Cannot boot from SSD into Windows 10 in UEFI with or without Secure Boot

[blazesword2008]

So, I just bought a new Crucial MX500 500GB SSD for my old Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF.

 

It installed fine, the system detects it!

 

However, it refuses to boot into Windows 10.

 

First thing I did with the SSD was copy the OS and all the files using the Acronis True Image software, and I thought that would work. But, when I went to boot it up, nothing happened. Black screen. Even when I explicitly told the computer to boot into the SSD, the selection screen would go away and nothing. So, I thought that maybe it would just be best to reinstall windows. So, I made a installation usb stick and tried to boot from it. In UEFI mode, nothing, black screen. Tried it in legacy mode, however, and it booted fine. So, I did the installation and everything went well. The SSD even booted fine in legacy mode. But, when I went to switch to UEFI, nothing once again. To fix this, I tried changing the disk partition format from MBR to GPT in Windows using the command prompt, but that didn't help. Searched up stuff to do in the command prompt to fix the problem in the Windows recovery menu (from the USB stick), such as assigning it a drive letter, but that didn't help. Then, I tried making a ISO file using the windows installation creator tool instead of just putting it straight on the USB and then put the ISO on using Rufus in an attempt to make the USB stick bootable in UEFI mode hoping that would fix it. But yet again, no.

 

tl;dr I tried a bunch of things and it STILL won't boot. Is there anything I can do to fix this? Please let me know. If there is any information you need to assist me, please tell me. Thanks!

[Abledbutton5749]

Did you try load the BIOS at it default values? or reset the bios? 

[rmgdnz]

Reset the BIOS to defaults. Wipe the USB drive and create an installation media the normal way again (using Windows Media Creation Tool). In the BIOS under General > Boot Sequence, move your USB device to the top of the list (you'll have to change this to the SSD once Windows is installed, it should be called Windows Boot Manager). You can also boot once to it by mashing the delete key and then pressing F12 during boot, and then selecting the USB drive.

 

Under Boot List Option, make sure UEFI is selected. If you still can't boot into the installer after this, maybe try another USB. If you're fine losing your data on the SSD, during the Windows install process, just delete all partitions on the SSD (if there are any left) and do a clean install. 

[blazesword2008]

11 minutes ago, rmgdnz said:

Reset the BIOS to defaults. Wipe the USB drive and create an installation media the normal way again (using Windows Media Creation Tool). In the BIOS under General > Boot Sequence, move your USB device to the top of the list (you'll have to change this to the SSD once Windows is installed, it should be called Windows Boot Manager). You can also boot once to it by mashing the delete key and then pressing F12 during boot, and then selecting the USB drive.

 

Under Boot List Option, make sure UEFI is selected. If you still can't boot into the installer after this, maybe try another USB. If you're fine losing your data on the SSD, during the Windows install process, just delete all partitions on the SSD (if there are any left) and do a clean install. 

I'll try that and get back to you. It could just be because it's an old usb stick. 

[blazesword2008]

23 minutes ago, Abledbutton5749 said:

Did you try load the BIOS at it default values? or reset the bios? 

I have tried resetting the bios to default, that didn't seem to do anything.

[blazesword2008]

The only strange thing is that the hard drive that was it in before was in UEFI Secure Boot mode as far as I could tell, and it booted fine. I did not confirm this though, it could have been in Legacy Mode, but the setting it was when I first went into the menu was UEFI Secure Boot. Therefore, there shouldn't be any issues, but it seems that it only worked with that drive and nothing else.

[blazesword2008]

14 hours ago, rmgdnz said:

Reset the BIOS to defaults. Wipe the USB drive and create an installation media the normal way again (using Windows Media Creation Tool). In the BIOS under General > Boot Sequence, move your USB device to the top of the list (you'll have to change this to the SSD once Windows is installed, it should be called Windows Boot Manager). You can also boot once to it by mashing the delete key and then pressing F12 during boot, and then selecting the USB drive.

 

Under Boot List Option, make sure UEFI is selected. If you still can't boot into the installer after this, maybe try another USB. If you're fine losing your data on the SSD, during the Windows install process, just delete all partitions on the SSD (if there are any left) and do a clean install. 

Nope, still doesn't work. I even tried using a different USB port, since the USB stick is USB 2.0. So, I tried the USB 2.0 port, nothing. Tried the same port as last time, still nothing. I'll try to see if I can get a 3.0 stick and see if that works. 

[blazesword2008]

20 hours ago, rmgdnz said:

Reset the BIOS to defaults. Wipe the USB drive and create an installation media the normal way again (using Windows Media Creation Tool). In the BIOS under General > Boot Sequence, move your USB device to the top of the list (you'll have to change this to the SSD once Windows is installed, it should be called Windows Boot Manager). You can also boot once to it by mashing the delete key and then pressing F12 during boot, and then selecting the USB drive.

 

Under Boot List Option, make sure UEFI is selected. If you still can't boot into the installer after this, maybe try another USB. If you're fine losing your data on the SSD, during the Windows install process, just delete all partitions on the SSD (if there are any left) and do a clean install. 

