> Safe Mode should give options to load to a command prompt.
Did not work either. It blocked on the same faulty file in the windows/system/driver/ directory.
On old windows versions (like 2000, yes, I'm that old) you had the possibility to confirm step by step the driver loading process. New windos versions did not. They go straight and load all.
The issue is an avira antivirus driver with a faulty signature located in the windowsdrivers directory. Totally useless for boot but no way to say to the system not to load it.
> Is this a Catch 22 situation ...
Yes, it is. Installed system dont boot even in command prompt or because the fault is in the driver directory. External supports will boot but not see the drive while encrypted with PBA. Encrypted version of Catch 22 :)