs ..and remove the graphic card driver from the list ..after that if you have the disk insert it and run the driver again in original ..If you do not have it look for it on the manufacturer's site ..and download it ..
If you need help with the driver ..let me know exact model of the computer ..and if it is not an on board card I need to know the exact model of the video card ..

The screen goes black while in normal mode right? So try to boot in safe mode (power on then keep tapping F8 then select safe mode). Check if still happens in safe mode.

If screen does not goes black in safe mode it means there might be a software or driver causes problem when running in normal mode. You can try the following (update your anti virus software then run a full system scan, uninstall the video driver then download and install the latest one, uninstall any previous windows update or you can system restore to the time when it was working fine).

If the screen goes black even in safe mode they try connecting the laptop to an external monitor if still goes black, if yes then absolutely no issues with the LCD panel. You can try (uninstall and reinstall the video driver if still persist then this might end up replacing video card or motherboard, but before doing that update the BIOS first).

If does not goes black in ext monitor then the LCD panel might causes the problem. Reseat the LCD cable or inverter if you can.

Screen Goes Black After Splash Screen

This sounds like a driver may have been updated, changed or has become corrupt, either after a bad update or virus/malware attack. Reboot the computer in safe mode with networking…when the computer reboots, open the control panel > device manager (in XP the device manager is in the system folder) > scroll to the display adapter. Right click on the adapter and roll-back the driver. Click yes and apply if necessary. Reboot the computer, it should reboot and display with no issue. It may ask (if you are automatically connected to the internet) if it can search windows update for a fresh driver….since you know what to do in case of a failed update, click yes and get a fresh driver. I would then do a complete virus and anti-malware scan to make sure the system is clean.

You need to make sure you have your graphic card drivers installled first.

You may need to update them

Then try again

reboot the computer in "safe mode with networking" by rebooting the machine and during the manufactures name screen, tap the F8 key and you will see the muli-boot menu come up. Safe mode usually loads a resolution the video card and monitor agree on. You may have corrupt video drivers that give the black screen. While in safe mode, go online to windows update and let it scan your system, choose custom installation and look for the optional updates, these will be the hardware drivers you need to update your system. Check them all if you like and let windows install them automatically. Once done reboot normally and see if that clears the problem.

From your description, you were able to boot the machine properly in Safe Mode. While in Safe Mode, change the video resolution to the lowest possible (color depth does not matter at this point). You should also check that you are configured for single monitor operation if your video card supports multiple monitors. Reboot the machine normally. If all goes well, you can readjust your video settings for a higher resolution again.

sounds like you have a heating problem I need More information to help you, try pulling the side off the pc and blow off the cpu fan with compressed air for a computer store also blow out the monitor as best you can, next start up the computer but go into safe mode by pressing F8 before windows loads load without networking if it works there and does not turn off you have a driver problem after performing the first two suggestions if it stays on reboot hit F8 again before windows loads and click load in safe mode with networking then go to Microsoft's help page it's http://www.microsoft.safety.clean and run their cleaner if it detects a bug remove them then go to microsoft support and download the latest drivers next defrag the computer in safe mode then go to www.drivers.com and run scan for driver updates there it will give you a list of out of date drivers for your entire computer save the screen in word by using the ctrl V and ctrl p and then reboot normally and if windows stays on go to the driver site and down load all the latest drivers, next go to male-ware bytes and download their free trial software and run a scan on your computer. The latest virus has did ansi bombs with Delaware and worms and has killed your monitor drivers once you run the male-ware and remove the virus's and worms reboot to safe mode do disk cleanup and then do disk defrag in safe mode. good luck.

If you see something during reboot it's probably a video driver issue. Hold down power key till the pc shuts off, turn back on, keep pressing F8 till you get a boot menu. Pick Safe Mode. Once back into the desktop, see if you can either rollback your system or update your driver.