Can't Access Bios/UEFI on my Gigabyte Motherboard After Windows 10 April Update

[rainless]

I... HATE... this.

So I had just installed Windows 10 (I know... late to the party) and everything was going fine. Installed all the drivers just fine. Installed all the updates. Was still bouncing happily between Windows 7 (where I have most of my stuff still) and Windows 10.

Then windows installed the April 2018 Update (aka the Creators Update I guess).

Now I can no longer access the bios on my GA Z97X UD5 BK.

If I try to boot to UEFI firmware... it takes me to a black screen. Disable fastboot and press the correct button to enter bios? Black screen.

Use Gigabyte's own APP to enter UEFI directly? Black screen.

Come to think of it... I'm thinking the Windows update must've reset my bios... which, in turn, would have re-enabled the onboard intel chip so that it's probably outputting video to THAT instead of to my graphics card... which is annoying.

If that's the case I'll fix it in the morning. If not... I'm out of ideas.

I *HATE* the idea of not having access to my bios.

 

[EarthDog]

Odd.

Have you reset the CMOS?

 

[rainless]

Odd.

Have you reset the CMOS?

No because then I'd REALLY have to go through the whole thing of connecting another monitor to the motherboard.

What I did (which worked ONCE) was go into advanced recovery, boot to windows 7 (which took a WHILE), got into windows 7, shut down. Turned off the power to my power supply. Waited a bit, turned it back on... got into the bios again. Checked the settings... everything was fine. Fastboot was disabled. Rebooted the machine. POOF! Back into Windows 10. No bios seen. Haven't been able to boot back to Win 7 since.

EDIT: So you gotta love Gigabyte...

I reset the CMOS (TERRIBLE idea btw... As long as I could still get into Windows 10 I probably should've tried updating the bios instead of reseting the CMOS) and then I was in even MORE trouble because it wasn't even booting to Windows 10 anymore. I'm assuming it THOUGHT it was displaying me the "THE BIOS HAS BEEN RESET" screen... but it was actually showing me nothing.

Tried the onboard ports, the graphic card ports, no dice.

Fortunately my motherboard has a series of dip switches you can use to switch to ANOTHER bios.

Did this... still had a black screen... but once I then reset THAT bios it took me to a "the bios has been reset" screen.

Then I was finally able to disable Windows Boot Manager and get back into Windows 7.

I won't be going back into Windows 10 until I figure out what the hell happened and how I can prevent it from happening again.

It turns out it actually was booting to Windows 7. I just couldn't see it... because I couldn't see ANYTHING.

BTW... are you like the LAST GUY HERE? You were a mod last week... not you're an Admin (and apparently the only guy posting )

 

[Alaric]

Windows 10 hijacked my Windows 7 boot.ini in a dual boot rig with separate boot drives. It's a huge pain in the donkey.

 

[rainless]

Windows 10 hijacked my Windows 7 boot.ini in a dual boot rig with separate boot drives. It's a huge pain in the donkey.

Agreed!

So when I tried Windows 10 again... it merely borked my SECONDARY bios. I mean I had Windows 7 going... BIOS was back to normal... Even upgraded to a newer bios. Then ZOINK! Black screen.

Was able to get around that by reverting to the first bios, taking my old DVI monitor and plugging that in... and reseting CMOS.

But Windows 10 was FRIED. Not even booting into recovery. All I could do was a full install. Took me all night.

Now it's installing the same update again. Probably gonna screw me again. Then next time I'll just hack the registry to prevent automatic updates.

 

[Alaric]

I had to reinstall 10 and use Easy BCD to fix it, then remove the W10 drive. http://neosmart.net/EasyBCD/

 

[WhitehawkEQ]

I had to reinstall 10 and use Easy BCD to fix it, then remove the W10 drive. http://neosmart.net/EasyBCD/

You took the words right out of my keyboard I was going to say use EasyBCD, also I don't see how any windows update (7,8,10) could do anything to the BIOS, more likely it messed with your boot manager.

p.s. I have XP Pro/Win 10 dual boot and I use EasyBCD and no problems.

