Windows Startup Problems

Dinarius · 29-03-2022 7:06am #1

Windows x64.

Lately, I've been having a problem at startup and the frequency has increased.

Instead of starting to my desktop, Windows starts to a screen asking me to enter the BIOS. (See below)

If I press F1 and enter and then leave the BIOS, the computer reboots and starts normally, allowing me to use it.

Yesterday, I updated the BIOS to the most recent version, but the problem remains. (Version 4101, 10/07/2019)

Today, I'm going to update the GPU driver.

I always update Windows itself when prompted.

Any thoughts on what might be causing this.

Many thanks.

D.

Dinarius · 29-03-2022 7:23am

Ps.

I just ran sfc/scannow and it found and repaired problems.

Maybe that was my issue?

Thanks.

D.

smuggler.ie · 29-03-2022 7:26am

What drive your OS reside on?

Dinarius · 29-03-2022 7:36am

A 250Gb SSD.

Thanks.

D.

smuggler.ie · 29-03-2022 9:04am

Is it SATA or NVMe ? full detail pls

From your screenshot, system show two WD Red's and blu-ray drives. Dont see other that would be for OS.

USB #0 Sandisk - if there is USB pendrive plugged in - remove it

Lately you mentioned "box intrussion" warning - were you poking inside box? Could have your OS drive connection disturbed - reseat

PS: gosh, what are you doing that need 64GB RAM, running server with 10 VM's 🤩nice.

Dinarius · 29-03-2022 9:23am

You're right there is a USB drive plugged in. It's a reboot disc I've setup in case of another black screen. I'll remove it.

There are two 4TB spinning drives and two SSD drives (250Gb for OS and 500Gb for video files). That's it.

With video and Photoshop open, 64Gb can be eaten up, or a large chunk of it.

Tks.

D.

smuggler.ie · 29-03-2022 11:50am

Dont keep your USB boot pendrive plugged in. It only needed if you need to rebuild/repair your system. It might confuse your computer where to boot from.

How much free space you have left on OS drive - SSD's like to have 10-20% of free space for "data shifting"

Dinarius · 29-03-2022 2:39pm

I just rebooted without the USB boot drive plugged in.

I got that same startup screen again.

I went F1 > F10 to enter/exit the BIOS. As usual, the computer rebooted and the normal desktop appeared. But, it's happening more frequently now.

The free space on the OS drive says, 47Gb/21%. Doesn't junk build up with successive updates? How can I maximise space on this drive?

Any further thoughts on the bad startup screen?

Thanks.

D.

smuggler.ie · 29-03-2022 5:16pm

Coming from that its not Win startup error i guess it is related to hardware or BIOS settings itself

See if BIOS "splash screen" not set for something crazy

Try reset BIOS to factory defaults

Once you get this screen, proceed into BIOS and verify your OS drive is present/recognized there at that moment

See if OS drive set as first boot device in BIOS

There is opinions that you might need to "re-train" your board/BIOS to OS disk location:

Remove/disconnect ALL drives and boot PC till it comes back with error "no boot device", then install OS drive only into final destination port, set BIOS boot order and save/boot/reboot. Then populate other disks.

~20% free space is about fine. Win updates should cleanup after itself in time. You can force-clean it but this would remove update history and , potentially, ability to roll-back if something cranky goes on.

Depend on mail usage, good chunk of space could be consumed by outlook datafile that is on C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook by default.

If found yourself in shortage of space on C:\ better upgrade disk rather "cleanup operation" - in many cases hard to maintain and lead to more problems, my personal take.

Dinarius · 30-03-2022 7:28am

In BIOS, Boot Option #1 is set to the 250Gb C: drive, which is correct.

#2 is set to one of the 4TB spinning drives.

#3 is set to "ASUS BW-16D1HT" - what is that?

Boot Override is set to....

P2: ASUS BW-16D1HT (first item on the list. the correct drive is the second item on the Boot Override list)

So, is this what it's now booting to, instead of Boot Option #1?

Thanks.

D.

Dinarius · 30-03-2022 8:24am

Ps.

In System Config/General, Selective Startup is selected, not Normal Startup.

Also, in Selective Startup, Load Sys. Services and Load Startup Items are ticked, but not Use original boot configuration.

Are these choices all ok?

Thanks.

