Windows 7 Laptop Stuck on BIOS Screen

Dear Carabineers,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A.

It's so frustrating that you're dealing with a Windows 7 laptop stuck at BIOS.

You could try following these steps below to solve this issue:

1. Check BIOS Settings & Disconnect Peripherals:
   • Unplug all USB devices (mouse, flash drives, external hard drives, etc.) except for the power adapter. Sometimes a faulty peripheral can interfere with the boot process.
   • Restart the laptop and immediately press the key to enter the BIOS setup. This key is usually F2, F10, F12, or DEL. It will be displayed briefly on the initial screen.
   • In the BIOS menu, look for a section like "Boot" or "Main". Verify that your hard drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD) is listed. If it says "Not Detected" or is missing, your hard drive may have failed.
   • Find an option like "Load Optimized Defaults," "Load Setup Defaults," or "Restore Defaults." Select it, save the changes, and exit. This can fix any misconfigured settings that might be preventing Windows from loading.
2. Boot from the Recovery CD and Run automatic repair:
   • Place one of the recovery disks into the laptop's CD/DVD drive.
   • Restart the laptop and enter the BIOS setup again (using F2, F10, etc.).
   • Navigate to the "Boot" tab. Change the Boot Order or Boot Priority so that the CD/DVD Drive (or "Optical Drive") is the first device in the list, ahead of the Hard Drive.
   • Save your changes and exit the BIOS. The laptop will restart.
   • You should see a message like "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD...". Press any key immediately.
   • The system will load files from the disk. You'll eventually see the System Recovery Options window. Select Startup Repair. Let it run automatically. This tool can detect and fix many common boot issues on its own. It may restart your computer several times.
3. Use Command Prompt for manual repairs:
   • From the System Recovery Options menu, select Command Prompt.
   • Run these commands one by one:

          bootrec /fixmbr
          bootrec /fixboot
          bootrec /rebuildbcd
          chkdsk c: /r
     

   • Restart your computer

If nothing above works, the last resort is Reinstall Windows with the installation media - Microsoft Support

Disclaimer: At this point, we have exhausted all troubleshooting and I recommend that we try to perform a clean install to get your computer back into a working condition. Please ensure that you backup any important data, including Documents, Pictures, Videos and more. 

To assist others who might have similar questions and to help us improve our support system, we kindly encourage you to "Accept the answer" if it successfully addressed your concern. Accepting an answer lets other users know that this solution worked for you, and it also helps us track the effectiveness of our support efforts.

Best regards, 

Bryan Vu | Microsoft Q&A Support Specialist