Windows 10: PC always boots to BIOS (SSD dead / dying)

Hi,

I left my Windows 10 Pro PC alone for an hour or two a couple of nights ago. When I came back to it it had frozen. Totally unresponsive (but screen still displaying). I can't remember if I just used the power button to switch off, or actually turned it off at the PSU, but I powered it down.
I came back to it yesterday, and it always boots to BIOS. Everything looked unchanged there.

Luckily I had my USB stick with the Windows installation media on it, so I tried...

1) Startup repair - 'diagnosing PC' took > 1 hour, didn't work
2) Command prompt, BOOTREC /FIXMBR (success!), BOOTREC /FIXBOOT (success!) - didn't actually work
3) Command prompt, examined directory structures... c:\ was my old d:\, d:\ was my old e:\ etc etc... the C: drive has disappeared. Trying to look at F: caused it to hang, had to force power off.

The main problem is the System Repair utility takes 20-30 minutes to go from 'Windows logo loading screen' through to 'Choose your language'... each step through the user interface dialogs takes forever (well 20-30 minutes) to load. It looks like the dead / dying drive prevents normal functioning... if I unplug the drive then everything works fine, and I can skip through the different screens without a problem. If there's *only* the malfunctioning drive (Sandisk 120gb) plugged in, then I get a black screen hang after the Windows loading screen.
It's disappointing (to say the least) that the utility can be brought to its knees by the very thing it's there to fix!

I might have a system restore point that I could try, but I'm thinking the SSD has died on me, and if I can't view the drive contents at all it does feel rather terminal. Is it worth going through the 60-90 minutes it would take to get to the appropriate screen in System Repair?

I've got a new SSD on order, so I can bin the old one and re-install windows, but ... you know ... arggh.
Is there anything else I should try?

Any thoughts much appreciated

:)

 

PC always boots to BIOS (SSD dead / dying)

Hi,

I left my Windows 10 Pro PC alone for an hour or two a couple of nights ago. When I came back to it it had frozen. Totally unresponsive (but screen still displaying). I can't remember if I just used the power button to switch off, or actually turned it off at the PSU, but I powered it down.
I came back to it yesterday, and it always boots to BIOS. Everything looked unchanged there.

Luckily I had my USB stick with the Windows installation media on it, so I tried...

1) Startup repair - 'diagnosing PC' took > 1 hour, didn't work
2) Command prompt, BOOTREC /FIXMBR (success!), BOOTREC /FIXBOOT (success!) - didn't actually work
3) Command prompt, examined directory structures... c:\ was my old d:\, d:\ was my old e:\ etc etc... the C: drive has disappeared. Trying to look at F: caused it to hang, had to force power off.

The main problem is the System Repair utility takes 20-30 minutes to go from 'Windows logo loading screen' through to 'Choose your language'... each step through the user interface dialogs takes forever (well 20-30 minutes) to load. It looks like the dead / dying drive prevents normal functioning... if I unplug the drive then everything works fine, and I can skip through the different screens without a problem. If there's *only* the malfunctioning drive (Sandisk 120gb) plugged in, then I get a black screen hang after the Windows loading screen.
It's disappointing (to say the least) that the utility can be brought to its knees by the very thing it's there to fix!

I might have a system restore point that I could try, but I'm thinking the SSD has died on me, and if I can't view the drive contents at all it does feel rather terminal. Is it worth going through the 60-90 minutes it would take to get to the appropriate screen in System Repair?

I've got a new SSD on order, so I can bin the old one and re-install windows, but ... you know ... arggh.
Is there anything else I should try?

Any thoughts much appreciated

 

PC always boots to BIOS (SSD dead / dying)

Thanks for the tip but we're waaaaaaaay beyond that. It's a dead SSD, nothing less.

 

PC always boots to BIOS (SSD dead / dying)

No, but I can just open her case and plug it in... are SSD's hot-swappable these days? I can't remember. I'd just connect it in when it's off, to be safe.

Ah, yes I did see the list of connected SATA drives in BIOS, but at the time I wasn't sure which one would've been my system drive. I'll check later (I'm at work at the moment, away from the PC in question).

Pretty sure the mobo battery is ok as the rest of my BIOS settings looked correct. But I'll check.


I've got an M.2 SSD on order, arriving tomorrow, so I'll be set for a fresh install if need be

Thanks for the help so far I'll report back tonight or tomorrow after I've meddled with it later!