Asus Q550L laptop stuck at Aptio Setup Utility screen

[sommerswerd]

My laptop is running Windows 8.1. Last night I ran the HDDScan utility program to do a erase test on my new external hard drive that I just bought. I left the program running over night. This morning when I checked, I noticed that it was showing the Aptio Setup Utility screen. Whenever I save and exit, it reboots and goes back to the same screen. When I turn off and turn back on the laptop, it again goes back to the Aptio Setup Utility screen.

I tried rebooting with my recovery USB stick, but none of the options seem to work. When I select to "Refesh my PC", the message "The drive where Windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and try again" shows. When I select "System Restore", a popup shows "To use System Restore, you must specify which Windows installation to restore. Restart this computer, select an operating system, and then select System Restore". Running "Startup Repair" is unsuccessful as well.

Might I have accidentally ran the erase test on my main internal drive, where my operating system is located, instead of the external hard drive? Need help badly!

 

[webworkings]

Try the following and see if it resolves the problem.

1. In the Aptio Setup Utility, select the "boot" menu and then select "Launch CSM" and change it to "enable".

2. Next select the "Security" menu and then select "secure Boot Control" and change to "disable".

3. Now select "Save & Exit" and press "yes".

4. Once you have done this, hold down the "power" button until the laptop turns off completely.

5. Now you want to power it back on and continually press the "F9" button for about ten seconds or until you are taken to the "Windows Recovery Menu".

6. In here select "Advanced Start Up" and then, once the recovery menu appears, select "Advance Options".

7. Choose "System Restore" and select a date prior to when the problem started.

The computer should now go through the restore process and then start normally for you.