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Removing HDD which isn't boot device causes PC to go straight to BIOS on boot

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  • Hard Drives
  • Storage
  • Boot
  • BIOS
Last response: in Storage
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July 11, 2014 10:46:49 AM

Just today I've encountered an error message that reads "disk error occurred press ctrl+alt+del to restart".

I'm 99% postive it's my HDD which is having issues. I have one SSD which has windows and other programs on it, and my HDD which only has things like game installations and Steam. My HDD is running extremely slow and is making unusual noises. Even opening it up in explorer takes much longer than usual. Everthing on my SSD is running fine and as fast as usual.

Since it's only game related things on my HDD, I'm not too fussed if it's had it's day, I wanted to buy a 1TB one anyway to replace it.

Because of how slow it has caused things like booting up my PC has became, I attempted to unplug it and see if that helped at all. However when I did this my PC would just go to BIOS and not launch windows. I've checked if my SSD is priority #1 for boot and it is. Plugging my HDD back up allows the PC to boot.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

More about : removing hdd boot device straight bios boot

a c 100 G Storage
July 11, 2014 10:51:08 AM

Try a new HDD and clone the old HDD to it. Then just remove the old HDD and install the new cloned HDD into the same port that the original HDD was in.
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a b G Storage
July 11, 2014 11:01:59 AM

Make sure no part of Windows is on the HD... it should boot with only the SSD...
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July 11, 2014 11:03:28 AM

spooky2th said:
Try a new HDD and clone the old HDD to it. Then just remove the old HDD and install the new cloned HDD into the same port that the original HDD was in.


Hmm ok, that might be worth a shot. Why would I need to put the new HDD in the port the old one was in? I've never cloned any drives before so will I have to worry about partitions at all? Say for example I buy a 1TB HDD and install it, will I have to clone the partition to the 1TB or just copy the files directly over?
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July 11, 2014 11:06:19 AM

snowctrl said:
Make sure no part of Windows is on the HD... it should boot with only the SSD...


The only thing I can see that I didn't put there is a hidden file (the file icon is slightly faded out compared to the others) called "msdownload.tmp" and that's empty.
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a c 100 G Storage
July 11, 2014 11:15:50 AM

If you clone the HDD, the new HDD will have all the same characteristics of the old HDD. All the links, windows and otherwise will work the same from your SSD. If you just copy the old hdd to a new HDD, the links and other attributes might not work like they did or are supposed to. Keeping the same port will make sure that the logic will be the same.

You shouldn't have to worry about any .tmo file which can probably be deleted.
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July 11, 2014 11:29:23 AM

spooky2th said:
If you clone the HDD, the new HDD will have all the same characteristics of the old HDD. All the links, windows and otherwise will work the same from your SSD. If you just copy the old hdd to a new HDD, the links and other attributes might not work like they did or are supposed to. Keeping the same port will make sure that the logic will be the same.

You shouldn't have to worry about any .tmo file which can probably be deleted.


Okay I'll probably try that then. Just to clarify, when you say copy the old HDD to the new one is it as simple as just dragging them into it? Also, what exactly do you mean by ports? SATA ports?
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a c 100 G Storage
July 11, 2014 11:36:47 AM

You need to clone the old hdd to a new one. Do not just copy it. Most software programs will have both options. Make sure you "clone" the HDD and not just copy it.

Sata ports are where you plug the HDD into the MB. After cloning, install the new cloned HDD into the same port that the old HDD was in.
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July 11, 2014 11:40:03 AM

spooky2th said:
You need to clone the old hdd to a new one. Do not just copy it. Most software programs will have both options. Make sure you "clone" the HDD and not just copy it.

Sata ports are where you plug the HDD into the MB. After cloning, install the new cloned HDD into the same port that the old HDD was in.


Okay, thanks a lot for the info!
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a c 365 G Storage
July 11, 2014 8:40:37 PM

Cloning certainly is the way to change from an old HDD to a new one. And the advice to connect the HDD containing the cloned info to the SAME SATA port as the old one is on is good. I have three points to add, though.

1. Cloning. Several HDD makers have free cloning utilities you can download from their websites. BUT they are customized to make a clone copy TO only one of THEIR HDD units. This is to induce you to buy your HDD from them. So IF you buy a WD HDD, get their Acronis True Image WD Edition utility. If you get a Seagate unit, get their Disk Wizard utility. If you get a HDD from another company, check what's available or look for a free cloner.

