Question PC stuck on "Press DEL or F2 for BIOS..." every other time I boot it up

[padfooot]

Wasn't sure if this is the correct sub-forum to post this under, let me know if it belongs elsewhere!

So as the title says, approx. every other time I boot my PC up, it gets stuck on the startup page where you can press F2 or DEL to enter BIOS. This comes along with my HDD making a strange noise (I've opened the case to locate the sound and it's very clearly coming from the hard drive). I have an M.2 SSD with my Windows installed on it, which I've had no problems with so far. This only started happening the last week and I decided to come here for some help. This noise coming from the hard drive only comes whenever it gets stuck in this state, it's quiet when Windows does boot.
As far as solutions go, I've cleaned the inside of the case, tried unplugging USB-dongles and plugged the hard drive in and out. Still it gets stuck on the same screen about every other time I boot it up. Would appreciate some help! Current solution is just shutting it off and booting back up whenever it happens and I'm fine, the hard drive doesn't make any noises when Windows actually boots, and it's all good. Though it would seem like it is definitely not.
My build:

• ASUS TUF B360M-Plus Gaming, S-1151
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-9400F CPU @ 2.90GHz
• NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB
• 32.0 GB RAM

My first time posting here, so let me know if I need to give more info. Ty : ]

 

[Lutfij]

Please mention the make and model of your PSU and it's age. As for your rams, got a link to what you're working with? Per your motherboard, what BIOS version are you on for said motherboard at this moment of time? Did you try working with only one stick of ram to see if that revives the system? Your OS is on an HDD?

My first time posting here, so let me know if I need to give more info.
em, you've been with us a long while.

 

[padfooot]

Please mention the make and model of your PSU and it's age. As for your rams, got a link to what you're working with? Per your motherboard, what BIOS version are you on for said motherboard at this moment of time? Did you try working with only one stick of ram to see if that revives the system? Your OS is on an HDD?

My first time posting here, so let me know if I need to give more info.
em, you've been with us a long while.

Right. Starting with the PSU, it is the only part in my computer I have yet to upgrade, since I first bought it late 2014, making it about 8 years old. It is a CoolerMaster B500 ver.2. I guess replacing this would be the obvious solution, but I feel there's more to it.
As for the rams, I'm running two HyperX Fury RGB DDR4 2666MHz 16GB sticks and two Kingston Fury Beast Black DDR4 2666MHz.
My BIOS version is 2601.
As stated in the post, I have my OS installed on an M.2 SSD, not the HDD (which simply has documents and pictures stored, and has also been in the computer for 8 years). I also have a newer second SSD on which I store different files. While this works like a charm, 50% of the time when I boot my computer up the past week, it does what I explained in the post: the HDD (NOT the SSD, on which I have Windows installed) starts making this noise, and it freezes up on the "Press F2..." screen. It also does not register keyboard input, so I have to shut the computer down, and boot it up again, after which it boots perfectly fine, no weird noises or anything.

..and I suppose I have asked a question here once or twice before.

 

[geofelt]

Was windows ever installed on the HDD?
When you installed windows on the SSD, was the HDD present?
If so, you may have a bootloader on the HDD.

Another possible source of problems is the non matched ram.
If a motherboard does not like your ram settings, it will enter the bios and try different settings to get things to work.

 

[padfooot]

Was windows ever installed on the HDD?
When you installed windows on the SSD, was the HDD present?
If so, you may have a bootloader on the HDD.

Another possible source of problems is the non matched ram.
If a motherboard does not like your ram settings, it will enter the bios and try different settings to get things to work.

I did once have Windows on it, but I've since used another SSD for Windows and somewhat recently switched to the M.2 SSD.
The HDD would have been connected to the computer when I installed it on the SSD, yes. Then formatted the HDD, now only store files on it. How would I know if I still somehow have a bootloader on the HDD, and how would I go about removing it?
I also suspect (and other people have suggested) that the drive is dying, and the stuck boot is a result of it failing to be initialized?