I recently updated my BIOS and now I'm completely locked out of my PC. After restarting, it takes me to a screen where it prompts me for a USB thumb drive if I try to change my PIN. I can't change it any other way. I'm running Windows 11, and my setup includes an Aorus B650 Elite motherboard, an RX 7900 XTX graphics card, and a Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU. Has anyone experienced this before and can you offer any suggestions?
3 Answers
Could you share a picture of what the screen looks like? That might help figure out what's going on. Sometimes visual clues can make a big difference in diagnosing the problem!
Before you do anything, make sure you have a backup of your data. BIOS changes can sometimes lead to data loss. If you need to retrieve files, connecting your drive to another computer might help, but be careful with the data if Bitlocker is enabled!
It sounds like your issue might be related to Bitlocker. Some BIOS updates can mess with the TPM (Trusted Platform Module), which can result in your PC asking for the recovery key. If that's the case, you'll need to find that key if you want access back. Did you back it up to your Microsoft account or another location?
Yeah, I checked my Microsoft account but couldn't find the key. I'll have to search around some more to see if I saved it somewhere.
Here's a screen capture of it: https://preview.redd.it/rff98pd2w36g1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6859ecf8ad61b917ae36bd0244ded11f35e10523. Not sure why I couldn't add it in my initial post!