Boot problems
Boot problems
I’m facing some uncertainty about my current setup. My desktop is less than a year old and was functioning properly until yesterday when it restarted itself after being used by my son, getting stuck in a bootloop. I see the Asus logo (since I have an Asus motherboard) with "Preparing Automatic Repair," followed by a reboot after a short delay. This issue also occurs with the Windows USB installer—without the automatic repair option—showing the same logo and then rebooting. I’ve tried using two copies, but I can still access non-Windows bootable drives or a Windows PE disk with some tools. I attempted to repair the MBR on a Windows PE disk using DSIM and other utilities, though it didn’t work. The disk appears to be present, files seem intact, and chkdsk didn’t detect any errors.
The unusual part is that the USB drive itself doesn’t boot the install media. My system specifications are:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 4.5 GHz 8-Core Processor
- CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 66.17 CFM
- Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX X670E-F GAMING WIFI ATX AM5
- Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30
- Storage: Samsung 990 Pro w/Heatsink 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME SSD (System), another 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME SSD (Apps)
- Storage: Western Digital Blue 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM HDD (Data)
- Video Card: Sapphire NITRO+ Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB
- Case: be quiet! Pure Base 500DX ATX Mid Tower
- Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power 13 1000 W 80+ Titanium Certified Modular ATX
- Case Fans: three units, all 97.41 CFM 140 mm fans
Initial BIOS changes I made included enabling secure boot, activating EXPO, and turning off integrated graphics. After resetting the BIOS, the same issues persist. I’m unsure what to try next.
Create a USB drive model?
Have you found another functional USB drive to test?
Can you replace the existing cable with another known working one?
Is the USB drive powered: 1) solely through the host's USB port, 2) can it be driven independently, or 3) is it connected to its own powered USB hub?
It's a USB thumb drive - SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 128GB. Notably, it works on my laptop, but here are some observations:
* The problem matches what happens when booting from the system drive.
* A different drive of the same type, with a reduced OS version (Windows PE for backup software), also functions.
* I attempted another Windows install on another USB drive and encountered the same issue.
USB relies solely on the port power.
I tried restoring the system drive using the last backup I had (which was early in the day before it failed) but still can't boot. Perhaps a slightly older backup would help...
Disabled in BIOS:
* Ethernet
* Wifi
* Bluetooth
* USB Audio
* SATA (which has a data drive HDD attached)
My next approach is to remove components one by one (graphics card and the two NVME drives, plus each RAM stick). Beyond that, I don't see any other potential causes except the motherboard or CPU...
The Windows installation media uses WindowsRE, which is a more modern version of WindowsPE. WindowsRE is the Windows Recovery Environment, it's WindowsPE (the Preinstall Environment) plus additional features to aid in recovery. That your system boots PE and not RE is a major curiosity.
I assume the BIOS POSTS with no issues?
Try a smaller USB drive, 128GB is way larger than you need for either PE or RE and that might be an issue. 8GB is plenty big enough for either PE or RE.
I would ask your son for full details of what he was doing at the time. No blame attached but knowing exactly what he did might be helpful. Stuff rarely breaks out of the blue, there is generally a trigger.
Ok. More weirdness.
* It's not just Windows RE or my installed windows. I tried booting into Hiren's boot CD PE. That also failed. But my Backup software PE still works..
* It's not all versions of Linux. Earlier I was trying some barebones Linux Live CDs, along with utils like Memtest86 and Ultimate Boot CD. All of those worked. But tried Lubuntu and that failed.
* So this leads me to believe that when some driver is attempted, it fails. Not sure what though and how to proceed with this info.
To answer the other questions
* Yes BIOS POSTs fine. I see the Asus logo, can get into BIOS setup.
* Tried an 8gb USB drive, still failed
* My son was launching Madden 25 from Steam. He said he saw the splash screen, pressed the button to continue, and it just rebooted.
I believe there might be a broader issue; I'd begin by checking the power source.
I concur with what has been said; this likely points to a hardware issue, making the PSU a reasonable starting point.
Disconnect all external devices, leaving only mouse, keyboard, and monitor connected. Use wired connections for keyboard and mouse instead of wireless.
Disable the RAM overclock (through DOCP/XMP) and set the RAM to run at its native (SPD) speeds. Also, remember that your CPU can only guarantee a maximum RAM speed of 5200MHz.
Remove the RAM sticks one at a time, ensuring each is placed in the correct slot as specified in the motherboard manual—typically slot A2.
Unplug or remove all storage drives except the system drive.
Take out the graphics card and connect it to the motherboard port via the iGPU on the CPU.
Recent findings:
During yesterday’s testing I noticed I hadn’t installed a speaker on the MB, which meant I wasn’t hearing the POST beep. After installing it, I received the standard beep and then an immediate reboot at roughly the same moment.
I removed SATA, the graphics card, and the secondary NVME drive. RAM sticks were tested individually with EXPO off – the same problem persisted. CMOS was cleared each time.
Even when the primary NVME drive was disconnected to check for booting from the Windows USB drive, the issue remained unchanged.
Twice during minimal configuration boots I encountered a VGA post error (a long beep followed by three short ones). Rebooting resolved the problem.
After reinstalling components I completely turned off integrated graphics to determine if that caused the issue, given the VGA error.
The next step is testing the PSU – I don’t have a compatible tester for 3.0 PSUs, so it will arrive tomorrow from Amazon. I’m anxious about removing all my cables...
If this isn’t the cause, I suspect it’s related to the CPU or Motherboard. Since I haven’t made any changes, there’s no warranty concern, but I’m unsure how to confirm without replacing either part...
Remove the RAM sticks, then thoroughly clean them and the RAM slots. I suggest using a liquid electronics cleaner if available—it’s the very cold spray that dries quickly. I faced the same problem and had it repaired by a service center after sending my PC there. The issue became apparent when I first connected an Ethernet cable to my computer. RAM problems are quite unusual.
So it's been a few weeks now, but I'm finally back with a functional desktop. I thought it would be useful to share my troubleshooting process since my last update in case anyone faces the same situation later on.
* Attempted cleaning the RAM and DIMM slots – nothing worked.
* Tried installing new RAM – also unsuccessful.
* Checked the PSU and everything was fine.
* Finally, replaced the motherboard board last night. It was the same model, but I bought a new one, planning to return the old one via RMA as I’ll be swapping another system around in the house soon. The same ******* PROBLEM still exists.
* The only remaining issue that seemed likely was the CPU – so I stayed overnight with a new CPU from Amazon and installed it this morning. It booted into Windows.
This was quite an unusual situation. Over the years I've dealt with many hardware/software problems, but nothing as confusing as this one. (Usually if the problem was hardware, it was the RAM, and I had a motherboard failure once...). I wouldn't have guessed at the CPU because I could access some systems via USB but not others, and the stress tests came back normal.
My guess (without proof yet, just speculation) is that something went wrong with TPM – I even tried resetting it. Just a theory, but I'm not sure what else could be causing this.
The good news is my system is back up. I now have spare parts available (RAM, MBoard) that I’ll keep on hand as backups or for future rebuilds...
Thanks for all your advice – really appreciated.