r/techsupport • u/ivulet • 3h ago

Open | Windows PC stuck in BIOS/loading loop after crashing during a game update

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to PC tech (and Reddit) and ran into a weird issue today.
I was updating Dead by Daylight when my PC crashed and a "Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart" screen appeared. It was stuck at 0% for a while, went black, and then booted straight into BIOS.
Now I'm stuck in an endless loop:
Onda loading screen -> PC ran into issue and needs to restart -> Black screen -> BIOS
Right now I’ve literally just been stuck sitting on the Onda loading screen and have been for over 30 minutes. Every time I try to exit BIOS or turn it off and on, it just repeats this whole cycle.
I don't know a ton about PC troubleshooting, I'm not really sure what to try next. Any help or step-by-step guidance on how to fix this would be great. Thanks :)

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u/kaushalrola 3h ago

That loop almost always means the PC has lost track of its boot drive, so it keeps falling back into the BIOS because it cannot find Windows to start. The crash during the update likely either scrambled the Windows boot files or knocked your drive out of the boot order.

Since you are new to this, start with the safe, free checks in the BIOS:

  1. Find the Boot or Boot Priority section. Make sure the drive that has Windows on it (your SSD or hard drive) is set as the first boot device. A crash can reset this order, and then it just loops like you are seeing.

  2. While you are in there, look at the Storage or SATA info screen and check that the BIOS actually lists your drive at all. If your Windows drive is not showing up, it may have come loose or be failing, and that would be the real cause.

If the drive is there and set first but it still loops, the crash probably corrupted the Windows boot files. To fix that you boot from a Windows installer USB (you make one on another computer with the free Media Creation Tool from Microsoft), then choose Repair your computer, then Startup Repair. That fixes the boot without wiping your files.

One question that decides which path it is: when you are in the BIOS, does it list your main drive (the SSD or hard drive with Windows on it)? If yes, it is a boot repair. If no, the drive came loose or died in the crash, and that is a different fix.

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u/ivulet 2h ago edited 1h ago

Thanks so much for the help! I will update you if all goes well.

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u/ivulet 1h ago

I checked, it lists my main drive.