After installing a fresh Windows 10 version, the flashing underscore and the Windows logo appear.
After installing a fresh Windows 10 version, the flashing underscore and the Windows logo appear.
Earlier I encountered a damaged file and my computer got stuck in an endless Windows 11 update cycle. I went to Best Buy, bought a new M.2 SSD, and installed Windows 10 there. Now whenever I power on my PC, it shows a blinking underscore in the top right corner for a couple of seconds before displaying the Windows logo with the loading wheel instead of the usual ROG logo. I understand this suggests the system can't locate the right boot file, even though I've set the correct storage device for boot in BIOS. This problem is making my PC start up slower and it's really frustrating. Anyone have any advice or help?
It seems the disks aren't accessible in the BIOS as expected. The BIOS should correctly display them. Are there any features in your BIOS that enable secure erasure of disks? I'm checking if BITLocker from the previous setup is interfering. If we perform a secure wipe, clear partitions, and retry, would that work? I’m open to focusing on hardware fixes first—secure boot, CSM, UEFI issues, etc. Would it help to install just one disk, reset BIOS defaults, and then try again? Also, remove any USB devices other than your USB key, keyboard, and mouse. Verify the boot order so the HDD appears as the Windows Boot Partition after installation.
Uncertain about the impact since I've managed to start without the other M.2 slot connected. The earlier setup might still influence the new one even if the previous device isn't plugged in. The boot process only displays the device name with the installation, not necessarily its state.