GMTEK Mini PC Stuck at Aptio Setup AMI

[Tom Saurus]

I had used Devine to do a download over night. It had finished and then I went to Rename My TV Series to rename and then the computer froze. I pressed CTRL ALT DELETE and it didn't seem to work. I went away for about a minute and when I came back the screen was completely black. I pressed in the power button and it still remained black. Then I unplugged the power adapter and then I unplugged it for a longer time.

I am hoping I have not lost Windows and everything I have on this hard drive. On the main screen of this Aptio Setup AMI it says near the bottom:

SATA Information:

Serial ATA port 1 empty

I need some help as no matter what I choose it brings me right back to this Aptio Setup AMI.

[Tom Saurus]

No matter what I select it seems to be stuck at this. Maybe the hard drive failed. Nothing positive seems to be able to be found via a Google search. I really enjoyed this Mini PC. I hate that I have probably lost everything that was on the 1 TB SSD drive. It is terribly depressing.

[Tom Saurus]

It is a NVME 1 TB hard drive. I hope I can put it in an enclosure and get the files off it. It says no NVME device found. So it looks like it is dead. This had destroyed my confidence in Mini PCs.

[videoAI]

I hope this helps ..

Initial Assessment
Your computer appears to be stuck in BIOS/UEFI firmware setup,
which suggests a potential boot device detection problem.
The "SATA Information: Serial ATA port 1 empty" message is particularly concerning.

Possible Scenarios
1. Hard Drive Disconnection
2. Drive Failure
3. BIOS/UEFI Configuration Issue
4. Potential Motherboard Problem

Diagnostic Steps

Physical Inspection
1. Verify hard drive connections:
- Ensure SATA cable is firmly connected
- Check power cable connection
- Try alternate SATA ports on motherboard
- If possible, reseat the hard drive

BIOS/UEFI Checks
1. Enter BIOS/UEFI Setup (by pressing F2, Del, or F12 during startup)
2. Navigate to:
- Storage Configuration
- Boot Order
- SATA Controller Settings

Potential Recovery Actions
- If drive is detected: Verify boot order
- If drive is not detected:
- Try different SATA cable
- Test hard drive on another computer
- Consider professional data recovery

Immediate Recommendations
1. Do not panic about data loss yet
2. Carefully check physical connections
3. If comfortable, try removing and reinserting hard drive
4. Consider professional diagnostic if above steps fail

[davexnet]

Have you a live environment you can boot from, Hirens (Windows) or a live Linux USB?
What do see on the screen when you turn it on? Messages from The bios/post?
Windows logo?

[Tom Saurus]

Thanks guys for your posts. I took the cover off and it is 1 TB NVME drive. I unscrewed the screw holding it pulled it out and put it back in.

It takes quite sometime when turning it on to finally get to this Aptio Setup AMI screen. The GMTEK logo flashes briefly on the screen and this is all I get.

Nothing seems to work. You have an option to save settings and exit and you do that and you are immediatley right back to this screen.

It looks like a failed NVME hard drive.