P253 P253-M-53234 G50 win 10 - stuck in boot manager. No access to BIOS or windows

124

Answers

  • lochgman
    lochgman Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    billsey said:
    I would be heavily into getting some sort of support from the seller. It's obviously got something really weird going on and shouldn't have been offered as refurbished. :(
    [although it would be interesting to play with...]
    message from seller:
    If I remember correctly the bios would of been set on legacy boot mode so just check to make sure it is still in that mode and secure boot is definitely turned off. Are you just trying to boot to the hard drive or are you trying to boot to a USB to reinstall the operating system ?

    He doesn't seem able to shed any light on it.

    Have tried DOS bootable USB from Rufus - No go. Is there something I'm missing - just ran Rufus selected DOS - everything else was preset - MBR/FAT32 written over previous USB boot disk.

    The P253 was only used for gaming - WoW - nothing much else on it - not even used for browsing or emails - what could have gone wrong? I remember closing it down as WoW was playing up - tried altering in game settings - so shut it down - hibernated is normal practice. Next time I used it - up pops " No bootable device found etc.
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer
    There is nothing I can think of that would cause it to skip POST (and in the process skip the BIOS entry key option) and go directly to the boot menu. If the BIOS were set for legacy boot it wouldn't affect the ability to enter the BIOS. I'm not going to look through the entire thread again, but I believe we tested using Fn-F2 to enter in addition to F2... Sometimes needed if the keyboard is set to media mode instead of function key mode.
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  • lochgman
    lochgman Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    billsey said:
    There is nothing I can think of that would cause it to skip POST (and in the process skip the BIOS entry key option) and go directly to the boot menu. If the BIOS were set for legacy boot it wouldn't affect the ability to enter the BIOS. I'm not going to look through the entire thread again, but I believe we tested using Fn-F2 to enter in addition to F2... Sometimes needed if the keyboard is set to media mode instead of function key mode.
    Hi - been back over everything - tried all combinations of Fn + F1 to F12 etc and Alt + F1 to F12  - just wearing keyboard out! - could it be something like a damaged connection - it must check ram as it does nothing when its removed - where can I get info for post sequence - will try mr google  - the rambling of a lost soul!!!

    I don't expect anything further - you've been really helpful - take care - I will let you know if it gets sorted
  • I would try to format the ssd and hdd on another computer. Install windows on another computer and when it is necessary to reboot the computer for the first time in windows installation, turn off the computer and insert the ssd into the p253 again. I still think it might be a bug in the bios.

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
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  • lochgman
    lochgman Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    Don't really see how reformatting HDD & SSD would sort a BIOS problem - SSD came out of P253, but HDD came out of a different machine (ES!). Plus neither USB drives booted - seems to be a comms problem between CMOS/BIOS and CPU - guessing!

    Mr Google just found a 7 year old Utube video - "Windows Boot Manager boot failure posted by a Nick Downes - so this is not a new fault - haven't been able to find out if that was ever fixed, but more posts indicate that this continues as recently as 5 months ago! Not identical to my problem but along the same lines, mine does recognise connected hardware but will not connect to any.

    Latest attempt was Rufus DOS boot USB - MBR/FAT32, don't know if this is correctly formatted for P253, but again it did not boot.
  • OK! What is the bios version? Is the sata mode set to ahci or ide?

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
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  • lochgman
    lochgman Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    Don't know - can't get into bios and can't get into windows
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer
    There is a portion of the BIOS that lives on the drive, the EFI. That wouldn't affect the ability to enter the BIOS menu though, since POST is fully complete before the EFI image loads.
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  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,065 Trailblazer
    edited February 2022
    lochgman said:
    Am trying to figure out why my P253 is not booting up - Will Secure Boot being enabled interfere with boot operations - eg when using a recovery disk, or will having a MBR formatted USB stick stop it booting

    To get into the Win-10 “Troubleshoot” and “Advance options” you need to hold down the "SHIFT" key while rebooting and if your TravelMate P253-M can start Windows normally, you can get to the “Advanced Options” menu quickly by just holding down the "SHIFT" key while rebooting. If it doesn’t work, you can try booting your TravelMate P253-M with a Win-10 USB installation USB drive as that will give you access to these options.