 

[Johan45]

I've been having the same issue since the April update. Haven't found a solution yet either. I had it happen with the previous update and disabling fast start-up in Windows power plan fixed that but not this time. Even using the ALT+F4 shutdown box doesn't work. It's also causing my system to not recognize the SSD on initial cold boot. IF I can see it there's a blue scrren say hit ESC to go to UEFI. In BIOS all I have to do id hit save and exit and the system start up fine. The real problems came when I couldn't see the screen during boot up and had to guess why Windows didn't start. The system is working but you just can't see the screen. I could blindly hit ESC then F10 and ENTER which cycled me through the BIOS and Windows would start up the next time. I think for me it's partly because I'm using a Samsung TV connected VIA HDMI and the video card isn't being properly initialized during start up. Using a monitor seems to help when I get stuck.
Now I just let the PC go to sleep and it starts just fine but I would really, really like to get to the bottom of this.

 

[rainless]

I had to reinstall 10 and use Easy BCD to fix it, then remove the W10 drive. http://neosmart.net/EasyBCD/

You took the words right out of my keyboard I was going to say use EasyBCD, also I don't see how any windows update (7,8,10) could do anything to the BIOS, more likely it messed with your boot manager.

p.s. I have XP Pro/Win 10 dual boot and I use EasyBCD and no problems.

Well the bios is no longer REALLY a bios... The bios is a UEFI. And the UEFI is partially stored on the hard drive. I agree... in part... with the fact that there's definitely something screwy going on with the boot manager... but it's effecting how the UEFI operates (because of what I just said above). Like I said: I've got two physically different drives. If I unplug the damned Windows 10 drive (which is an SSD btw) then I *still* have problems accessing the UEFI. If I have nothing but the Windows 7 drive connected... or if I have NO drive connected.

Case in point: As I stated in an earlier post I finally got the UEFI to be visible again. Finally got back into Windows 7. Everything was booting just fine. I rebooted a few times, played a few games... EVERYTHING was fine. Booted back into Windows 10 1803... The SECOND I selected that partition to boot... black screen. And it's been black ever since. So if it was just a matter of the boot loader then that should've ceased to be an issue once I disconnected that drive.

Are you saying EasyBCD got rid of the black screen and you could see your UEFI splash screen and POST messages?

I've been having the same issue since the April update. Haven't found a solution yet either. I had it happen with the previous update and disabling fast start-up in Windows power plan fixed that but not this time. Even using the ALT+F4 shutdown box doesn't work. It's also causing my system to not recognize the SSD on initial cold boot. IF I can see it there's a blue scrren say hit ESC to go to UEFI. In BIOS all I have to do id hit save and exit and the system start up fine. The real problems came when I couldn't see the screen during boot up and had to guess why Windows didn't start. The system is working but you just can't see the screen. I could blindly hit ESC then F10 and ENTER which cycled me through the BIOS and Windows would start up the next time. I think for me it's partly because I'm using a Samsung TV connected VIA HDMI and the video card isn't being properly initialized during start up. Using a monitor seems to help when I get stuck.
Now I just let the PC go to sleep and it starts just fine but I would really, really like to get to the bottom of this.

Same thing here... I can't BELIEVE Microsoft hasn't put out a fix yet. This was SUPPOSED to fix it... but I couldn't find a download that would work for me. They all say "This is not for your system" https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4284835/windows-10-update-kb4284835

I tried reverting to a point before the update installed... but that just meant I couldn't load Windows 10 anymore at all. Completely black screen for everything. Had to use a DVI cable and a monitor.

I'm like you: I have my windows machine connected to a television. They REALLY need to come up with a fix for this. It's completely ridiculous. I see literally thousands of posts and videos of people dealing with this... Since April... (It's almost July.)

 

[trents]

For what it's worth, I find that sometimes using the latest ISO build of the MS website (that has the updates already integrated into the OS installer) to do a clean from scratch installation doesn't cause the same problems as you sometimes get when the updates are added to an existing installation.

 

[Johan45]

For what it's worth, I find that sometimes using the latest ISO build of the MS website (that has the updates already integrated into the OS installer) to do a clean from scratch installation doesn't cause the same problems as you sometimes get when the updates are added to an existing installation.