D.

smuggler.ie · 30-03-2022 8:49am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118854608#Comment_118854608

ASUS BW-16D1HT is your blu-ray DVD drive - you can ignore that as long your OS drive is first option to boot. I you wish , you can drop WD Red down the list as its ulikely you will have Win on it ever.

"Override" is manual - you can ignore that too

smuggler.ie · 30-03-2022 9:05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118854794#Comment_118854794

this is wrong, perhaps you have left it or its "stuck" after last troubleshooting... , see here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/the-msconfig-startup-selection-reverts-from-normal-to-selective-startup-4b506ba7-961e-8d4f-4bf0-51a0a98aaf56

It should be "Norma startup"

Timfy · 30-03-2022 9:25am

Without wanting to teach my granny how to suck eggs...

Have you tried another keyboard... it may be as simple as a key binding at startup.

smuggler.ie · 30-03-2022 10:35am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118855045#Comment_118855045

I was thinking of that, but ... screenshot is not in BIOS (as if F1 would be hit/stuck), to me looks like "splash screen" before it hits Win OS

homer911 · 30-03-2022 11:01am

What version of windows are you using? Are you using UEFI mode and Secure boot?

Dinarius · 30-03-2022 1:47pm

I've reverted to Normal Startup.

I'm using Windows 10 x64. I have no idea if I'm using UEFI mode and Secure boot. You'd have to tell me where to look. :)

In the photo I posted above, my two SSD drives are not mentioned in "Detected Devices". Why is this?

Can I go into BIOS and make BOOT "relearn" (reset) which drive it must boot to?

Thanks.

D.

smuggler.ie · 30-03-2022 2:07pm

RUN>>msinfo32

or

CMD (as admin)>>bcdedit

winload.exe = legacy

winload.efi = UEFI

Dinarius · 30-03-2022 2:11pm

Thanks. Will take a look.

In BIOS, I clicked BOOT Menu (F8) and it lists as follows...

P2: ASUS BW-16D1HT

Windows Boot Manager (Samsung SSD 960 EVO 250GB)

P9 - 4TB HD

P10 - 4TB HD

Samsung SSD 500GB

Samsung SSD 250GB

So, the Blueray drive is listed first. But, the drive with the OS on it comes second and it has Windows Boot Manager next to it.

Does that make any difference?

Thanks.

D.

Dinarius · 30-03-2022 2:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118856685#Comment_118856685

Yes, to both of the above.

D.

smuggler.ie · 30-03-2022 2:18pm

You didnt specify if your "C:\" drive is SATA SSD or NVMe M.2 (edit; ignore, missed post above)

If SATA, i would expect it to appear on the list at the splash screen (potentially as P0 or P1) irrelevant to boot mode, hense suspect disk is not detected on startup

Not certain how it would read if it is NVMe

Dinarius · 30-03-2022 2:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118856728#Comment_118856728

Thanks.

The drives are SATA-III 6.0Gbs

So, can I reset the BIOS so that it is forced to recognize the startup SSD without having to start disconnecting/reconnecting anything? (Putting my head under the hood.) In other words, can I do it from within BIOS or somewhere in Windows?

Cheers.

D.

smuggler.ie · 30-03-2022 2:44pm

you can reset to "factory defaults" from within BIOS. you will loose any BIOS settings you had applied there.

This below with PC powered down/cord disconnected

you can, and there is no harm, reset CMOS - you might need to set time in BIOS again. Refer to board manual or just remove "button" battery , then press-and-hold power button for 3-5 sec

disconnecting drives should not be complex - removing data and power cables is enough, no need physical removal. Just take notes(and pictures) what is where. Skip if not confident, however, disconnecting and reconnecting drive could prove connection was loose/poor and it could be cause of this issue. Same time check connections to the board itself

smuggler.ie · 30-03-2022 2:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118856707#Comment_118856707

..ta hell, missed this post

Win boot manager is the right one, DVD being first should not be and issue i general, once boot files not detected there(no disk), BIOS should proceed to next option.

Dinarius · 30-03-2022 3:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118856943#Comment_118856943

Ok. Thanks.

So, back to square one, then.

As long as I can get it to start long-hand - when I enter and exit BIOS, it then proceeds to normal startup - I can live with it.

Just annoying. That's all.

D.

Dinarius · 11-04-2022 2:27pm

I replaced the CMOS battery on the MB and it's booting normally so far.

D.

Windows Startup Problems

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