Solved Strange boot problem...

Ok....for now, I just restored from my Nov 9th backup.
I need to be on this computer for a few days.

Then, if the original problem of this thread still exists, I'll probably do a clean install.

If you can, disconnect all the drives except the Win 10 install media and the drive you want to install Win 10 on. When asked were you want to install Win 10 delete all partitions on the drive so the drive is unallotted and let Windows make all the necessary partitions. After you have it running you can use your Macrium image of your old C: partition to restore over top of the new C: partition.

Winuser said:

If you can, disconnect all the drives except the Win 10 install media and the drive you want to install Win 10 on. When asked were you want to install Win 10 delete all partitions on the drive so the drive is unallotted and let Windows make all the necessary partitions. After you have it running you can use your Macrium image of your old C: partition to restore over top of the new C: partition.

Click to expand...

That's exactly what I tried. :)

It created a recovery partition and an EFI partition.
But when I restored JUST the C:\ partition... it wouldn't boot. Said no boot device.

Then I figured, maybe the old C:\ partition just wasn't "talking" to the new EFI partition.
So I tried Macrium's "Fix Boot Problems".

It saw the C:\ partition but it didn't "see" the new EFI partition.



/edit

And the real kicker is that w/e is causing these boot issues (the reason for this thread), just started last night about 11pm.


Brb reboot

It's still doing the weird boot thing.
I just ran Malwarebytes just to be sure. It found nothing.

Does your computer start normal with a clean install of Windows 10? Have you tried doing a clean install of Windows 11?

Winuser said:

Does your computer start normal with a clean install of Windows 10? Have you tried doing a clean install of Windows 11?

Click to expand...

That's why I tried the clean install of 10 and then restore JUST the C:\ partition.
But I must have done something wrong, cause it didn't work like it was supposed to.

The weird things about this boot thing... it that it affects two SSDs and I only ever have one of them hooked up at a time.
One has Win 10, the other has Win 11.
The only thing they have in common is the 7 pin data cable and the computer itself.
But as I've mentioned... once I'm ON the desktop... everything works fine.


But somewhere around 11 pm last night, both the Win 10 SSD and the Win 11 SSD, started having the boot issues.
They do boot. But I have no BIOS splash screen and after I type the password... sometimes it comes right up, sometimes it takes up to 20 seconds. And sometimes... the taskbar is gone, except for the start button...for 10-15 seconds. then it comes back.


Post #1 and post #17 pretty much explain the boot weirdness.

The things that bothers me the most is the lack of the BIOS splash screen. That's a BIOS driven screen.
I changed nothing in the BIOS, and as far as I know there's no higher level software that can affect that.

I hate to suggest this but could it be a problem with the motherboard? Have you done any BIOS and/or chipset updates?

Winuser said:

I hate to suggest this but could it be a problem with the motherboard? Have you done any BIOS and/or chipset updates?

Click to expand...

BIOS and chipset are the latest available.
And they were both done over a month ago.

I've never seen the EFI system partition get created on the USB flash drive by a Windows clean install being done to an unallocated space on a drive. I guess the first question to ask is how was the USB flash drive created? Was it with Rufus or some other method?

You could have shrunk the OS partition on the SSD, created an EFI System Partition and then used bcdboot command to put the boot files into the EFI system partition.

NavyLCDR said:

I've never seen the EFI system partition get created on the USB flash drive by a Windows clean install being done to an unallocated space on a drive. I guess the first question to ask is how was the USB flash drive created? Was it with Rufus or some other method?

You could have shrunk the OS partition on the SSD, created an EFI System Partition and then used bcdboot command to put the boot files into the EFI system partition.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the ticket. You got a step by step for that... so when I do attempt it again, I'll have directions. :)

I deleted all partitions off the SSD (500GB), then did a clean install of Win 10 (installer created with Media Creation Tool).
I had unhooked all other drives, and the internet. Install went fine.

