Windows won't boot without my mass storage drive?

[Macks]

I made a post yesterday about how my WD Caviar Blue 1tb HDD was really slow, and it turns out that it is dying. In order to get a replacement, I have to return my dying HDD for a new one. The thing is is that my computer won't boot unless I have that drive plugged in, even though I have Windows installed on a 120gb SSD. All my pc does is show the "Insert boot media" screen. Any idea why this is happening and what I can do to fix this?

[ARikozuM]

Are some of your OS files on the HDD?

 

I'd suggest getting Macrium Reflect for a full image of the drive for now.

Also, look into re-installing Windows.

[kirashi]

5 minutes ago, Macks said:

I made a post yesterday about how my WD Caviar Blue 1tb HDD was really slow, and it turns out that it is dying. In order to get a replacement, I have to return my dying HDD for a new one. The thing is is that my computer won't boot unless I have that drive plugged in, even though I have Windows installed on a 120gb SSD. All my pc does is show the "Insert boot media" screen. Any idea why this is happening and what I can do to fix this?

Sounds to me like Windows did the retarded thing where it put your bootloader on the WD drive, and the rest of its' files on your SSD.

 

Did you by chance install Windows with more than just the SSD installed? IE: was the WD HDD plugged in during install?

[Drak3]

The Caviar Blue has the EFI partition and bootloader on it. You could try to move it, ooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

You can create a system image in Control Panel > Backup. Then copy all of your files to an external HDD (you can also do this with Steam games, but you won't be able to share them, they're still tied to your Steam account). Then reinstall Windows. Restore from the system image, reinstall missing programs and move your files (and potentially Steam games) back.

[Macks]

1 minute ago, kirashi said:

Sounds to me like Windows did the retarded thing where it put your bootloader on the WD drive, and the rest of its' files on your SSD.

 

Did you by chance install Windows with more than just the SSD installed? IE: was the WD HDD plugged in during install?

Yeah the HDD was plugged in when I installed Windows. Will I have to totally wipe my drives for a clean Windows reinstall? 

[Macks]

2 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

The Caviar Blue has the EFI partition and bootloader on it. You could try to move it, ooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

You can create a system image in Control Panel > Backup. Then copy all of your files to an external HDD (you can also do this with Steam games, but you won't be able to share them, they're still tied to your Steam account). Then reinstall Windows. Restore from the system image, reinstall missing programs and move your files (and potentially Steam games) back.

I don't have an external HDD though. Could I just move the boot loader onto the SSD somehow?

[Drak3]

Just now, Macks said:

I don't have an external HDD though. Could I just move the boot loader onto the SSD somehow?

You can try, but it might not work, and requires using the Command Prompt and commands that can brick a system if not done correctly.

I've got the same problem, the bootloader is on a 5400RPM drive, the OS on a 120GB SSD. However, my system encounters an error every time I try to write the UEFI Bootloader to the 120GB SSD, as well as a 960GB SSD and 2TB 7200RPM drive.

[kirashi]

1 minute ago, Macks said:

I don't have an external HDD though. Could I just move the boot loader onto the SSD somehow?

From experience, moving Bootloaders is not fun. While it can be done, I recommend getting a bootable Windows 10 USB and seeing if you can use bootrec.exe to rebuild your BCD on the SSD. There are numerous guides on the internet. Here is one from thewindowsclub.com you can try.

[Macks]

1 minute ago, Drak3 said:

You can try, but it might not work, and requires using the Command Prompt and commands that can brick a system if not done correctly.

I've got the same problem, the bootloader is on a 5400RPM drive, the OS on a 120GB SSD. However, my system encounters an error every time I try to write the UEFI Bootloader to the 120GB SSD, as well as a 960GB SSD and 2TB 7200RPM drive.

Yeahhhhh I'm not sure I want to do that. I feel like it would be easier to nuke the drives and reinstall everything. Would I encounter an error if I used the same Windows key a second time, even if I used the same parts?

[Drak3]

Just now, Macks said:

Yeahhhhh I'm not sure I want to do that. I feel like it would be easier to nuke the drives and reinstall everything. Would I encounter an error if I used the same Windows key a second time, even if I used the same parts?

You shouldn't, but if you do, you should be able to call Microsoft and activate it that way.

I still say you should get an external HDD, create a system image (It's save your settings, and maybe programs? I don't remember if it saves programs to the image), and back up your files. It's just good to back up anyways, and an external HDD is a good option.

[Macks]

7 minutes ago, kirashi said:

From experience, moving Bootloaders is not fun. While it can be done, I recommend getting a bootable Windows 10 USB and seeing if you can use bootrec.exe to rebuild your BCD on the SSD. There are numerous guides on the internet. Here is one from thewindowsclub.com you can try.

I'm not sure what a BCD is, but if I rebuild it on my SSD, would Windows boot without my HDD?

