Problem encountered during startup beyond the BIOS setup.
Problem encountered during startup beyond the BIOS setup.
Hi everyone,
Apologies for posting in the wrong thread—I'm just starting out as a new poster.
I’m experiencing problems getting my PC to boot past the BIOS. This has been an issue for years until now. I received a notification that Secure Boot was required to play The Finals. I looked up instructions and found it necessary to adjust the BIOS settings. After saving and exiting, I returned to the BIOS with CMS disabled, which is the default for my SSD setup. Now I can’t see boot options in “Boot Option Priorities,” and I’m unable to enable CMS or turn off Secure Boot. My SSD still appears during boot.
I’ve tried resetting the CMOS, but it didn’t help. I read that my GPU might be blocking Secure Boot, so I unplugged it and still couldn’t get the display working through the motherboard. After removing the SSD, restarting the PC, and reinserting it, the problem persisted. I also tried connecting it to a different port, but that didn’t resolve anything.
I’m not an IT expert, so please correct me if I’m wrong, but my main concern is that I can’t save CMS as enabled—it reverts back to Disabled after a restart. I also can’t disable Secure Boot because it comes back enabled once saved and exited.
Here’s a quick overview of my system:
- Intel Core i7 13700KF
- Z790 Aorus Elite AX DDR4
- 2070 Gaming Super
- 4x 16GB G.SKILL DDR4 RAM
- SSD with OS: Kingston SUV40
- 1TB HDD
- 2TB HDD
- 1TB Kingston SKC3000S1024G NVMe 4.0 (installed later than the 250GB SSD)
I’ve searched online for three hours and found only one suggestion I haven’t tried: a fresh Windows installation. I’d rather avoid that, so if anyone has advice or an alternative, please let me know.
Thank you all for your help.
Exactly how do you confirm that?
🤔
Windows 10/11 works without requiring CMS enabled. Windows 7, when set up under Legacy or BIOS, does need it.
Yes, your CPU lacks an integrated graphics card. So, eliminating a dedicated GPU means no display output.
If the system’s storage is functional, you might format it and perform a fresh Windows installation.
However, I’d prefer using a second drive—ideally brand new—and install the OS there. Before starting the Windows setup, remove the old OS drive from the system entirely.
After the system starts up (booting into the OS), reconnect the old drive when the PC is powered off and run it as a data source. This allows you to transfer your personal files without losing them.
As for what caused the issue, I believe the storage drive failed (or became corrupted). That’s why the BIOS doesn’t recognize the boot loader and can’t boot into the OS. Without an OS to load, the PC will repeatedly return to the BIOS.
Thank you for your response. Apologies, I was at work and asleep.
Based on what I can see in the easy mode BIOS screen under the SATA Tab, it seems the SSD is being detected.
I swapped out my motherboard and CPU to my current specifications about eight months ago, and to boot the SSD I had to use Legacy mode.
That must be the reason.
Cheers
Thank you, I’ll try this if all else fails. I just read a forum post from someone who wants to reformat their SSD first, and if that works, I’ll go with it.
That makes sense. I’m still confused about how or why this happened—it was working fine until I changed the BIOS.
Again, thank you for your reply
Replaced? Or upgraded?
Since when you upgraded, then a fresh, clean Windows installation is essential. Your current setup is seen as a brand new system.
Here’s a possible interpretation:
When you upgraded and transferred the OS drive, did you not enter BIOS at all? Was the first time you entered BIOS during the initial build before this change occurred?
If yes, it might have been MoBo checking which hardware the Windows installation is compatible with. Once confirmed that the installation isn’t meant for your current hardware, MoBo would likely respond: "No, this OS isn't designed for your device."
Alternatively, the operating system could have become corrupted, especially if it was originally installed for a different hardware setup.