My backup had the C:\ drive at 200GB, the SSD with the clean install was 465GB.
I think that I should have shrunk that down to 200GB, THEN tried to restore JUST the C:\ partition?

The way I did it, was to just restore the 200GB C:\ partition to the SSD. then tried to boot the computer.
It kept trying to boot from the 16GB Macrium USB stick, so I took that out.

Then it tried to boot form the SSD, I guess, but came up with "no boot device"
So I put the Macrium stick back in, and did the "fix boot problems"

It showed me the C:\ partition which I selected and clicked next.
Then it showed me the bootable portion of the Macrium stick, and the bootable portion of the Windows installer stick.

I had to choose one, so I chose the Windows installer stick.
The result was, it put the boot files for the SSD on the Windows installer stick.

Have you tried clearing the CMOS?

badrobot said:

Have you tried clearing the CMOS?

Click to expand...

No, but I restored from a profile I made. That's sets everything to what it was when I made the profile (settings export).
I can save 8 profiles.
The profile is from August 30th, when I last flashed the BIOS.

Actually I should probably check some of the settings. Make sure TPM and Secure Boot is turned on.

Yep, they're on.

It doesn't hurt to reset the CMOS. If the BIOS memory is messed up, any profile you set may not help at all.

badrobot said:

It doesn't hurt to reset the CMOS. If the BIOS memory is messed up, any profile you set may not help at all.

Click to expand...

Maybe tomorrow. I'll have to go in the BIOS and write down a bunch of settings.

Unlike my previous ASUS motherboards, the hard copy manual for this one, doesn't have the BIOS settings.
So I can't just go through and circle what I've set. :/

I'm just too burnt out right now. Been messing with this for about 20 hours now.

Ghot said:

Maybe tomorrow. I'll have to go in the BIOS and write down a bunch of settings.

Click to expand...

Hi,
Resetting cmos doesn't loose saved profiles.

Refreshing bios does.

ThrashZone said:

Hi,
Resetting cmos doesn't loose saved profiles.

Refreshing bios does.

Click to expand...

I know that.
But let's say that somehow the BIOS got glitched.
The profiles may be one of the things that got glitched.
If that's the case, then the only way to fix the problem would be to reset the BIOS to defaults, and redo my settings by hand.
Then save as a new profile.

Ghot said:

I know that.
But let's say that somehow the BIOS got glitched.
The profiles may be one of the things that got glitched.
If that's the case, then the only way to fix the problem would be to reset the BIOS to defaults, and redo my settings by hand.
Then save as a new profile.

Click to expand...

Hi,
Optimize defaults won't help if the bios is that messed up
You'd have to refresh the bios which is reflashing with the same bios version.

ThrashZone said:

Hi,
Optimize defaults won't help if the bios is that messed up
You'd have to refresh the bios which is reflashing with the same bios version.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, my BIOS will only let me flash to a NEWER version.
I can't flash the same version, or to an older version.
And I'm already ON the latest version.

Usually, I try to keep back one or two versions. But because of Windows 11... I figured to go with the latest.

It's OK, I don't have that many settings to worry about. I didn't overclock or anything.
I do have the BIOS settings in a .pdf, but I don't have a printer. LOL

And even if I did... the only .pdf of the BIOS for my motherboard is also for the ASUS TUF motherboards.
ASUS got/is getting, really cheap and/or lazy.

I still consider myself lucky. Most of the x550 motherboards and on down... don't even have a .pdf :)


/edit

I'll just go by "tabs". List the tab name and w/e settings I need to worry about under that tab.
There's only like 5-6 tabs. It's the stuff I usually leave at defaults, that I don't remember.

Ghot said:

Unfortunately, my BIOS will only let me flash to a NEW version.
I can't flash the same version, or to an older version.

Click to expand...

Hi,
Yeah you're screwed then
I always get boards now with bios flash back buttons.

Chances are your bios isn't that bad
You'd have to really do some serious memory overclocking to bork bios.