[RECTIFIED] New N42C-4 Plus not booting

jboothe

Member
Hello, I just purchased a Neo N42C-4 Plus and it will not boot. I followed the instructions and get a screen that says press the ESC key in one second or press any key. I have tried both and nothing gets me past the first boot screen.
 
Hello, I just purchased a Neo N42C-4 Plus and it will not boot. I followed the instructions and get a screen that says press the ESC key in one second or press any key. I have tried both and nothing gets me past the first boot screen.
If possible, please post a screenshot of the problem here or send a screenshot to our customer support team at support@minix.com.hk
This will help us to more easily identify the cause of this problem.
 
Hello, I just purchased a Neo N42C-4 Plus and it will not boot. I followed the instructions and get a screen that says press the ESC key in one second or press any key. I have tried both and nothing gets me past the first boot screen.
Can you enter BIOS?

Pressing keys (before OS start):
Del key is for enter BIOS (you can press a few times (repeatedly) when you power on the device).
f11 key is for boot menu (you can press a few times (repeatedly) when you power on the device).

If you are able to enter BIOS put them with default settings and try again.

As @MINIX - John said please post here a screenshot or use the available support email.
 
Hi everyone, the computer was a return and somehow it ended up being sent out defective. It would only show a bizarre screen that appeared to indicate three attempts to boot. Anyway I sent it back and have one that is operating perfectly. I do have a problem with cloning to a new hard drive, though. I installed a gb ssd after I registered Windows 10 Pro. I am using Macrium Reflect and it shows the SSD on top, as if it was the primary drive. Macrium won`t let me clone to it. I was thinking of getting a M.2 to USB adapter and just cloning through the USB, but I would rather not make the purchase. Do either of you have any tips for this problem? Thanks for the response for the previous issue.

James
 
Hello John and Notrui, no need to respond about the cloning to the SSD. I found John`s instructions and if I have an issue I will post in that thread.

Thanks for everything,

James
 
Please note, the Windows 10 Pro product license key is stored within the BIOS on NEO J50C-4.

Follow below instructions to install Windows 10 Pro on SSD:

1. Go to the BIOS.

Attach a conventional wired/wireless keyboard to the NEO J50C-4, boot/start the Mini PC and immediately press the "DEL" key/button.

2. Disable the eMMC.

Go to “Chipset > South Cluster Configuration > SCC eMMC support”, and disable the eMMC.

Video Instructions can be found here:

.

3. Install the SSD - see attached reference photos.

List of compatible SSDs that have been verified by us:

Foresee S40JF128G 128GB
Samsung MZ-N5E120 120GB
Samsung MZ-NTY1280 128GB
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB
SanDisk SD7SN6S 128GB
SanDisk SD8SN8U 256GB
SanDisk SD8SN8U 512GB
Intel SSDSCKHW120A4 120GB
Intel 540S 256GB
Lenovo GXB0M41970 128GB
Kingston SM2280S3G2 120GB
Kingston SM2280S3G2 240GB
Kingston SM2280S3G2 480GB

4. Double-check the SSD is in "Boot Option #1".

Power on the device and go to BIOS again to double check if the SSD is in "Boot Option #1".
If not, change to "Boot Option #1". This is very important.

5. Install the Windows 10 Pro image onto the SSD.

Instructions can be found here: https://theminixforum.com/index.php...ows-10-pro-os-installation-instructions.2159/

6. The process is now complete, you can now boot Windows 10 Pro OS from the SSD.


Hi John, I can not find the ssd in the boot menu. I followed the instructions, but something seems wrong. I`ll post pictures of the bios screens. Maybe you can see what went wrong.

Thanks,

James
 

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Hello John and Notrui, no need to respond about the cloning to the SSD. I found John`s instructions and if I have an issue I will post in that thread.

Thanks for everything,

James
I moved your post to here so as not to confuse matters.
 
Here is another picture of the SATA screen



So, you think the 860 is not compatible?
I think it should be OK 'coz you said this...
. I am using Macrium Reflect and it shows the SSD on top,

Have you checked to see if it shows up in Windows?
If not you need to go to Disk Management and see if it is there. It may need a drive letter assigning.
Of course if Macrium sees it then I don't think it should be an issue!
 
Not sure what's going on there but have you seen my post here...
https://theminixforum.com/index.php...talling-windows-10-pro-on-ssd.2160/post-20642

I have done this too with a N42C-4. (y)

Thanks Villa. I suspect that you are correct about checking in Windows in the disk management. I have cloned two two other ssd`s for my laptop and desk top with macrium. I will get back if I am unsuccessful. I read your other reply and it appears to be the same procedure I used for my other computers.
 
Thanks Villa. I suspect that you are correct about checking in Windows in the disk management. I have cloned two two other ssd`s for my laptop and desk top with macrium. I will get back if I am unsuccessful. I read your other reply and it appears to be the same procedure I used for my other computers.
I have recently installed an SSD on my N42C-4 and found that i had to go into disk management to set the drive up as it showed as unallocated.
Not sure if this is relevant to your issue but maybe ?
 
I have recently installed an SSD on my N42C-4 and found that i had to go into disk management to set the drive up as it showed as unallocated.
Not sure if this is relevant to your issue but maybe ?

Yes, I just opened disk management and found it unallocated. I just have to remember what I did last time to get my other computers ssd`s allocated.

Thanks, and I think Villa said the same thing. I am going to reread his instructions, now that I have time to work on it.
 
Not sure what's going on there but have you seen my post here...
https://theminixforum.com/index.php...talling-windows-10-pro-on-ssd.2160/post-20642

I have done this too with a N42C-4. (y)
Hi Villa, I was able to allocate the space for my ssd that I added to the minix. Everything seems good, except in Macrium the SSD is showing up as the primary. It is on top when I open Macrium and the drive that I need to clone from is on the bottom. When I select "clone this disk" the Windows operating disk shows it will be cloned by the empty disk. Obviously this is a wrong action and would be a disaster to follow through. Do I need to go back in the BIOS and adjust the position of the ssd?
 
Hi Villa, I was able to allocate the space for my ssd that I added to the minix. Everything seems good, except in Macrium the SSD is showing up as the primary. It is on top when I open Macrium and the drive that I need to clone from is on the bottom. When I select "clone this disk" the Windows operating disk shows it will be cloned by the empty disk. Obviously this is a wrong action and would be a disaster to follow through. Do I need to go back in the BIOS and adjust the position of the ssd?


I figured it out and am cloning right now, but I might need help placing the ssd in boot #1 position.
 
Woohoo! success. Thanks everyone for everything, especially the encouragement. The boot manager is very odd in this BIOS. I just kept trying different things until I got both Windows boot options on top, and the one that happened to be on top was the SSD.

Next I might try your idea of re partitioning the other drive, but first I will load the new C: drive into a clean flash drive.
 
I know I am late to the party; I went through this today and only had a few moments of despair. A few points, eMMC needs to be disabled, CSM Support needs to be enabled, and when asked whether you want to use MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (GUID Partition Table), select GPT -- Windows won't install on MBR.
 
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