Alright, so I bought a SanDisk USB 3.0 32GB stick. Ran it through the windows media creator tool, and like previously, nothing. I had it set to UEFI /w Secure Boot. I'll try it without Secure Boot and again in Legacy Mode. 

[blazesword2008]

20 hours ago, rmgdnz said:

Reset the BIOS to defaults. Wipe the USB drive and create an installation media the normal way again (using Windows Media Creation Tool). In the BIOS under General > Boot Sequence, move your USB device to the top of the list (you'll have to change this to the SSD once Windows is installed, it should be called Windows Boot Manager). You can also boot once to it by mashing the delete key and then pressing F12 during boot, and then selecting the USB drive.

 

Under Boot List Option, make sure UEFI is selected. If you still can't boot into the installer after this, maybe try another USB. If you're fine losing your data on the SSD, during the Windows install process, just delete all partitions on the SSD (if there are any left) and do a clean install. 

Alright, tried it with UEFI Secure Boot OFF and Legacy Boot. UEFI Secure Boot OFF just shows a glitch of lines. I then tried Legacy Mode. Works fine. I then tried booting in with UEFI while Legacy Boot was enabled. At first, it showed the windows logo for a split second and then showed some more glitched lines, this time blue. However, this time after waiting for a couple of seconds, it seems that the installer has booted. I don't know whether to try this or not, I don't know if it will damage anything. Lmk.  UPDATE: I've gotten it to work with UEFI Secure Boot OFF, too. Just had to wait a couple of seconds. Still glitches out at the start though and it should the dell BIOS loading screen twice, with the second one glitched out. It loads the installer fine in the end though. Would this be fine to continue with?

[SamClan]

2 hours ago, blazesword2008 said:

Would this be fine to continue with?

Well if I remember right, secure boot is good for only allowing programs to boot with windows that should boot. Viruses rootkids and whatever shouldn't boot up with your system. And manipulation of your system should be harder. 

 

 

To be honest I believe I don't run my system with secure boot. On my part it is fine something that would annoy me is seeing the loading screen twice 

[blazesword2008]

7 hours ago, SamClan said:

Well if I remember right, secure boot is good for only allowing programs to boot with windows that should boot. Viruses rootkids and whatever shouldn't boot up with your system. And manipulation of your system should be harder. 

 

 

To be honest I believe I don't run my system with secure boot. On my part it is fine something that would annoy me is seeing the loading screen twice 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt that the Windows Media Creation Tool could run with Secure Boot on. Probably just Windows. I was just wondering if it would be fine to continue with the install when it glitches out at the start.

[SamClan]

10 hours ago, blazesword2008 said:

nd it should the dell BIOS loading screen twice,

that showing of the BIOS Loading screen is before anything windows related is initiated. 

 

 

41 minutes ago, blazesword2008 said:

Windows Media Creation Tool could run

you mean the instalation itself or more like the act of creating an ISO? 

 

 

[blazesword2008]

3 minutes ago, SamClan said:

that showing of the BIOS Loading screen is before anything windows related is initiated. 

 

 

you mean the instalation itself or more like the act of creating an ISO? 

 

 

I made a bootable USB and before it shows the first screen there are some visual glitches that go on for about a minute.

[SamClan]

Just now, blazesword2008 said:

I made a bootable USB and before it shows the first screen there are some visual glitches that go on for about a minute.

that sounds not good. to be honest I would try to install windows and check if everything is working. 

 

[blazesword2008]

2 minutes ago, SamClan said:

that sounds not good. to be honest I would try to install windows and check if everything is working. 

 

Alright. This only happens with it on UEFI... with Legacy Mode it doesn't happen. So, I'll see if it installs correctly.

[blazesword2008]

23 minutes ago, SamClan said:

that sounds not good. to be honest I would try to install windows and check if everything is working. 

 

I installed it, but the problem is that the SSD is not in UEFI... only the Boot Manager is. The SSD is instead only available in Legacy Boot. How would I fix this?

[blazesword2008]

1 hour ago, SamClan said:

that sounds not good. to be honest I would try to install windows and check if everything is working. 

 

New update: Seems like I got it to install in the GPT format, and that's why the Boot Manager is in UEFI. I don't know if it is normal for the SSD to be in legacy mode but the Boot Manager be in UEFI, I wouldn't have a clue. Still it's strange that even with it being in UEFI and having been installed in the GPT format that it won't boot in UEFI /w Secure Boot. I looked on another forum and someone said that "winload" should be "winload.efi" instead of "winload.exe" for UEFI, and for me, it's winload.exe. Maybe that could be causing an issue, no idea how to solve it though.

[rmgdnz]

4 hours ago, blazesword2008 said:

visual glitches

This sounds like a different problem actually. Does this still frequently happen? I recently had an issue with an OptiPlex's motherboard, specifically one of the memory slots caused this to happen. The entire boot screen would have a bunch of glitched artifacts but then it would load into Windows. However, the problem worsened over time and I couldn't boot. I had to get a replacement motherboard. You can test this by taking out a stick of ram/moving it. 

