Stuck on BIOS after replacing motherboard and hard drive

[AngelWingss]

I have an Asus Q502LA laptop, about a month and a half ago it crashed and would only go to the bios menu. I took it to Geek Squad to get it fixed, they said they replaced the hard drive but i had the same problem a few hours later. After taking it back a second time, they said they replaced the motherboard and the hard drive again, but a few hours later it crashed again and got stuck on the bios menu again. Any ideas on what else could be the problem?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Welcome To Tom's Hardware, @AngelWingss!

It sounds like there might be some sort of loose connection or another faulty hardware component. When you go into the BIOS menu, can you see the HDD detected under SATA devices? I'd also advise you check the boot order and make sure it's in there as well after the Windows Installation media (USB or CD).
It would most probably a good idea to take it back to them again, because it looks like they might have done something wrong.

Hope this helps. Keep me posted with the troubleshooting, though.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[AngelWingss]

The hard drive doesn't show up anywhere in the bios menu, and there's nothing at all under boot option priorities either. I don't have a USB or CD for Windows Installation, would buying one of those and installing it potentially solve this problem? I probably will end up taking it back, I'm just not sure if they'll actually be able to fix it or just keep replacing parts until they finally get it right, which could take months, thank you though.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

You don't have a Windows installation but was Windows OS pre-installed on the laptop? If it was, you should be able to create a bootable flash drive on another computer with the same pre-installed Windows version. You can follow the MS guidelines on how to get this done. However, you will need a working computer to create it.

However, since the HDD doesn't show up anywhere in BIOS, it has most probably failed or it's not connected properly. Either way, since this is a laptop, I'd definitely take it back and make sure that it's working properly before you take it back home.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[AngelWingss]

I bought the laptop "open box" (sorta regretting that now) so all it came with was the laptop and charger, it had Windows 10 when i received it but after a factory reset it was on Windows 8. I'll try to install it with that method and see if that helps, but yeah i will be taking it back anyway. The problem is, it ran fine for a few hours after i received it after they "fixed" it both times, so I can't exactly wait there all day for it to crash since they do seem to temporarily fix it.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

It sounds like it's either a failed hard drive that they have seated in your laptop or there's something wrong with the SATA connector of the replaced motherboard. Either way, the associates that have replaced it should figure out their mistake and replace the failed components again.
You could also take it elsewhere if they don't seem to work it out a 3rd time.

Best of luck & share what happens after taking it back!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[AngelWingss]

For some reason I turned it on after a few hours and it started up normally, I'll use it for a while and see if it manages to not crash and post what happens on here. Thank you for your help!

 

[AngelWingss]

Well that didn't last long. I left it alone while it was downloading some games on Steam and Microsoft in the background and turned the screen off using the keyboard button, but the screen turned on and went to the bios menu again. You're probably right about the SATA connector, that could be why it works for a while then crashes, the connection could be faulty.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there again, @AngelWingss!

I'm afraid that is the issue, indeed. If it's something more severe - the sooner you take care of it, the better.
If you have any important data on the HDD, you could try plugging it to another working computer and copy any important contents there.
Once you take it back, they will most probably re-format the HDD and re-install the OS from scratch, so I'd definitely make a backup of the files elsewhere.

Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[AngelWingss]

Alright so after taking it back a third time, I think it's finally fixed (although I still hold my breath every time I turn it back on and am traumatized by the BIOS menu). They replaced the hard drive and motherboard again, but this time they also replaced the hard drive board, so I'm assuming that was the issue. It also fixed issues with some programs that had just given up and wouldn't run anymore before the fix. I would check if the HDD shows up in the BIOS menu but I am legit scared of loading to BIOS so I can't check. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hello again, @AngelWingss!

I'm glad that you were able to get the issue fixed! I hope everything runs smoothly from now on. Just always remember to backup your data somewhere off-site as well. Having duplicates of your files in multiple storage locations is the best way to prevent any potential data loss in the future.

Best of luck! Hope I was helpful!
SuperSoph_WD