Help! M.2 and HDD problem

[withinspaces]

Hi there guys! First time here, unfortunately for a bad reason.

 

So today I was doing a SSD update to my girlfriend’s laptop and used my desktop to make a fresh install of Windows 10 on it.

My computer has a 2TB Barracuda and a WD_Black M.2 with 256gb. Well now I can only boot into my OS with the new SSD connected, if I unplug it leaving the HDD and M.2 only it won’t prompting me to do a recovery... can’t do a recover because it’s in a constant loop. What am I doing wrong here?

 

help anyone?

[W-L]

4 minutes ago, withinspaces said:

Hi there guys! First time here, unfortunately for a bad reason.

 

So today I was doing a SSD update to my girlfriend’s laptop and used my desktop to make a fresh install of Windows 10 on it.

My computer has a 2TB Barracuda and a WD_Black M.2 with 256gb. Well now I can only boot into my OS with the new SSD connected, if I unplug it leaving the HDD and M.2 only it won’t prompting me to do a recovery... can’t do a recover because it’s in a constant loop. What am I doing wrong here?

 

help anyone?

Welcome to the Forums!

 

It sounds like during the windows installation it removed the startup files you need to boot your system and installed it onto the SSD since it doesn't like duplicate copies. You can try running the windows installation ISO on your PC and try to use their startup repair option to see if it's recoverable. 

[withinspaces]

3 minutes ago, W-L said:

Welcome to the Forums!

 

It sounds like during the windows installation it removed the startup files you need to boot your system and installed it onto the SSD since it doesn't like duplicate copies. You can try running the windows installation ISO on your PC and try to use their startup repair option to see if it's recoverable. 

Gonna try that, thanks.

[withinspaces]

6 minutes ago, W-L said:

Welcome to the Forums!

 

It sounds like during the windows installation it removed the startup files you need to boot your system and installed it onto the SSD since it doesn't like duplicate copies. You can try running the windows installation ISO on your PC and try to use their startup repair option to see if it's recoverable. 

So, I booted from my USB pen drive the windows installation for a repair when to boot recovery and it says it couldn’t repair my PC. Sorry for the Portuguese...

[W-L]

1 minute ago, withinspaces said:

So, I booted from my USB pen drive the windows installation for a repair when to boot recovery and it says it couldn’t repair my PC. Sorry for the Portuguese...

Specifically search for the windows startup repair. If it's not capable of recovering unfortunately there isn't a straight forward way to fix it other than pulling up a backup image or reinstalling windows.

[withinspaces]

2 minutes ago, W-L said:

Specifically search for the windows startup repair. If it's not capable of recovering unfortunately there isn't a straight forward way to fix it other than pulling up a backup image or reinstalling windows.

Well damn... fortunately I don’t keep any important files on the M.2, but on the HDD, so the fresh install seems like a good way to go. Could you, if it isn’t asking for too much, provide me a video or any other source on how to install Windows 10 fresh onto the M.2? And can I use the HDD later?

Big Thanks!

 

[W-L]

2 minutes ago, withinspaces said:

Well damn... fortunately I don’t keep any important files on the M.2, but on the HDD, so the fresh install seems like a good way to go. Could you, if it isn’t asking for too much, provide me a video or any other source on how to install Windows 10 fresh onto the M.2? And can I use the HDD later?

Big Thanks!

Personally I'd disconnect the HDD when installing windows as I've seen instance before where the startup files will dump onto the HDD even when selecting the SSD as the main boot drive. As for installation it will be no different than on a HDD or single SSD, once you select to boot from USB it will instruct you through the process of installation. 

[withinspaces]

2 minutes ago, W-L said:

Personally I'd disconnect the HDD when installing windows as I've seen instance before where the startup files will dump onto the HDD even when selecting the SSD as the main boot drive. As for installation it will be no different than on a HDD or single SSD, once you select to boot from USB it will instruct you through the process of installation. 

With the HDD disconnected I seem to get at least four partitions, one of them being a recovery partition. Should I format the biggest one? Partition 4? Never did a fresh install on a m.2 so I’m scared I’ll brick it

[W-L]

36 minutes ago, withinspaces said:

With the HDD disconnected I seem to get at least four partitions, one of them being a recovery partition. Should I format the biggest one? Partition 4? Never did a fresh install on a m.2 so I’m scared I’ll brick it

If you have a recovery partition you should be able to restore windows to a previous state, normally if you are doing a complete clean reinstall you reformat and let it all merge, the Windows install will allocate partitions it needs automatically. 

[withinspaces]

13 minutes ago, W-L said:

If you have a recovery partition you should be able to restore windows to a previous state, normally if you are doing a complete clean reinstall you reformat and let it all merge, the Windows install will allocate partitions it needs automatically. 

Did a fresh install, thanks for your patience. All running smooth :)