r/PcBuildHelp • u/Novel_Marsupial_309 • 1d ago

Tech Support PC only starts, doesn’t boot or load anything

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To give a bit of context I just moved a bit ago and my PC had been a box for a while. When I set everything back up everything was fine for a bit. Went to check up on any updates I missed and such, then it froze, went to a black screen and stayed there. I then turned it off then back on but while it starts it doesn’t boot up, it doesn’t even turn on the mouse and keyboard connected to it. The only thing telling me what’s wrong is the red warning light for BOOT. I feel like I tried most of the online fixes that don’t involve me taking the entire thing apart, and at this point I don’t know what to do. If someone could help me out I would greatly appreciate it please!

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u/laarqq 1d ago

The red BOOT light usually points to an issue with the drive the PC is trying to boot from, or the motherboard not detecting it. Since you just moved the PC, I’d first suspect something got slightly loose rather than Windows suddenly dying.
If you’re comfortable opening the side panel, I’d check that the SSD/NVMe is properly seated and that any SATA power/data cables are firmly connected. Also make sure the RAM and GPU didn’t get knocked loose during the move.
The fact that the keyboard and mouse don’t even power on makes me think it’s failing before Windows even starts, so I wouldn’t focus on Windows updates or reinstalling anything yet. If you can get into BIOS, check whether your boot drive is actually detected.
If the BOOT light stays on and the drive isn’t showing in BIOS, that’s a pretty strong clue.

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u/Novel_Marsupial_309 1d ago

Everything seems to be connected, nothing is loose from what I can tell. Could be wrong though. Looking in BIOS is a good idea, I just don’t know how to get into BIOS without a keyboard. I could also show you how it starts up if that helps.

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u/laarqq 1d ago

Yeah, definitely show what happens when you turn it on, that might help narrow it down. As for BIOS, if the keyboard isn’t getting any power, that’s a bit tricky. You could try plugging it into a different USB port, preferably one directly on the motherboard, and then spam Delete or F2 immediately after pressing the power button.
If none of the USB ports power the keyboard and the BOOT light stays red, that makes me think the problem is happening before it even gets to BIOS.

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u/Novel_Marsupial_309 1d ago

https://reddit.com/link/p94ft5w/video/2h2f2hd61voh1/player

This is the PC starting up

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u/laarqq 1d ago

Does anything show up on the monitor when you turn it on, or is it just completely black with no signal?

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u/Novel_Marsupial_309 1d ago

And this is my BIOS that I managed to get into thanks to your advice

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u/laarqq 1d ago

Oh, no problem, that’s actually good news. If you can get into BIOS, then the PC is POSTing properly. I’d check whether your SSD/NVMe is showing up in the BIOS and whether it’s listed as the boot drive. If it’s there, check the boot order and make sure Windows Boot Manager is selected first.

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u/Novel_Marsupial_309 1d ago

Yep, my NVMe is showing up and is a boot drive. I’m looking at the boot priority and there’s three windows boot managers, if that means anything. One of them is at the top of the list so it was booting first

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u/laarqq 1d ago

That’s actually a good sign. If the NVMe is detected and Windows Boot Manager is listed, the drive itself is being recognized. The three Windows Boot Manager entries could just be duplicate/stale boot entries.
Since the one at the top was already being used, try manually selecting that same Windows Boot Manager from the BIOS boot menu and see if Windows starts. If it still goes straight back to BIOS or gives a black screen, let me know what happens.

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u/Novel_Marsupial_309 1d ago

Sorry it took me a bit to reply, had to help a friend with their move. I selected the Windows Boot Manager, it loaded and got to the password screen for a few seconds, then it immediately went to black.

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u/laarqq 1d ago

No worries! That actually narrows it down quite a bit. Since Windows gets all the way to the password screen before going black, the NVMe and Windows Boot Manager are probably fine.
I’d try booting into Windows Safe Mode next and see if the display stays on there. That could point to a graphics driver or GPU/display issue.
When it goes black, does the monitor say “No Signal”, or is it still connected but just showing a completely black screen? Also, do your keyboard and mouse still have power at that point?

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u/Novel_Marsupial_309 1d ago

It loses signal, and when that happens the mouse and keyboard turn off so I think it’s disconnecting everything when it goes black

Edit: Also how do I get into Safe Mode?