Changed ahci setting now my samsung series 9 wont boot or enter bios

Hello all,
well my problem seems simple! I can't access the bios using F2 key during boot..
can anyone help me please?

 

If Fast Boot is enabled in the BIOS and / or (Easy) Settings then the time slot for the system to detect the key presses is very short. My method is, after (re-)starting the computer immediately start tapping the Fn key two or three times per second. It usually works, but sometimes I have to make a couple of attempts (and I've had quite a bit of practice doing this).

John

 

Fn key? Do you mean f2?

 

Changed ahci setting in bios, after that my laptop is stuck at samsung logo.. Doesnt want to boot to windows... And i cant access the bios setting tapping f2 or even recovery...

Any help please?

 

Are you running Windows 7 or Windows 8? Windows 8 introduces another hurdle with the hibernation technique it uses.

If you are using Windows 8, be sure to restart the machine. That forces a real shutdown and upon reboot you should be able to press the F2 key and get into the BIOS.

 

Windows 8 ... I cant access the bios by anyways now my laptop never start .. Samsung logo then it says ur laptop run into a problem and need to be restarted! I cant boot or access the bios ... This is really annoying!!

 

Is it the type of problem discussed in this thread?

John

 

No it's not, my laptop still can start..but never pass samsung logo.

I managed to fix this issue by removing the SSD then reboot, laptop now can enter the bios, i did the required modification then reinstalled the SSD now everything is fine.

i'm really annoyed from this, should we remove the SSD everytime a problem happens?

 

You'll need to provide more information. Are you running the factory Windows 8 image or is this a custom install? Are the BIOS/UEFI settings the factory settings or custom? What about the partitions on the drive?

 

There is no reason to ever change the sata setting from AHCI to anything else unless you are installing Windows XP, and even then if you know what you are doing it is still unnecessary.

Regarding booting, what OS is currently on the SSD? Do you have an external DVD drive and Windows setup DVD? What about a USB stick with the Windows setup image?

 

I had windows 8 that doesn't want to boot or enter recovery. I did everything possible to access the BIOS in order to boot from USB and install windows without any success. the only possible way to access the BIOS was to remove the SSD drive and power the laptop on, accessd the bios, changed settings then plugged the SSD drive again.

I did that, changed the AHCI and secure boot settings, installed windows from USB driver then restored Samsung image from the recovery partition! after recovery! windows failed to start because of the AHCI settings!

This is a nightmare! I can't imagine removing the SSD every time I want to change bios settings!! I hope that they address this issue in future bios updates.

 

factory image, factory settings..

 

@actronx: I think, as Thor already indicated, that the problem arose from your disabling AHCI: When you subsequently restored the factory image, Windows was unable to boot because that image relies on AHCI. There are other possible explanations, but this seems most obvious to me.

I certainly don't think you need to remove the SSD every time you have to access BIOS. But (as also mentioned by Thor in your other thread) Win8's Fast Startup feature resumes without doing the usual BIOS POST startup routines, thus making it difficult to catch that small window for F2 or F4. Choose Restart (instead of Shut down) or disable Fast Startup ( Control Panel - Power Options - Choose what closing the lid does) if you have to.

I would just make sure AHCI and UEFI are enabled in BIOS (as default). If you want to be able to boot other things, you can disable SecureBoot and chose UEFI & CSM. Then restore factory image again, and see if it doesn't run correctly.

Be very careful about making any changes in BIOS, even if you have lots of experience installing and configuring in the past. It is more tricky now with UEFI, GPT and Win8. It works fine when setup right, but there are many ways to mess to it up.

Hope you get it all working right. Otherwise there are many helpful people here -- as you already found

@John: Could we could merge actronx's two threads into one, so we don't have the same discussion about the same PC and the same problem going on in two places?

 

Thank you very much for your replied @Dannemand and @Thors.Hammer.
@dannemand well actually disabling fast startup option is only applicable if windows 8 can start and load! but when it fails nothing help. I had tried every other option before removing SSD but nothing helped and I was planning to go for CMOS reset if removing SSD didn't help..

 

The thing you have to remember for the factory design is that Windows 8 is hard core about changes. If you do a point in time backup, the settings must match for a restore. In the case of Windows 8, that means the sata controller would need to be in AHCI mode, UEFI enabled, Secure Boot enabled, etc. Any one of those will trip you up as you have discovered.

You can install Windows 8 with a completely different and more forgiving configuration. My NP900X3D-A02US is an example. UEFI and Secure Boot were disabled before I did a clean install.

 

Yes, yes, I understand that you didn't have that choice when you first got stuck. I meant once you got your PC going, disabling Fast Startup (or choosing Restart instead of Shut down) will make it easier to use F2 or F4.

And my point was now that you have access to BIOS again (F2) make sure you set those options back to default, then restore the factory image again. Maybe you already did that.

And Thor put it perfectly: The factory installation of Win8 is meant to be very secure (to counter the onslaught from malware and rookits). Any experimenting with BIOS or hardware settings can prevent it from running. Whether that is the right choice is a valid, but different, debate (one which Thor and I already had). But that is the way new PCs are delivered from Samsung and other vendors -- as a Win8 requirement.

You can make a more traditional installation of Win8 (I like that "forgiving" ) but you have to flip certain switches first -- and you will lose what is currently on your disk. We can help you if you want to do that down the road.

 

I am having the same problem but it is because I tried to install windows 8.1 preview. Now I'm stuck in a reboot loop and unable to access any boot or bios menus or boot from usb. Any ideas on what I can do. Here is some info on my laptop
Samsung series 9 NP900X3D-A1US
previous OS: Win 8

I just keep getting a message that an error has occur and that my computer will restart error
After slowing it down with my camera I saw that it said ACPI BIOS ERROR.
Thanks for any advice you might have.

 

Welcome to the forum, roblpetty. Sorry to hear about your problems.

Whatever is causing this, I don't think it has to do with AHCI (as the other posters in this thread). This sounds like some corruption in the updated boot files. ACPI is essentially the root of the entire hardware tree, whereas AHCI is merely a standard for how to access hard drives.

If you hold down the power button for 5 secs or until the LEDs turn off. Does that allow you to enter BIOS (F2) or Recovery (F4) on the next power on? Otherwise there is the CMOS reset discussed here.

The purpose is to clear out enough that you can get a full cold startup and enter BIOS (F2) and/or Recovery (F4). And if so, you may also be able to enter Win8's Startup Menu (F8). If you can boot Windows Safe Mode, you may be able to use System Restore to undo that 8.1 update. There are also Auto Recovery and System Restore features directly in Win8's Advanced Startup Menu (again, if you can get to it).

If you still have Recovery intact (and are able to boot it with F4) then that will be the surest route to getting a working PC again -- but you will lose your Windows installation. Recovery can also be used to backup your data to an external drive, which is a great step to take at this point.

Let us know how these first steps go.