PCI lock
Closedflo88 Posted messages 28474 Registration date Status Contributor Last intervention -
Hello,
I accidentally activated the "PCI lock" in "msconfig", and after restarting my PC as requested, an error message appears and I can no longer access my computer. I've tried my best; the computer remains stuck on this...
Is there a solution?
Thank you.
2 answers
Hello,
One should never touch msconfig under any circumstances; just look at how it can crash your PC, and it doesn't leave many options:
-try restarting in safe mode by pressing F8 or equivalent to uncheck the box in msconfig
-deliberately crash the PC (unless it's a laptop with a non-removable battery) by turning the power off and on 3 times in a row without using the button if there is one: the PC is forced into repair mode from where you can access a restore point if there is one.
-the same goes if there's a recovery partition linked to the brand of the PC, with the disadvantage of returning to factory settings.
-booting from an installation USB trying to repair Windows; otherwise, reinstall without losing data or with it if that's not possible.
And yes, as Brucine says, msconfig should be avoided if you don't know what you're doing; by the way, some settings shouldn't even exist anymore, they are remnants of old operating systems, like that PCI lock, which prevents Windows from reallocating I/O resources and IRQs... from the old PCI bus, not the PCI Express... and since current motherboards lack this, a crash is guaranteed.
The only way is to go back by unchecking the setting, trying safe mode as explained by Brucine, otherwise it's a complete reset of the PC...
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Waiting for more responses; I'm attracting trolls....
Other suggestions include:
-resetting the BIOS settings by disconnecting and reconnecting the CMOS battery.
-or once access to the command prompt is obtained by any means (recovery mode via function key at startup or intentional crash, installation key), enter:
bcdedit /deletevalue {default} usefirmwarepcisettings
-or by regenerating the boot sector as follows:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/pci-lock-computer-doesnt-boot/2a195005-8750-4c41-bbd5-389e062904d1