cannot enter BIOS or boot SSD after migrating OS from HDD to SSD

[John33333333]

Cannot enter BIOS (or boot OS) after migrating Windows 10 from HDD to Samsung 860 Pro SSD.

Samsung partition software successfully did the migration from old HDD to SSD, and I connected SSD to SATA 1, set correct boot order in BIOS and booted new SSD successfully. It was amazingly fast.

After using for several hours, monitor screen froze (but frozen image still showed) but keyboard and mouse were unresponsive.

Only way to shut down was to hold power button 5 seconds, which I did.

After that, system would not boot, and also I cannot even enter BIOS. Monitor screen remains black.

I reconnected old HDD, but system is still unresponsive.

Internal motherboard lights come on, fans run, and I think (but am not positive) that the HD (old one I reconnected) is be spinning.

DVD tray opens/closes, but trying to boot from a bootable DVD also produces no response

Have tried resetting BIOS to defaults by removing button battery, holding power button 30 seconds, etc.

But still no output to monitor.

Graphics card has an HDMI connector and DVI connector. Neither of these connection to monitor produces anything.

(Monitor is working. I connected it to a laptop as 2nd screen to check.)

Have not found any solution for this on forums, websites, etc. where I looked.

Anyone had this happen, or can offer solutions?

[Prométhée · Accepted solution]

hi

https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c01925486

https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c02220642

computer off, unplug from power outlet
long press the power button
remove anything that is not necessary
leave only the keyboard, mouse, screen
open the computer
The screen should be connected directly to the motherboard, so remove the graphics card
place only the original HDD
If you have two memory modules, you will have to test with one then the other
Once ready, plug in and start the computer, press the f10 key several times (if it is the bios key)

[John33333333]

(**This did not seem to post on my first attempt. Hope it does this time, and does not show up as a duplicate.)

Thanks, Prométhée

Before seeing your reply, one of the dozens of things I tried brought the computer back to life -- at first, just for a few seconds, then on a reboot try, properly.

It may have been removing/replacing the graphics card, pressing the main connector to check it was real tight on the motherboard, or a few other things that did the trick. I could not tell for sure.

I even then used a straw, taped to my smallest vacuum cleaner attachment, to clean the fan/heat sink areas. Everything continued to work.

Then, not willing to leave things fixed, today I decided today to  clean the interior more thoroughly, with compressed air.

You know -- if it ain't broke, keep fixing it until it is.

That cleaning brought back the same failure to boot, enter BIOS, etc. problem.

By this time, I had read your advice and followed most of it (except removing/testing the RAM cards). I opened the computer case, removed the graphics card, connected to the original HDD rather than the SSD, again pressed the main connector against the motherboard (i wanted to remove/replace it, but it didn't seem to want to release, so I just pressed).

With the graphics card out, I connected the motherboard's 15-pin VGA port to my monitor. It booted and ran.

Then I replaced the graphics card, switched back to the SSD, and it still booted properly.

So I have declared it fixed, partly to prevent me from trying to fix it even more.

Even though I would like to know exactly which one of those things I did was the one that fixed it.

Thanks again for replying and offering some useful ideas and options.

I'm going to mark them as solving the problem, because doing some of them did seem to . . . I think.

[Prométhée]

And very happy for you!
thank you
sometimes you don't have to look, there can be miracles, sometimes unfortunately nothing can be done