 

3 hours ago, blazesword2008 said:

it won't boot in UEFI /w Secure Boot.

Have you tried updating the BIOS to the latest version? I have an OptiPlex 9020SFF and I was able to use secure boot (thought I currently have it disabled since I'm dual booting). 

[blazesword2008]

9 hours ago, rmgdnz said:

This sounds like a different problem actually. Does this still frequently happen? I recently had an issue with an OptiPlex's motherboard, specifically one of the memory slots caused this to happen. The entire boot screen would have a bunch of glitched artifacts but then it would load into Windows. However, the problem worsened over time and I couldn't boot. I had to get a replacement motherboard. You can test this by taking out a stick of ram/moving it. 

 

Have you tried updating the BIOS to the latest version? I have an OptiPlex 9020SFF and I was able to use secure boot (thought I currently have it disabled since I'm dual booting). 

I can try updating the BIOS to the latest version, since I have yet to do that. With the glitches, it doesn't happen when it booted into windows. In fact, it only happened when I was booting into the installation media. UPDATE: Just downloaded the latest bios update for the Optiplex 9020 and installing it now, turns out it was REALLY outdated. A09 was my version, A25 was the newest. Fingers crossed this helps! | Just updated it, nothing seems to have changed, still get the glitches and the system can not be started with Secure Boot. I think the problem is that the SSD is not in UEFI, it's in legacy. I don't know how I would change that though, and it's strange that the SSD is even in legacy despite it running GPT. 

[rmgdnz]

3 hours ago, blazesword2008 said:

I think the problem is that the SSD is not in UEFI, it's in legacy. I don't know how I would change that though, and it's strange that the SSD is even in legacy despite it running GPT. 

Can you launch the installation media with secure boot now? If so, now that your BIOS is up to date, maybe try enabling secure boot and then clean installing to the SSD.

[blazesword2008]

12 hours ago, rmgdnz said:

Can you launch the installation media with secure boot now? If so, now that your BIOS is up to date, maybe try enabling secure boot and then clean installing to the SSD.

Still can't boot with secure boot on, only without or in legacy mode 

[blazesword2008]

Alright, new update: I've just gotten the SSD to appear in UEFI mode /w Secure Boot ON by removing the SSD physically, turning the computer on without the SSD, then reconnecting it, and then turning it on with the SSD. Seems to have fixed it. Now the only problem is to get the USB working, as it has suddenly stopped working.

[blazesword2008]

Ok, so the SSD appears from the UEFI boot mode wherever I start the Windows Installation process. So, I've tried other stuff, did a method provided from this site: https://www.dell.com/community/Windows-General-Wiki/Windows-Bootable-USB-and-UEFI-Boot-Mode-with-Secure-Boot/ta-p/8031484 and it seems like it has gotten the USB to start in UEFI /w Secure Boot! The only problem is... once it restarts after the "Installing Updates" part, it just shows a black screen. No idea how to fix this, I've tried unplugging the USB before I start the PC and seeing if that's interfering, but that did not work, all it did was show "No bootable devices detected." (this also happens in legacy boot mode, just with a different screen that says "press any button to reboot".). I've also had problems with restart loops with other methods I've done (where after the restart it just shows the beginning part again) and everyone's advice of "plugging out the USB before it hits the screen with the dell logo" has not worked. No clue what to do at this point. 

[blazesword2008]

New question: I've recently discovered a menu in the BIOS under "System Configuration" named "SATA Operation". There are 4 options: "Disabled", "ATA", "AHCI" and "RAID On". The current selected option is "RAID On". Which one should be enabled for an SSD like mine? (Crucial MX500 500GB) Just curious, because maybe this is what is causing the problems, since there was a hard drive in this before and maybe the previous owner changed it to "RAID On", despite that option not working for my situation. Lmk!

[blazesword2008]

HOORAY!!!!! IT WORKED!!!! 

 

What I did is went into the BIOS, went into "System Configuration" and then into "SATA Operation". Changed it from "RAID On" to "AHCI", applied the changes and exited the BIOS.

 

Then, I booted into the USB IN UEFI /W SECURE BOOT (still had the glitches at the start, but it doesn't happen when I boot into Windows 10, so I think it should be fine) and just went through the installation. The first reboot actually kept the installation going afterwards (instead of the black screen) and then I went through the prompts and BOOM, Windows 10. Boots perfectly fine in UEFI mode with Secure Boot ON. I even enabled TPM just for the added layer of security, since it works too. 

 

Thanks to all that helped me, I REALLY appreciate it. Hope this can help people in the future with the same issue, too. 

 

(also, I didn't know if this helped contribute to the successful installation, but I made the Windows 10 USB with this guide: https://www.dell.com/community/Windows-General-Wiki/Windows-Bootable-USB-and-UEFI-Boot-Mode-with-Secure-Boot/ta-p/8031484)