PC boot issue

hans gruber · 9 May 2022 at 09:16

Every so often my PC fails to boot. On investigating it appears the boot device priority in the BIOS gets changed. I switch it back and everything is fine until it eventually happens again.

The problem is I sometimes use remote desktop and turn my PC on remotely. If it happens then I’m not there to fix the issue.

Does anyone know why this may be happening and how to fix it?

Dg834man · 9 May 2022 at 13:28

Try replacing the motherboard battery.

Tetras · 9 May 2022 at 13:40

Dg834man said:
Try replacing the motherboard battery.

Says copyright 2014 on the bios, so could be a good shout that.

I'd double check the sata cables are secure, possibly even replace them if you happen to have some spare.

Also download and run something like crystaldiskinfo, just to check there's nothing obviously wrong based on smart data.

Make sure there's no pesky policeman messing with your computer just to annoy you.

ChocAndGray · 11 May 2022 at 09:08

Have you tried resetting bios to defaults and seeing if the same issue happens?

Or are you already running at default settings?

hans gruber · 1 Nov 2022 at 10:04

I replaced the battery a couple of months ago and thought this issue had gone away, until this morning. I will try some of the other suggestions. Because it happens so infrequently it's going to be hard to diagnose, so I guess I'll just try everything else.

linktoinsanity · 1 Nov 2022 at 12:22

Is it also on the most up to date BIOS version? Might be worth updating if not.

therealdippy · 1 Nov 2022 at 13:24

BIOS can get corrupted. An extra reason for updating to latest version.

freddie64 · 2 Nov 2022 at 07:08

Do you use data cables with the metal clips?

I had problems with these type as they always seemed loose and SSD was not been detected.

Swapped to this cable and it solved my problems.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Silverstone SATA III Cable 50cm - Black (SKU: CB-029-SV) = £4.49

Total: £7.97 (includes delivery: £3.48)

Also check power cables.

hans gruber · 12 Dec 2022 at 16:18

Thanks again all. Just to update I had to change a case fan. While mucking about this error happened again. As the case was fully open I just swapped the cable from the drive the PC was trying to boot from to my Windows drive. So far it seems to be working. It doesn't matter now if it forgets drive boot sequence as Windows drive is on position 1.

Am not sure why I didn't think to do this before.