[SOLVED] See whats happening during boot

[Dawis67_AE]

Hello.

Im having an occasional problem with my booting process. Sometimes my PC will get stuck on the boot screen (ASUS logo and the rotating dots, which happens after the "press key to enter bios" screen). This is the most bizarre problem I have encountered and i cannot seem to find the cause. Usually after it gets stuck the only option is to press the "reset" button or hold the power button after which PC tries to boot again. Usually after 2 resets PC will itself enter Windows error diagnostic screen and give me the options but usually just letting the PC try to boot again fixes it.

Sorry for the long intro but here comes the question. Is there a way to see what is happening during the boot? I wanna see where the PC is stuck on the rotating dots. Is there some kind of logging feature or the best would be seeing the current step as the boot is happening.

Need help please. I have reinstalled windows, and the problem did go away for quite a while, but its back and it has a tendency to happen more frequently as time goes on.

Note: I have noticed that when this happens, usually the keyboard lights and other peripheral power will be cut. In a correct boot the peripheral device power usually comes on and stays on, but when the problem happens, the lights turn on and then off and stay off while the dots are rotating. IDK if this is of any help but thought it could give a clue to which step in the boot process this is.

 

[revodo]

Run a search for "System Configuration".

Click the Boot tab.

Make sure OS boot information is checked, then restart.

 

[Lutfij]

When you've stated reinstalling your OS, did recreate your bootable USB installer for Windows 10 using Windows Media Creation Tools? Form your third paragraph it seems like you're working with an older version of the OS, it updates and then causes the glitch due to the OS downloading drivers it think sis needed when it's not. Is this a prebuilt or a desktop built with off the shelf parts? Specs to the system? If prebuilt, a link or SKU should suffice.

 

[Dawis67_AE]

Run a search for "System Configuration".

Click the Boot tab.

Make sure OS boot information is checked, then restart.

I already found this on Google but it doesnt show anything new when it boots.

When you've stated reinstalling your OS, did recreate your bootable USB installer for Windows 10 using Windows Media Creation Tools? Form your third paragraph it seems like you're working with an older version of the OS, it updates and then causes the glitch due to the OS downloading drivers it think sis needed when it's not. Is this a prebuilt or a desktop built with off the shelf parts? Specs to the system? If prebuilt, a link or SKU should suffice.

Reason i reinstalled windows was because the problem was happening very often and there was also an update i was unable to install (would just fail). I used USB to create windows media tool and wiped the SSD and did a fresh install. I also got rid of all the boot partitions, etc i had previously.

The PC i built myself with parts I put together. Its my 2nd build. Specs are Ryzen 5800x, Nvidia 3080, ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING mobo, 750 corsair SFX PSU, WD Black SN850 SSD and Corsair Vengeance LPX 64gb ram.

I also created thread on Bleepingcomputer where you can find a much more indepth explanation https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/756247/occasionally-get-stuck-on-boot-screen/

 

[Dawis67_AE]

Alright, i think i have made a little discovery. The problem just happened (its random so it happens randomly) but when i was stuck in the loop i got the idea to try to unplug all the external USB connections i have. After unplugging my M.2 and HDD external drives, suddenly the PC got out of the loop and proceeded to Windows, which has never happened before. Ill try again and let you know if this is a definitive fix.

Also the M.2 External drive, occasionally after booting to windows doesnt connect properly so i often have to unplug and plug back the USB C connector to the external drive case to sort of re-connect the drive. Maybe Windows gets stuck because it has trouble connecting the M.2 drive sometimes???

 

[joetrex]

Microsoft, to my surprise and amazement, provides a suite of system tools designed for Windows - SysInternals. In the Process Utilities pack of tools, the Process Monitor application (ProcMon64.exe) performs boot time logging of all system operations. As I understand it, this is precisely the task you wanted done, correct? Here's the downside ... unless you're far more knowledgeable than I regarding Windows system operations, you may have to conduct some research in order to learn, comprehend, and understand the more technical aspects of the program.

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I have used the ProcMon64.exe tool several times, and even without extensive knowledge about the output operations and their details, options such as 'Jump to... Registry Entry' provides additional information which helps the progression of troubleshooting. If I actually had extensive knowledge of the Process Monitor app, it would prove an extraordinarily powerful tool.

Should you decide to give it a try, here are the links - one for the adesxpp, one for an overview of its functionality:

ProcMon64.exe - Direct Download: SysInternals - Process Monitor​

Process Monitor - Tutorial: Primer Video​