    If you haven’t got an installation drive then do an 8GB USB formatted to GUID (GPT) as that will boot to a UEFI (GUID (GPT) formatted system, you can create the USB in that format automatically through “Create Windows 10 installation media”. But, this laptop could have a bad flashed BIOS that the people that refurbished this laptop did and that could be the reasons for your problems, as they sold you a faulty TravelMate P253-M, so take it back if the above doesn’t work. 


  • StevenGen said:
    lochgman said:
    Am trying to figure out why my P253 is not booting up - Will Secure Boot being enabled interfere with boot operations - eg when using a recovery disk, or will having a MBR formatted USB stick stop it booting

    To get into the Win-10 “Troubleshoot” and “Advance options” you need to hold down the "SHIFT" key while rebooting and if your TravelMate P253-M can start Windows normally, you can get to the “Advanced Options” menu quickly by just holding down the "SHIFT" key while rebooting. If it doesn’t work, you can try booting your TravelMate P253-M with a Win-10 USB installation USB drive as that will give you access to these options.

    If you haven’t got an installation drive then do an 8GB USB formatted to GUID (GPT) as that will boot to a UEFI (GUID (GPT) formatted system, you can create the USB in that format automatically through “Create Windows 10 installation media”. But, this laptop could have a bad flashed BIOS that the people that refurbished this laptop did and that could be the reasons for your problems, as they sold you a faulty TravelMate P253-M, so take it back if the above doesn’t work. 


    Maybe it could be a problem with the hard drive. I've seen some cases where a hard drive problem prevented the user from accessing the bios. What it might try to do is disconnect the hard drive and check if it can access the bios by pressing the f2 key before the acer logo.

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
    Aceite somente a resposta que ajudou a solucionar o seu problema! Please accept only the response that helped to solve your problem!
    Detection tool click here to find the serial number or partnumber of your model!                                                          
                                                      
                                                     egydiocoelho Trailblazer
     
    ProductKey clique aqui para descobrir o serial do windows! click here to discover the windows serial!
    Para usuários da comunidade inglesa, espanhola, francesa e alemã, usarei o google tradutor! :)
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  • lochgman
    lochgman Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    StevenGen said:
    lochgman said:
    Am trying to figure out why my P253 is not booting up - Will Secure Boot being enabled interfere with boot operations - eg when using a recovery disk, or will having a MBR formatted USB stick stop it booting

    To get into the Win-10 “Troubleshoot” and “Advance options” you need to hold down the "SHIFT" key while rebooting and if your TravelMate P253-M can start Windows normally, you can get to the “Advanced Options” menu quickly by just holding down the "SHIFT" key while rebooting. If it doesn’t work, you can try booting your TravelMate P253-M with a Win-10 USB installation USB drive as that will give you access to these options.

    If you haven’t got an installation drive then do an 8GB USB formatted to GUID (GPT) as that will boot to a UEFI (GUID (GPT) formatted system, you can create the USB in that format automatically through “Create Windows 10 installation media”. But, this laptop could have a bad flashed BIOS that the people that refurbished this laptop did and that could be the reasons for your problems, as they sold you a faulty TravelMate P253-M, so take it back if the above doesn’t work. 


    Shift key does nothing - Switch P253 ON - no Acer flash screen - straight to "No bootable device - press a key, pressing a key goes to boot manager with 3 options, 4 if a USB is plugged in when switched on. Nothing alters these two screens - removing SSD/HDD, keyboard, swapping ram around - its as though the boot manager select key ~(F12?)is permanently pressed.

    Also tried both types of USB installation media, selected from boot manager but it loops into "No bootable device etc. As for faulty machine - had been using it for a few months before this happened, and I didn't think to check BIOS setup or make a backup or recovery disk. 
  • lochgman
    lochgman Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    StevenGen said:
    lochgman said:
    Am trying to figure out why my P253 is not booting up - Will Secure Boot being enabled interfere with boot operations - eg when using a recovery disk, or will having a MBR formatted USB stick stop it booting

    To get into the Win-10 “Troubleshoot” and “Advance options” you need to hold down the "SHIFT" key while rebooting and if your TravelMate P253-M can start Windows normally, you can get to the “Advanced Options” menu quickly by just holding down the "SHIFT" key while rebooting. If it doesn’t work, you can try booting your TravelMate P253-M with a Win-10 USB installation USB drive as that will give you access to these options.