2. Cloning software tip. Most cloning utilities I have used will try to place the clone copy on the new HDD in a Partition the SAME SIZE as the old HDD, and that's usually too small and not what you want! A the start they analyse the hardware and offer a set of parameters and ask you to approve that so they can proceed. If you don't think they have set it up right, do NOT just press OK. Use the menu system to alter the settings so that the new HDD has the Partition size you want - usually ALL of the new HDD space. Then let it run. (See my additional note at the end.)

3. Nobody has talked yet about why you have this problem - the fact that it won't boot when the HDD is disconnected. Follow this, because it will also impact what you do with the cloning software. I SUSPECT you have run into a Windows feature that has caused this problem for others. At the time you Install Windows to any boot device (like your SSD), the Install process also checks for any other storage devices present (like your HDD). So IF your HDD and your SSD BOTH were in the machine at install time, what it did was place on the second unit (the HDD) a spare copy of key Windows files as a backup. The idea is that, in future, if ever the main boot device (the SSD) has a corrupted file, it will find the spare copy on the other device and copy it over, and fix itself, then complete the boot. Fixes its own problem automatically - nice! The problem is that, to set this up and be sure, Windows will always check for the backup copy on the second unit (the HDD) and will NOT boot if it's not there! Sounds like what happens to you. There is a fix. Disconnect the HDD so it can't boot properly. Put your Windows Install CD in the optical drive and boot from it. Do NOT do a Install! But look for a process called Repair Install or something like that. If you run this it will check and find that the secret backup copies are not on the only boot device present (the SSD) and it will put them there. When it's done you can remove the CD and reboot, and it should work just fine without the HDD in place. If that works, you can re-connect the HDD and proceed with the cloning and replacement operations, and your machine will NOT need those special hidden backups on the HDD.

Now, that adds a small wrinkle to the cloning process. If the situation is as I just described it, those secret backup files on the HDD are in a separate partition. But you do not need them any more if the machine will boot properly with no HDD attached. SO, when you go to do the cloning operation, watch out for this. The cloning software will detect that the old SOURCE unit has two Partitions on it and will plan to copy both of them, adjusting their sizes with a Proportional Partitioning scheme. You won't need that. You will need to clone only the large Partition containing all your data, and it can go into a Partition on the new HDD that takes up all of that unit's space. So again, you need to use the menu system of the cloning software to set how it will do its job.
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July 12, 2014 3:12:07 AM

Paperdoc said:
Cloning certainly is the way to change from an old HDD to a new one. And the advice to connect the HDD containing the cloned info to the SAME SATA port as the old one is on is good. I have three points to add, though.

1. Cloning. Several HDD makers have free cloning utilities you can download from their websites. BUT they are customized to make a clone copy TO only one of THEIR HDD units. This is to induce you to buy your HDD from them. So IF you buy a WD HDD, get their Acronis True Image WD Edition utility. If you get a Seagate unit, get their Disk Wizard utility. If you get a HDD from another company, check what's available or look for a free cloner.

2. Cloning software tip. Most cloning utilities I have used will try to place the clone copy on the new HDD in a Partition the SAME SIZE as the old HDD, and that's usually too small and not what you want! A the start they analyse the hardware and offer a set of parameters and ask you to approve that so they can proceed. If you don't think they have set it up right, do NOT just press OK. Use the menu system to alter the settings so that the new HDD has the Partition size you want - usually ALL of the new HDD space. Then let it run. (See my additional note at the end.)

