Question PC freezes at startup unless I enter BIOS first?
Question PC freezes at startup unless I enter BIOS first?
This situation is really putting me under pressure. Over the past week I've faced this problem and I'm running out of options, with reinstalling Windows being something I definitely don't want to do. I would really appreciate any assistance you can provide.
When I power on my PC, it reaches the Windows boot screen (showing the motherboard logo and spinning circle) but freezes and doesn't start at all. However, if I enter the BIOS first and then exit, the system boots normally. The PC functions perfectly otherwise, which makes me puzzled. I'm unsure whether the problem lies with hardware or with Windows itself. Given that my machine is new and has worked well before, I'm leaning towards a software issue.
I've tried several solutions:
- Turning off fast startup
- Running DISM and /sfc scannow repeatedly (no issues found)
- Performing a Startup Repair (failed with the message about a corrupted boot binary)
- Disconnecting non-essential peripherals
- Updating to the latest Windows version
- Removing recent Windows updates
- Adjusting BIOS settings (none helped)
- Resetting BIOS via CMOS
- Checking boot priorities in BIOS
- Re-seating RAM and GPU
- Running drive health checks (all indicate healthy drives)
- Reinstalling BIOS
Despite these efforts, the PC remains fully functional outside of this boot problem. I can still operate using the BIOS workaround, but it's becoming increasingly frustrating each time I have to restart and try to resolve the matter. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Edit: For clarity, here are some basic specifications:
CPU: Ryzen 5800X with a decent cooler
GPU: RTX 3080
RAM: 16GB DDR4
Motherboard: MSI X570 Gaming Edge Wifi
Drives: A 1TB Samsung 970 Evo M2 (boot drive), a 4TB Seagate Barracuda HDD, and a 2TB SSD (brand not remembered)
Power Supply: Unknown make (can be identified later when needed), but it's reliable and sufficient
Voltage & wattage: Not specified
Have you attempted running bootcfg /rebuild to check? I recall the clue you mentioned about Startup Repair failing due to a recently serviced boot binary being corrupt. You could also try booting with logging enabled, which is available when you select Advanced Startup by holding Shift and powering on, to observe any details.
Windows 10 doesn't have bootcfg /rebuild. I'm assuming you meant bootrec instead? Either way, attempting to access the Recovery Environment via restart doesn't work because it consistently freezes on boot in that case, even if I go to BIOS. I'll try again some more later and grab a recovery drive if not.
I've enabled boot logging and gone through the log of a successful boot, and everything looks normal. In case I've missed anything, here's the log on Pastebin:
https://pastebin.com/SbkLsmNJ
You didn't encounter any issues with Direct X, as it would load once the Desktop is reached. Have you already attempted a normal boot, opened MSConfig, and performed a clean installation? If not, try that approach and observe the outcome. When you restart, avoid entering BIOS and let it remain active. Check if it eventually transitions to Windows or remains unresponsive like a stuck log.