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I wanted to enable Secure Boot to check if my PC Is compatible with Windows 11, and in order to do that, the UEFI firmware asked me to choose a Protocol/Publisher/Platform key (I don't remember exactly). I choose the default one (I think 808 pk), then disabled CSM Support, and now it doesn't boot, with the display remaining black and the keyboard LEDs flashing on and off.

  • I tried everything I saw on the internet:
    • reseated CPU, RAM, and GPU
    • disconnected hard drive and connected an older one [10+ years old]
    • tried another GPU [10+ years old]
    • reset UEFI firmware with the jumper and unplugged CMOS battery overnight

  • Specs:
    • MB: Gigabyte H410m s2h
    • CPU: i3-10100f
    • GPU: GTX 1650
    • RAM: 1x 8GB DDR4 2666mhz (HiperX Fury CL16)
    • PSU: Elementium Silentium E2 550w 80 Plus
    • HDD: Western Digital Blue 500GB, 7200rpm

How do I troubleshoot this?

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  • 1
    Reference your motherboard's manual, which will tell you what the number of LED flashes means. CSM [Legacy] Mode should never be enabled, as its sole purpose was to support distros that didn't support EFI boot circa <2017, emulating BIOS' 16bit architecture within a 32bit environment, and it will cause performance degradation (boot times increase, GPT can't be used, etc.).
    – JW0914
    Commented Jun 27, 2021 at 15:53
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    There are no LEDs on the motherboard. I meant that the keyboard lights turn on and off, meaning that the system might power on and off continously. And there is nothing about lights in the manual anyways, since they don't exist.
    – Feri Carnu
    Commented Jun 27, 2021 at 15:55
  • If a motherboard fails POST, it will output either a series of beeps or LED flashes to communicate what test during POST is failing - reference the motherboard's manual =]
    – JW0914
    Commented Jun 27, 2021 at 15:57
  • The motherboard doesn't have one of those speakers. I plugged I one from a very old pc, but it doesn't boot.
    – Feri Carnu
    Commented Jun 27, 2021 at 16:00
  • I read the manual. It says that it should beep once if there are no issues
    – Feri Carnu
    Commented Jun 27, 2021 at 16:14

6 Answers 6

Reset to default
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Boot the computer without any drive connected. You should be able to access the "BIOS" (or actually UEFI setup) and revert the changes you've made. Then connect the drive and boot into Windows.

Check if your drive is partitioned using the GUID Partition Table (GPT) or Master Boot Record (MBR) style. You can do this in the Disk Management console accessed by right-clicking the Start button, by right-clicking the drive (not partition) and selecting Properties.

If it's MBR, you'll have to use the mbr2gpt utility to convert it. Secure Boot requires UEFI boot mode and Windows supports UEFI boot mode only on GPT drives (at least officially). You're probably booting in BIOS mode currently, and forcing UEFI mode only with Secure Boot breaks your system.

Once you're on GPT, enabling Secure Boot should be safe - Windows's default UEFI boot setup is Secure Boot-compatible. You shouldn't have to set up UEFI keys manually though. Just turn Secure Boot on and leave everything else on defaults.

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  • I already mentioned that I did that. I did it again for the sake of doing it, but it's still the same.
    – Feri Carnu
    Commented Jun 27, 2021 at 15:29
  • @FeriCarnu Sorry, I read that as you trying to swap the drive for an old one. Connect a system speaker if you don't have one in yet. Listen for any beeps and let us know what it's doing.
    – gronostaj
    Commented Jun 27, 2021 at 18:21
  • @FeriCarnu - You did what exactly?
    – Ramhound
    Commented Jun 27, 2021 at 18:23
  • First, I tried to boot it without any drive and second, I tried to boot it with another drive (although it's a really old one, +10 years)
    – Feri Carnu
    Commented Jun 27, 2021 at 18:27
  • Also, neither my motherboard nor the case came with a speaker. I plugged in the one from that 10+ years old pc, but it doesn't beep. So I plugged the front panel power leds to the speaker pins and the light turns on 5 times. On the Gigabyte website it says that 5 beeps mean CPU error, with no further explanations :/
    – Feri Carnu
    Commented Jun 27, 2021 at 18:31
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The Intel® Core i3-10100F Processor doesn't have integrated graphics, so I believe that you were depending for display on the GTX 1650.

It seems that the BIOS has lost the ability to use the GPU, so what you now have is what is called a headless computer.

The only idea I have is to replace the CPU by another with integrated graphics, to be able to enter the BIOS/UEFI.

If you don't have one available, no matter how old it is, taking the computer to a repair-shop could help.

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  • Will I be able to use the GPU again? Is it fried?
    – Feri Carnu
    Commented Jun 28, 2021 at 9:30
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    I would think that the problem is only with the BIOS, but I can't guarantee anything from over here.
    – harrymc
    Commented Jun 28, 2021 at 9:32
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What you should do is restart to your BIOS default settings.

  1. Unplug you PC power and ethernet cable.
  2. Press/hold the startup button for 15 seconds.
  3. Open your PC, find and then remove the motherboard battery (might be located under the graphics card if you don't see it).
  4. Press/hold the startup button for 30 seconds.
  5. Re-install the battery
  6. Open you PC! Be sure to only plug in mouse, keyboard, monitor and power cable.
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0

Had the same problem; was only able to clear it with the bios flashback capability (Q-Flash Plus on Gigabyte boards)

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    – Community Bot
    Commented Dec 16, 2022 at 20:33
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try disconnecting the power from the back, take out the battery from the motherboard and then wait for a few minutes. then pot the battery back and plug it back in and it should work

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  • 1
    You clearly didn't read the entire post
    – Feri Carnu
    Commented Jul 16, 2021 at 12:49
-1

Same happened here. Altough I have Gigabyte B450 S2H motherboard which does not have any bios jumper for reset function. So luckily I had a programmer clip and programmer clip adapter and programmer USB stick device for bios chip programming. The device is not expencive and it goes on the chip, on the circuit board. I have other computers also, so I used some usb extension cable to reach the spot. Not everything well happened since pins of the device short circuitted trough the pin of bios chip and some electric burn out smell came out. Transistor I quess, since it still worked LATER. It is not much space to make the clip on the chip but finally I did it after maybe 50 try outs. There was brand new bios update file for the motherboard at the home page of the motherboard so I just clipped the chip, detected it, and took some reading out of the orginal (but bad bios setup settings) chip. Since I was sure about the device, I just opened the bios file for the program and started the programming by clicking the write function button. Now it was falshing/programming/typing and what so ever installing the brand new bios version on the chip. Since it was suppose to be there, I had to read the chip again to be sure about the result of former programming/flashing. Ok. It was there and everything worked like charm again. Altough all settings are naturally at default since the new bios file flashing installation. So you might have no other way to make it right. It's not too weird or expencive but it takes time to order clip, cord, adapter part, and programmer. Also the program has to be asked from the seller. Those devices are sold at eBay, and AliExpress. You could find the price less than 10$, and arrival period 1-2 months. About the clip, I would say it's not long lasting, and you need super extra care for placing it right, since short circuit is possible if it's not placed properly. The flashing program has 'detect' button, so the connection may be checked rapidly. The program will show the type of the chip (8pins BIOS chip usually) if 'detect' button is pressed. That's what I did, and maybe some others also. It was not too hard thing to do, but yes, I studied information technologics in academical school of professional education degree, so I have some experience and knowledge for success. I bought that clip long time ago and I've used it on few devices and yes, graphic card bios of few cards went correct by that. That's last and the most pro method to fix a program problems out from healthy chip. ... job

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