I updated the BIOS on my ASUS Prime B450-Plus motherboard, and the update completed successfully—the new BIOS version appears in setup. However, Windows now freezes at the ASUS logo during startup. I can still enter the BIOS, and the Windows drive is detected. I already checked the boot order and confirmed the installation uses GPT, but changing the boot settings did not help. Windows Startup Repair also hangs in the same way. What BIOS settings or troubleshooting steps should I try next?
3 Answers
Because Startup Repair hangs too, the problem may not be limited to the Windows boot files. Check the SSD's health and connections, and if possible test booting from a Windows installation USB. If the installer also freezes at the ASUS logo, focus on BIOS settings, RAM stability, storage hardware, or the BIOS update itself rather than reinstalling Windows immediately.
Disconnect all USB storage devices and unnecessary peripherals, then load the BIOS defaults and manually restore only the important settings: UEFI boot mode, the correct SATA mode, and Windows Boot Manager as the first boot option. If the BIOS update changed memory settings, temporarily disable overclocking or DOCP/XMP as well. If the drive is detected but the machine still freezes before Windows loads, try clearing CMOS and then reconfigure the BIOS carefully.
A BIOS update can reset more than just the boot order. Check whether the SATA controller mode changed from AHCI to RAID or vice versa, since Windows may freeze if that no longer matches the original installation. Also confirm that Windows Boot Manager is selected rather than only the physical SSD. Since the drive uses GPT, CSM should normally remain disabled and the system should boot in UEFI mode. Avoid changing several settings at once, and write down the current values before testing.
I already confirmed the drive is GPT, checked the boot priority, and tried Startup Repair, but both normal startup and the repair environment stop at the same ASUS logo.