    If you haven’t got an installation drive then do an 8GB USB formatted to GUID (GPT) as that will boot to a UEFI (GUID (GPT) formatted system, you can create the USB in that format automatically through “Create Windows 10 installation media”. But, this laptop could have a bad flashed BIOS that the people that refurbished this laptop did and that could be the reasons for your problems, as they sold you a faulty TravelMate P253-M, so take it back if the above doesn’t work. 


    Maybe it could be a problem with the hard drive. I've seen some cases where a hard drive problem prevented the user from accessing the bios. What it might try to do is disconnect the hard drive and check if it can access the bios by pressing the f2 key before the acer logo.

    see reply to Steven Gen re shift key

    I have tried removing SSD - no Acer logo - straight to "no bootable device, then Boot manager with SSD option missing in list, and no "press F2 message for BIOS - Acer Aspire 5720 doesn't show this when coming out of hibernation!
  • lochgman
    lochgman Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    billsey said:
    There is a portion of the BIOS that lives on the drive, the EFI. That wouldn't affect the ability to enter the BIOS menu though, since POST is fully complete before the EFI image loads.
    Would it be possible for that BIOS portion to be loaded immediately after POST is completed?
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer
    Yes, that is the normal sequence of events. When POST completes the system knows the hardware is working correctly and it then look for the EFI portion of the BIOS and loads it. That gets things setup to do an OS load and is where the boot menu is normally launched when requested. The BIOS on your system seems to be bypassing it all and going directly to the boot menu, and not accepting a normal EFI boot environment. That means it's likely either set for a legacy boot or has an alternate boot environment configured. If it were setup for legacy than a MBR bootable device would work to get it booted and that doesn't seem to be the case. Alternate boot environments are things like GRUB for Linux, but we aren't getting any indication that is the case either. I'm still thinking someone loaded a diagnostic BIOS image and left it in that mode, but I can't think of any reasonable way to get around it. :(
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  • billsey said:
    Yes, that is the normal sequence of events. When POST completes the system knows the hardware is working correctly and it then look for the EFI portion of the BIOS and loads it. That gets things setup to do an OS load and is where the boot menu is normally launched when requested. The BIOS on your system seems to be bypassing it all and going directly to the boot menu, and not accepting a normal EFI boot environment. That means it's likely either set for a legacy boot or has an alternate boot environment configured. If it were setup for legacy than a MBR bootable device would work to get it booted and that doesn't seem to be the case. Alternate boot environments are things like GRUB for Linux, but we aren't getting any indication that is the case either. I'm still thinking someone loaded a diagnostic BIOS image and left it in that mode, but I can't think of any reasonable way to get around it. :(
    It is possible that the keyboard is having problems! I would try to access the bios, using an external usb keyboard and then check the boot mode!

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
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  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer
    I believe that was one of the first things we tried...
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  • lochgman
    lochgman Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    billsey said:
    I believe that was one of the first things we tried...
    Yes - P253 keyboard disconnected and USB tried - no difference
  • I would try now, replacing the rtc battery, to see if the problem still occurs.

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
    Aceite somente a resposta que ajudou a solucionar o seu problema! Please accept only the response that helped to solve your problem!
    Detection tool click here to find the serial number or partnumber of your model!                                                          
                                                      
                                                     egydiocoelho Trailblazer
     
    ProductKey clique aqui para descobrir o serial do windows! click here to discover the windows serial!
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  • lochgman
    lochgman Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    I would try now, replacing the rtc battery, to see if the problem still occurs.

    Hi - have replaced battery earlier - but just to be on the safe side I will do it again
  • lochgman
    lochgman Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    Gents: Am just about to start trying this laptop again after going through all of your posts, suggestions etc - but before I do can anyone comment on the possibility that either the P253 cannot run Win10, or the bios has been upgraded incorrectly (wrong version) - am awaiting a reply from vendor re latter.