Prepetual BSOD Restart Loop - Cannot Access BIOS

[MJ8121]

Hello, I have a laptop that is running Windows 8 that will not boot. It is an Asus x551m. It seems to be stuck in a perpetual BSOD restart loop (code: 0xc000021a).

My first instinct was to create a bootable Windows 8 usb drive and boot from that; but, there is not a chance to get into the BIOS (or at least I can't figure out how to) to choose to boot from the drive. It goes immediately from the Asus splash page to the BSOD. I have tried tapping F8 or F12 while the Asus logo is there and continuing until it goes away, but it does not make a difference, the BSOD still appears.

This is my sister's computer, so I do not have a ton of information about what precipitated this loop. But I'm hoping that I can find a solution here. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[johnbl]

the second parameter of the bugcheck is the error code and it will help in figuring out the problem.
you might consider booting off another windows image get to the command prompt and run this command
chkdsk c: /f

sometimes when a system bugchecks it leaves the filesystem in a corrupted state where the files can not be access during the boot process.
The error code from parameter 2 can also be looked up to see why the system bugchecked.

you might also be able to boot into safe mode and get the chkdsk command to run. (sounded like you could not get into safe mode)

 

[MJ8121]

the second parameter of the bugcheck is the error code and it will help in figuring out the problem.
you might consider booting off another windows image get to the command prompt and run this command
chkdsk c: /f

sometimes when a system bugchecks it leaves the filesystem in a corrupted state where the files can not be access during the boot process.
The error code from parameter 2 can also be looked up to see why the system bugchecked.

you might also be able to boot into safe mode and get the chkdsk command to run. (sounded like you could not get into safe mode)

Thanks for the info. - that sounds pretty likely. I created an image of Windows 8 on a flash drive, but I am not sure how to boot from it without having the opportunity to get into the F8 or F12 menu. Is there a way to do that without seeing the Windows splash screen?

 

[johnbl]

yes, you have to get into bios and set the boot priority to be the drive you want to boot from.
I think you have to hit the "del" key over and over when the machine is just powered on to get into bios on a asus machine.

the second parameter of the bugcheck is the error code and it will help in figuring out the problem.
you might consider booting off another windows image get to the command prompt and run this command
chkdsk c: /f

sometimes when a system bugchecks it leaves the filesystem in a corrupted state where the files can not be access during the boot process.
The error code from parameter 2 can also be looked up to see why the system bugchecked.

you might also be able to boot into safe mode and get the chkdsk command to run. (sounded like you could not get into safe mode)

Thanks for the info. - that sounds pretty likely. I created an image of Windows 8 on a flash drive, but I am not sure how to boot from it without having the opportunity to get into the F8 or F12 menu. Is there a way to do that without seeing the Windows splash screen?

 

[MJ8121]

Alright, thank you. For anyone else reading, for the Asus, you press 'delete' (or F2) and hold it while powering it on. That will take you into the Bios.

Neither system restore nor startup repair was successful; so, I wanted to try booting to a USB loaded with Hiren's Boot, in order to save the files on the hard drive. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to get the Hiren's boot USB to boot. I have used Rufus to image the Hiren's ISO onto the USB stick. But when I choose that drive in the bios, it won't boot. Any ideas on this or other programs where I can grab the files without removing the hard drive?

Otherwise, I'll just have to lose the files and do a clean install of the OS.

 

[MJ8121]

In case this helps anyone else, here was my solution:

Running the chkdsk did not change anything (no problems were found on the drive) and I was not able to get into safe mode. I also never got Hiren'sBootCD (or the Falcon Four software) to boot in the UEFI enivronment. So, I used the instructions on this page (http/www.howtogeek.com/135005/how-to-use-a-windows-installer-disc-to-back-up-your-files-when-your-computer-wont-boot/) to copy the files on the system to a flash drive.

After that, I turned my attention to trying to recover the Microsoft Office product key. This is the only unresolved part of the process for me. I copied part of the Windows folder to try to recover the Microsoft Office product key (using ProduKey on another computer), but was unsuccessful. So, I'm not sure that I will be able to recover the license for that.

Finally, I did a reset of Windows, as refreshing did not work.

Thank you, johnbl, for getting me started with this. It was a huge help!