I realize a clean install is always better but M$ really needs to pick up their socks, I shouldn't "need" to re-install my OS just because they did an update. This install is not even a year old and after two major updates it's broken, really not acceptable.

 

[rainless]

For what it's worth, I find that sometimes using the latest ISO build of the MS website (that has the updates already integrated into the OS installer) to do a clean from scratch installation doesn't cause the same problems as you sometimes get when the updates are added to an existing installation.

I realize a clean install is always better but M$ really needs to pick up their socks, I shouldn't "need" to re-install my OS just because they did an update. This install is not even a year old and after two major updates it's broken, really not acceptable.

It's actually not a bad idea... but it was a pain in the *** just MAKING this bootable thumb drive. It's a 64 gig drive and, over the years, I've put a LOT of stuff on it. I'd have to backup all 64 gigs, erase it, write the new ISO, then put it back... which wouldn't be so bad if I didn't waste 12 hours last night with the black screen.

 

[Alaric]

My experience was Windows 10 hijacked every boot folder it could find. Whoever was responsible for that bit of code should be taken to the Lubyanka and led to the cell with the tarp on the floor.

 

[trents]

Using the ISO you can do an "in place" install that fixes any broken system files but retains apps and data. Takes awhile, though. One of the causes of updates breaking the system is a system that already has some broken files. Not sure this has any bearing on the posted issue but thought I'd offer it anyway.

 

[rainless]

Using the ISO you can do an "in place" install that fixes any broken system files but retains apps and data. Takes awhile, though. One of the causes of updates breaking the system is a system that already has some broken files. Not sure this has any bearing on the posted issue but thought I'd offer it anyway.

Much appreciated. But... in my case at least... we're talking brand new SSD drive straight from the box. Completely fresh install of Windows 10. There shouldn't have been any broken files... But I might see about getting a fresh USB stick just to try it.

 

[rainless]

I've been having the same issue since the April update. Haven't found a solution yet either. I had it happen with the previous update and disabling fast start-up in Windows power plan fixed that but not this time. Even using the ALT+F4 shutdown box doesn't work. It's also causing my system to not recognize the SSD on initial cold boot. IF I can see it there's a blue scrren say hit ESC to go to UEFI. In BIOS all I have to do id hit save and exit and the system start up fine. The real problems came when I couldn't see the screen during boot up and had to guess why Windows didn't start. The system is working but you just can't see the screen. I could blindly hit ESC then F10 and ENTER which cycled me through the BIOS and Windows would start up the next time. I think for me it's partly because I'm using a Samsung TV connected VIA HDMI and the video card isn't being properly initialized during start up. Using a monitor seems to help when I get stuck.
Now I just let the PC go to sleep and it starts just fine but I would really, really like to get to the bottom of this.

SOLVED IT! (For me at least... and not a real fix.)

It's always the simplest thing... I discovered that... if I just switched to another HDMI port and back... I get my display back.

Mind you I didn't HAVE to do this before... it just worked. And I don't think Microsoft is even *working* on a fix because they were convinced that the whole problem was caused by Avast anti-virus... That's not the case. They must've somehow screwed up one of the display properties.

Anyway... Switched to another HDMI port... Switched back... Got my screen back.

Was able to get back into Windows 7. The adventure continues...

 

[Alaric]

Is it set to allow Windows to turn it off to save energy?

 

[rainless]

Is it set to allow Windows to turn it off to save energy?

It all depends... Is that some new setting in 1803? I didn't change anything before or after the update. (And OOH! I hear your 850 EVO is slightly faster than my 860 EVO...)

 

[Alaric]

W10 updates frequently set a bunch of stuff back to default. Drove me nuts having to go re-do everything after updates. Windows 10 is the unsupervised-slow-kid-in-Toys R Us of operating systems.

 

[OptyTrooper]

I know it's not really constructive but I am Opty so I say **** on Windows 10! I won't touch it with ten foot pole! Horrible buggy OS and crap for benchmarking most anything.