Windows 10 Cannot exit BIOS (ASUS zn241IC W10)

Brando

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
ASUS zn241IC Al in One PC runnign windows 10:

a Friend texted me this a.m this picture it their BIOS screen on their ASUS all in one.

They said the machine was acting really slow, she had clicked an icon to do something and "The little blue circle was spinning really really slow and it wasnt doing anything".
So she did a forced power down by holding the power key until it shut down, restarted and got the BIOS screen . I have had her run through the
ESC
F10
F5
F2
and then save/exit
The system will show the ASUS splash screen for about 30 seconds or more and then return to the BIOS screen.
Not the keyboard, i have tried that noting else plugged into the unit>
Suspect boot sector error any way to repair it?
Any other advice?
 
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Did she try to boot into Safe Mode?

Normally if the computer is forcefully powered down a few times, the screen with the option to boot into Safe Mode will appear.

It seems to me that computer got infected with malware. That screen might be fake.
 
I have brought the machine to my home and it is exhibiting the same symtoms:
Even after sevral(5 so far) hard power downs it did not offer safe mode.
When i try to force safe mode with F8 it does not respond>
Its doesnt seem to respond to F2 or DEL as directed at the splash screen( which actually hangs for a minute or more not 30 seconds as i had orignally stated)
 
A fake BIOS in which i can actually make changes to the date etc?
And the system times is "ticking"

I meant the blue screen that reads "We value your privacy...". That kind of screen is not common for BIOS.
It seems to me that the only option left, if indeed the BIOS is the problem, is to reset it. On some systems it is done by removing the CMOS battery, on other systems it is done by switching a jumper on the motherboard. You must read the motherboard manual.
Or if the BIOS can be upgraded using a DVD/USB without booting into Windows, you can try that as well.
 
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I meant the blue screen that reads "We value your privacy...". That kind of screen is not common for BIOS.
It seems to me that the only option left, if indeed the BIOS is the problem, is to reset it. On some systems it is done by removing the CMOS battery, on other systems it is done by switching a jumper on the motherboard. You must read the motherboard manual.
Or if the BIOS can be upgraded using a DVD/USB without booting into Windows, you can try that as well.
This is an all in one that may prove problimatic to open and reset.
is there a chance this is and issue with windows MBR?
 
is there a chance this is and issue with windows MBR?

If the problem is that you cannot exit the BIOS then the cause is not the MBR. The Master Boot Record is already on the HDD, while the BIOS is stored in a chip on the motherboard.
 
Power the machine off, turn off psu. Open the machine and remove the cmos battery. Wait a couple of mins. Replace battery and re setup the bios and then see if it saves and exits
 
Power the machine off, turn off psu. Open the machine and remove the cmos battery. Wait a couple of mins. Replace battery and re setup the bios and then see if it saves and exits
Unfotunatley its and all in one unit that isnt very easy to open up to access the CMOS battery
 
If the problem is that you cannot exit the BIOS then the cause is not the MBR. The Master Boot Record is already on the HDD, while the BIOS is stored in a chip on the motherboard.
Noted, i just mentioned that because of the fact that after a hard power down/reboot it goes to the flash screen for over a minute(hdd light comes on /flickers then reverts to BIOS. Read somehwre this may be indicitive of a MBR corruption and machine just goes back to BIOS because it cant boot.
 
Noted, i just mentioned that because of the fact that after a hard power down/reboot it goes to the flash screen for over a minute(hdd light comes on /flickers then reverts to BIOS. Read somehwre this may be indicitive of a MBR corruption and machine just goes back to BIOS because it cant boot.

Yes, that can be.
In that case you can use a Windows installation DVD/USB to try to repair the MBR as in this tutorial:
How to repair Master Boot Record (MBR) on Windows 10 • Pureinfotech
 
You can download the latest official Windows ISO from here:
Download Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File)
Thank you, i downloaded the image and installed on thumbdrive as directed.
Was able to choose that drive in boot options, saved and restarted target machine>
Same ASUS startup splash screen then eventually the unit goes to a black screen. BIOS does not appear again>
been sitting for 15 minutes , nothing happening.

I am wondering if i should try to boot to Linux (suggestion to which?)or something like Hirens boot disk( or whatever is current) just to see if they work.
 
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UPDATE: I tested the boot drive on my own machine, it took a little bit but it worked so i tried it again on the target unit went to black screen and i just left it, came back and hour later and the WINDOWS install screen is up !
Will run the repair and see what happens
 
UPDATE: I tested the boot drive on my own machine, it took a little bit but it worked so i tried it again on the target unit went to black screen and i just left it, came back and hour later and the WINDOWS install screen is up !
Will run the repair and see what happens

Glad to hear there is some progress. Don't forget to install updates.
 
was able to boot to W10 USB/Repair /advanced repair tools>
able to run(restarted after to each to see if issue resolved, it did not:
  • Bootrec /rebuildbcd (Sucessfull)
  • Bootrec /fixmbr (Sucessfull)
  • Bootrec /fixboot (Access denied)
  • Bootrec /fixmbr (Sucessfull)
  • Bootrec /ScanOS (Sucessfull shows C:\Windows)

    only option as far as update was to UN-install latest
    Quality update:
    "we ran into a problem and will not be able to uninstall the latest quality update"

    Feature Update:
    "we ran into a problem and will not be able to uninstall the latest feature update"

    Ran Startup repair:
    "Startup repair could not repair you PC>
    Press "advanced options to try other repair options:...
    Log file: (Nothing listed)


    diskpart /List vol shows all volumes healthy

    If i remove the USB boot device the BIOS screen returns as "normal" in OP.

  • I think i want to boor into a Linux disto and see if i can backup all the disk data myself to and external ( Owner claim she did it recently but i dont trust her methods)>
    It been a while, any suggestion on best )current) linux to install to a usb for this?
 
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It been a while, any suggestion on best )current) linux to install to a usb for this?

The most user-friendly distros are Mint, MX, Solus, Ubuntu.
Normally, if the HDD is not encrypted, it should be possible to access that Windows file system and copy.
 
The most user-friendly distros are Mint, MX, Solus, Ubuntu.
Normally, if the HDD is not encrypted, it should be possible to access that Windows file system and copy.
Downloaded MINT Cinnamon, very nice, booted up just fine on target machine and taget drive is visibale and accessable, will run a dat back up and then decide what the next step is.
 
Just in case you don't know:
you can connect another USB flash drive while booting the Linux and save all the files to it.

with best regards
 
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