[Tylerr]

i've had this problem a few times

 

i just use macrium reflect's rescue media and it fixes any boot problems.

[Macks]

5 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

You shouldn't, but if you do, you should be able to call Microsoft and activate it that way.

I still say you should get an external HDD, create a system image (It's save your settings, and maybe programs? I don't remember if it saves programs to the image), and back up your files. It's just good to back up anyways, and an external HDD is a good option.

Yeah, but I won't be able to get an external HDD anytime soon. I feel like I have to nuke my drives at this point and reinstall everything (which I am perfectly fine with). How can I do this?

[Drak3]

Just now, Macks said:

Yeah, but I won't be able to get an external HDD anytime soon. I feel like I have to nuke my drives at this point and reinstall everything (which I am perfectly fine with). How can I do this?

Assuming your OS listing on your profile is correct, you can download the Windows 10 Installation Media Tool from Microsoft's site, but you'll need a blank DVD or a 8GB USB flass drive.

[Macks]

1 minute ago, Drak3 said:

Assuming your OS listing on your profile is correct, you can download the Windows 10 Installation Media Tool from Microsoft's site, but you'll need a blank DVD or a 8GB USB flass drive.

I bought a Windows 10 installation cd that I could put in again. Would I need to totally wipe my drives before reinstalling Windows, or would Windows do that automatically?

[Macks]

8 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Assuming your OS listing on your profile is correct, you can download the Windows 10 Installation Media Tool from Microsoft's site, but you'll need a blank DVD or a 8GB USB flass drive.

According to this video 

(sorry I can't shorten it I'm on mobile) if I reinstall Windows, I should be able to delete existing partitions on my drive. If I deleted existing partitions, would it be the same as doing a clean install of Windows?

[Drak3]

Just now, Macks said:

According to this video 

(sorry I can't shorten it I'm on mobile) if I reinstall Windows, I should be able to delete existing partitions on my drive. If I deleted existing partitions, would it be the same as doing a clean install of Windows?

A clean install involves formatting and repartitioning your drives, yes.

You should remove every drive, except the SSD, then format everything on it, and delete every partition. Windows will then create the partitions it needs (and format them). You might need to edit some BIOS settings to get it to boot off of SSD.

[Macks]

6 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

A clean install involves formatting and repartitioning your drives, yes.

You should remove every drive, except the SSD, then format everything on it, and delete every partition. Windows will then create the partitions it needs (and format them). You might need to edit some BIOS settings to get it to boot off of SSD.

When you say to remove every drive except for the SSD, do you mean physically remove them, or delete them? Because I was planning on installing Windows with only the SSD plugged in this time. Would I have to delete the drive (red X button) or just format it (eraser button) when reinstalling Windows?

 

You have been a huge help man, I don't know how to thank you enough!

[Drak3]

6 minutes ago, Macks said:

When you say to remove every drive except for the SSD, do you mean physically remove them, or delete them? Because I was planning on installing Windows with only the SSD plugged in this time. Would I have to delete the drive (red X button) or just format it (eraser button) when reinstalling Windows?

 

You have been a huge help man, I don't know how to thank you enough!

Physically remove them. Then, there should be no way the EFI partition and Bootloader get placed in the wrong spot.

[Macks]

6 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Physically remove them. Then, there should be no way the EFI partition and Bootloader get placed in the wrong spot.

Ok, does formatting the drive erase EVERYTHING on the drive, so that so have a totally empty drive after installing Windows? Thank you so much for all of your help!

[Drak3]

Formatting erases everything in a partition. You can have multiple partitions in a drive.

 

When installing Windows 10, it'll ask you where you want to install Windows. Just click each entry, press delete. You'll then see one listing, and usually as "Unallocated" or "Free." I Don't remember which, but you'll be able to click it and either hit "continue" or "new."

 

If you hit "continue," you'll be good to install Windows.

 

If you need to hit "new," it will bring up a dialogue box with some options. Windows is smart enough to automatically default to the correct options. Just hit "Create," then it'll either close itself, or you'll need to hit close once it's done. You should be able to hit "continue" after that.

[Macks]

21 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Formatting erases everything in a partition. You can have multiple partitions in a drive.

 

When installing Windows 10, it'll ask you where you want to install Windows. Just click each entry, press delete. You'll then see one listing, and usually as "Unallocated" or "Free." I Don't remember which, but you'll be able to click it and either hit "continue" or "new."

 

If you hit "continue," you'll be good to install Windows.

 

If you need to hit "new," it will bring up a dialogue box with some options. Windows is smart enough to automatically default to the correct options. Just hit "Create," then it'll either close itself, or you'll need to hit close once it's done. You should be able to hit "continue" after that.

Ok, thank you so much for all of your help man! I am extremely grateful.