PC fails to start and displays the ASUS loading screen?
PC fails to start and displays the ASUS loading screen?
Hello everyone. I’m facing some issues with my gaming PC built in 2019. It performed perfectly until last week when I put it to sleep for the weekend. When I returned home, it froze on the Windows 10 screen after entering my four-digit password. I turned off the power and restarted, but now it’s stuck on the ASUS loading screen. I managed to enter the BIOS by holding the power button down for three seconds, but it still takes about 5 to 10 minutes for the BIOS to load. I’m unsure if I should perform a hard reset every time to access the BIOS, but it seems to take an extremely long time.
I’ve tried changing the battery on the motherboard and fixed the time/date settings, but nothing worked. I also removed the GPU to inspect the SATA cables connecting to both the SSD and HDD, but still had no success. I used fresh SATA cables and even swapped out the HDD because I was concerned it might be damaged due to the many family photos stored on it. The SSD, which is the main drive for Windows 10, appears to be functioning correctly in the BIOS. The settings look unchanged from when I set it up, but when trying to boot from the boot menu to the Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB drive, the BIOS freezes.
I’m guessing there’s an issue with my motherboard, SSD, or Windows. It’s possible I made an update over the weekend and ended up in sleep mode, which might have caused this. I didn’t update the BIOS or make any changes, yet something clearly went wrong. It’s possible the SSD failed completely.
Update: I removed the ASUS CD-ROM drive so the motherboard can only boot from the SSD. Now the BIOS appears to load immediately after a restart, but it still doesn’t boot from the drive. It shows a black screen with the message: “Reboot and Select proper Boot Device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key.”
What should I do next? For now, I can enter the BIOS without waiting so long, but it seems my SSD might be the root cause.
Asus Prime z390-A motherboard BIOS version 1005
Intel i5-9600K 3.70GHz
Speed: 3700 MHz
Memory: 16384 MB DDR4 2133MHz
BIOS recognizes memory in DRAM
Dimm A2: G-skill 8192MB 2133MHz
Dimm B2: G-skill 8192MB 2133MHz
CPU temperature: 30°C
CPU voltage: 1.012 V
Motherboard temperature: 29°C
X.M.P. disabled
Overclocking: Normal
Storage info (AHCI):
Sata6g_2: Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB
Sata6g_6: ASUS DRW-24B1ST
Do you have a USB with the Win10 installer to test booting and repair options? Or would you need access to another computer, family member, or friend who could run the media creation tool if necessary?
I used to have a usb drive with Windows 10 installed on it, which was around the time I built this PC. It might be better to upgrade to the latest version? Right now I only have an iPhone and iPad, so I’ll need someone who’s willing to let me use their computer or laptop. I’m also thinking about switching to Windows 11 and upgrading this PC with a Samsung 990 Pro 2tb PCIe NVMe drive. Do you think that’s a good idea?
I just need to get my PC back online so I can test the SSD and see if it still functions. I’ll likely try the Windows 10 repair option first, just like you suggested, but I’ll have to find a way to install it on a USB drive.
Thanks for your assistance! I just checked a nearby shop and intend to contact them this week. I believe my local Micro Center might be able to assist if I purchase the drive from them. That seems like the most reasonable option right now. Additionally, when I was assembling the computer, I intended to set up RAID with several SSD drives, but I never managed to figure out the details. I’m not sure if it’s even feasible or practical with different drive types, so I’ll likely do some research and ask the technician for guidance. It seemed too complicated at the time, so I decided to stick with an SSD and added an HDD for extra storage. I’m just going to remain positive and use this time without my PC working to learn more. A lot has changed in the PC world since I built this, and I need to keep up with all the new features. Plus, it’s making me take a break from gaming and honestly, I probably need that. Lol.
There's no real benefit to raid, just keep it simple and leave them single drives.