[SOLVED] PC won't go past BIOS

[Skpstr]

Hi all, having an issue with my PC. It had been running with no issues whatsoever since replacing the mobo 4 months ago, and upgrading the GPU at Christmas.

A couple weeks ago, I went to move my tower to another room. (switched off the PSU before unplugging)

When I turned it back on, it hung on the BIOS screen for probably a minute or more, and then the same or more time to load Windows 7. (previously, it was basically 20 sec. or less from power on to starting a game)

This went on for a few days, then I started to notice some performance drops while gaming. (Fallout 4 being the most graphic intensive game I've played on it)

During this time, I was able to access the boot menu.

Now, all I get is the BIOS screen, and I can't access the boot menu.

I originally thought it might be the PSU, so I bought a new one. Made no difference. And I put the existing one in another PC (been in there for a week now, with no issues)

Here is my setup: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/Skpstr/saved/jjJjyc

I don't know exactly which RAM it has, other than it's a 1x4Gb and a 1x8Gb stick of G.Skill Ripjaws (have had it in there for a few years)

Any ideas?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Try to clear your cmos from bios (reset default settings).

 

[shknawe]

Do you have the repair disc that came with the computer? See if you can start repair with it.

 

[shknawe]

My other suggestion is to give everything inside the case a good cleaning. Motherboard, fans, cooling fans, memory, memory slots, anything with dust and or/dirt.

 

[Skpstr]

Try to clear your cmos from bios (reset default settings).

Can't, none of the keys do anything.

Will it be the same thing if I pull the CMOS battery?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Yep. turn your PSU off or unplug pc. Then I would take the battery out for a minute or so.

 

[Skpstr]

Yep. turn your PSU off or unplug pc. Then I would take the battery out for a minute or so.

I did that, but no difference. I was able to get a response at the initial BIOS screen by plugging in a PS/2 keyboard, but hitting F12 or Del just took me to a black screen with a low-res cursor.

I was able to boot from DVD, but only by unplugging all other drives. I connected one of the SSDs after the fact, and was able to do a fresh windows install.

It still takes forever to load Windows though, and it doesn't seem to have drivers for the network adapter, or USB ports. I've never had to worry about those before, they always loaded automatically, but it says they don't exist on the computer.

I want to say there's some issue with drive recognition, but I can't get into the BIOS to check.

Is there any way into/around the BIOS using the command prompt?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Probably need ahci and or sata drivers to sort out the slow ssd boot time, and other drivers for everything else. On another pc, go to your mobo manufacturers website and find your models listing. Look for the drivers and copy them over to a usb stick and and install them on your target pc. If the usb doesnt work, you could plug the ssd into another pc with spare sata bay and copy the drivers onto the ssd. You then could then uses a ps2 mouse and keyboard to install the drivers. Id install all available drivers.

 

[Skpstr]

Ended up solving it.

Had to disconnect all drives except the DVD drive. That let me boot from the Windows DVD. I got a clean install on the SSD, but it still took forever to start. However, at that point, at least I had Windows working, and was able to use my mobo DVD to reload all the drivers. Works fine now.