Takes forever to detect and boot HD

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Selky

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Jul 3, 2013
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10,510
4 days ago I cleaned out my computer, the past 3 days it has taken multiple attempts to successfully boot my computer; each successful boot following the appearance of the "delete system restoration data" and boot normally screen. The other attempts would take me through setup, but never to resuming or starting windows.

The screen where it displays your cpu/ram/etc. will sit for awhile after detecting my cpu, and take over 30 seconds to actually detect the hard drive. I fear I have installed my HDs wrong, though I would assume they would just not work at all if that were the case.

I have "merged" two of my 500gb drives for two partitions of 700 and 300gb, and the only detected sata slot in use (at bootup) is my SATA 3 slot. Any advice is appreciated.


Edit: I have ordered a SSD which is set to arrive today and I intend to wipe all of my data in preparation for my installation of windows 7 on said SSD.
 
Solution
Tom Tancredi


RIGHT! Okay what you did is take two physical 500GB drives and enabled RAID 0, merging them into 1TB then 'partitioned' them into a 700GB and 300GB sections. When you cleaned you probably put the drives on the wrong cable connections (SATA 0, 1, 2, 3) so when you restarted and repeatedly insisted on trying to get it to 'fix' through the menu...
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ronintexas

ronintexas

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Dec 10, 2012
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When you "cleaned out" the computer - were you dusting inside? The SATA connectors and/or power connectors may not have a good connection - try reseating them.

There may also be an issue with the partitions of the drive, or a possible hard drive failure on one or more of the drives (hardware errors could cause the detection process to take longer than normal).
 
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S

Selky

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Jul 3, 2013
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10,510


I did dust the inside; I'll give reseating the connectors a try. I do fear it may be the onset of hard drive failure.
 
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ronintexas

ronintexas

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I have found the average life of a hard drive is 5-7 years, though I have seen them last 10+ years. It depends upon use, environmental conditions, manufacturer, etc....

It is always wise to have backups, and on a primary system drive, plan for drive replacement every 5 years.

On another note - when you install the SSD - make sure it is the only drive in the system when you install the Operating System. Windows puts hidden files/folders/partitions on the drives, and with multiple drives, sometimes it can be placed on something other than your operating system drive (in this case the SSD).

After installation, then install the data drives for use.
 
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Tom Tancredi

Tom Tancredi

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May 9, 2013
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>>> I have "merged" two of my 500gb drives for two partitions of 700 and 300gb

Wait! You have two physical drives and you changed them from AHCI to RAID (merged) 0 and made them into two partitions? Or did you take two partitions (1TB drive broken into two 500GB). A partition is PARTing a single physical hard drive into specific PORTIONS (think a pie cut into slices).

Was considering your partition wasn't set as Bootable and when you 'reboot' your original 'Repair Boot' partition is probably trying to autorepair, but you messed with the partition design, so that is why it keeps doing what it is doing.
 
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S

Selky

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Jul 3, 2013
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10,510


I think I get your logic in understanding what the issue might be, but I'm afraid I'm not sure exactly what I did. I have two 500gb drives in my bay, my computer lists a 700gb and 300gb drive. I somehow combined them and created a partition between the 700/300gb sections (I did this a long time ago, the issue im having only began to occur after my cleaning).

Image of disk management
 
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S

Selky

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Jul 3, 2013
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10,510


Thanks for the tip on the SSD. The HD has seen heavy usage over several years now, maybe its just time to retire it. Or hopefully it starts working alright when its not my boot drive. At least for some time. I'll have reseated my connectors and wiped my drives after formatting my SSD; we'll see how things look then.

 
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Tom Tancredi

Tom Tancredi

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May 9, 2013
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RIGHT! Okay what you did is take two physical 500GB drives and enabled RAID 0, merging them into 1TB then 'partitioned' them into a 700GB and 300GB sections. When you cleaned you probably put the drives on the wrong cable connections (SATA 0, 1, 2, 3) so when you restarted and repeatedly insisted on trying to get it to 'fix' through the menu, you probably broke the RAID (losing EVERYTHING on the drives).

My first 'quick' suggestion is to methodically (with the case open) power on and put the upper 500GB as Sata 0 cable, then second as Sata 1, then DVD as Sata 2 and see if that works. If not shut down and swap, try again, and so on. Keep a check list of the combinations and cross off what doesn't work. Worse case you get through every combination and just move forward with wiping the drives completely and start fresh.

 
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Solution
S

Selky

Honorable
Jul 3, 2013
11
0
10,510


I'd assumed it was a problem with wiring to begin with; thanks for the suggestion! I'm going to go ahead and not power off, and just wait until I have my SSD installed. I'm wiping the drives anyways; if this would solve the wiring issue then I have nothing to worry about. I'll post later if I'm still experiencing any problems.

Thanks for the help guys
 
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