3. Nobody has talked yet about why you have this problem - the fact that it won't boot when the HDD is disconnected. Follow this, because it will also impact what you do with the cloning software. I SUSPECT you have run into a Windows feature that has caused this problem for others. At the time you Install Windows to any boot device (like your SSD), the Install process also checks for any other storage devices present (like your HDD). So IF your HDD and your SSD BOTH were in the machine at install time, what it did was place on the second unit (the HDD) a spare copy of key Windows files as a backup. The idea is that, in future, if ever the main boot device (the SSD) has a corrupted file, it will find the spare copy on the other device and copy it over, and fix itself, then complete the boot. Fixes its own problem automatically - nice! The problem is that, to set this up and be sure, Windows will always check for the backup copy on the second unit (the HDD) and will NOT boot if it's not there! Sounds like what happens to you. There is a fix. Disconnect the HDD so it can't boot properly. Put your Windows Install CD in the optical drive and boot from it. Do NOT do a Install! But look for a process called Repair Install or something like that. If you run this it will check and find that the secret backup copies are not on the only boot device present (the SSD) and it will put them there. When it's done you can remove the CD and reboot, and it should work just fine without the HDD in place. If that works, you can re-connect the HDD and proceed with the cloning and replacement operations, and your machine will NOT need those special hidden backups on the HDD.

Now, that adds a small wrinkle to the cloning process. If the situation is as I just described it, those secret backup files on the HDD are in a separate partition. But you do not need them any more if the machine will boot properly with no HDD attached. SO, when you go to do the cloning operation, watch out for this. The cloning software will detect that the old SOURCE unit has two Partitions on it and will plan to copy both of them, adjusting their sizes with a Proportional Partitioning scheme. You won't need that. You will need to clone only the large Partition containing all your data, and it can go into a Partition on the new HDD that takes up all of that unit's space. So again, you need to use the menu system of the cloning software to set how it will do its job.



That's great info, thanks a lot!. It's good to find out a probable cause to my issue. I can't remember if I did have my HDD in my PC at the time when I installed windows. I can vaguely remember having some issue when installing windows with both drives connected. I think it was something to do with the installation creating partitions on both drives instead of just my SSD, I think I actually did it again when I came across that.

Secondly, my HDD does in fact have a system reserved partition of about 11-20MB, I can't remember the exact figure but I remember seeing that in EaseUS Partition Master.

If we assume that the cause you mentioned is the problem, and I re-created the backup key on the SSD instead of the hard drive, would there be any need to clone my HDD apart from gaining my files back? I'm not too attached to the things on the HDD, it's just things like game installations which are easily recovered. If there was no need to clone the HDD and I was able to avoid the cloning process and just install a fresh HDD (since this one is obviously knackered) I would be very happy!

I feel I'm getting very close to solving this, thanks to you guys, I appreciate the help immensely.
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a c 100 G Storage
July 12, 2014 7:58:26 AM

It's worth a try, like Paperdoc says. Try to repair windows install with the hdd out of the picture.

This is one reason that I never install windows with anything but the boot disk installed. I always install other disks after windows install and the MB drivers & etc are installed. Sorry I did not think of this before.
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a c 365 G Storage
July 12, 2014 5:15:56 PM

The only reason for cloning an old HDD is to make sure you copy from it absolutely EVERYTHING it has. If that is not what you want, maybe cloning is not the right path. If you really want to copy only selected items and are sure you know them all, then by all means do it with a copy operation.

For this, I suggest:

1. Mount the new HDD in your computer case and connect a power supply to it.
2. Take the data cable from the OLD HDD and disconnect it from that unit. Connect it to the NEW HDD. This will connect it to the SATA port that your old HDD used. Leave the OLD HDD with no data cable connection. Close up and boot up.
3. When the machine has booted, go to Disk Management and look in the LOWER RIGHT pane for the new HDD. It will be there with no contents, just Unallocated Space, and no letter name. RIGHT-click on it and Create a New Simple Volume using all of its space (I'm assuming you want it with all space as one drive). When that process is done, check that it assigned the letter name you want to this drive - I expect it will be the same letter the OLD drive had, but if not, you can change it by right-clicking on it again. Now back out of Disk Management and look in My Computer to see the empty new HDD ready to use. Shut down.
4. Open the case and connect a new data cable from the OLD HDD to an open SATA port. Close up and reboot. In My Computer you should find the new HDD with the letter name you set up, and the OLD HDD with a new letter name. Do all the copying you need from old to new.
5. Shut down. Disconnect both power and data cables from the OLD HDD. I suggest you leave it alone for a month or two until you're sure you did not forget to copy everything you needed. (You could leave it in the case or remove it for this time.) When you're SURE you don't need anything from the old HDD you can decide what to do with it - throw it out, wipe it empty, try to fix its issues - whatever.
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