Windows partition (SSD) will not boot without my storage partition (HDD)?

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enophi

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Dec 29, 2012
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Hi everyone,

I currently have a set up where my OS is on my SSD (128gb), and then I have a HDD (2TB) for storage. Both these drives were in my system at the time I installed Windows 7.

Unfortunately, I'm 99% sure the HDD is defective. All of these issues have occured:
- "Bootmgr is missing" error
- "Select proper boot device" error
- Being asked to launch Start Up Repair every time I boot (starting windows normally freezes computer on Windows logo. If I leave it long enough it eventually lets me log in)
- If I run start up repair, so many of the sectors are "unreadable" and replacing files results in a "not enough disk space" error for all of them.
- When logged in, the HDD isn't even in My Computer. Also, when it was there, I couldn't copy files off it. The SSD has been unaffected.

I bought a new HDD (identical brand and size) and tried swapping them, but I received the "Select proper boot device" error. If I put the faulty one back in I'd get booting issues but it would eventually let me log in. Is this is a sign of a faulty HDD? If so, can I somehow replace it without reloading windows?

I look forward to your answers,
Isaac
 
Solution
geofelt
All the files on the old hard drive will still be available when windows is installed clean on the ssd.
The old windows folders can simply be deleted since they are no longer relevant.
Apps on the hard drive will need to be reinstalled since there is a new registry.

One possible option might have been to clone the hard drive to the ssd.
That is possible if the new ssd is large enough.
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Apr 16, 2015
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Are you sure your OS is on your SSD?

If you remove your secondary storage (HDD), you should still be able to boot into Windows with just the SSD if it truly is your boot drive - what you're describing sounds like your HDD is your boot drive, or somehow the install was 'spread' across both - although that would be really random, and I've never heard of it occurring.

Both drives were attached at the point your installed the OS? It's highly recommended you only have your intended boot drive attached at the OS install point.

Not having your bootmgr is either the (~100MB) partition that is creates when you install your OS (the Boot Manager, surprisingly) is either deleted, deactivated or corrupt.
If it's deactivated, you can either reactivate the partition via DISKPART, or via Disk Management within Windows.
Deleted or corrupt, read on.

Since this is appearing even after performing Startup Repair, you have bigger issues going on here.

At this point, I'd run a health check on your SSD (the SSD manufacturer likely has a utility you can download to do this).

If you establish both the SSD & your HDD are healthy, a clean OS install would recommended, as something is amiss along the way. You could use your Windows install disk (or an ISO) and boot from it and perform the full-scale repair as an alternative to clean installing.

If your SSD is dying, then replace that - but again, a clean OS install would be recommended (required? at this point).

There's a lot of work involved to try to fix this issue so, unless you have any legit reason not to clean install the OS, that's probably the quickest/easiest way to go about it.
 
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ko888

ko888

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Feb 18, 2009
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The SSD should have been the only drive connected at the time of Windows installation. The should be reconnected after you have completed installing Windows.

What you have now is a messed up boot manager.

Reinstall the OS but this time just have the SSD connected and the HDD disconnected.
 
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SBMfromLA

SBMfromLA

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Nov 11, 2011
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Like what others said.. When you installed your SSD and reinstalled Windows on it... The Boot Information that was on your old/original hard drive was APPENDED... meaning more data added to it instead of being completely rewritten from scratch onto the new SSD. That's why most people recommend unplugging all your old hard drives when reinstalling Windows.

The fastest and easiest fix would be for you to unplug all your extra hard drives.. just keeping the SSD plugged in and booting from your Windows 7 DVD and using the built in Starup Repair. That will fix your boot up problem. You may need to run it 3 times since it only repairs a small section at a time.
 
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dudmont

dudmont

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Feb 23, 2015
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Do you have an external backup drive? Get whatever you can off the old HDD after you get back into windows. Keep in mind, you may end up having to re-install windows. After you've done the backup, you'll need to unplug the old HDD again.
After you do this stuff, go into bios, and turn off the UEFI mode. Try running the SSD on legacy mode only. After doing this, plug the new HD in(while in legacy mode).
Next option, if above doesn't work. Get yourself a drive cloner. Have all the drives plugged in, make sure that the new HD isn't initialized or set up as a drive. Disk manager will see it, but it's not usable yet. Set up the drive clone operation. I have Acronis, it will boot on it's own, bypassing Windows, and do the drive copy. Make sure you follow the cloning instructions to the T. I made the cloning option second, due to the dangers of the whole thing. Before you do the clone job, make sure you've backed up all the important stuff.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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All the files on the old hard drive will still be available when windows is installed clean on the ssd.
The old windows folders can simply be deleted since they are no longer relevant.
Apps on the hard drive will need to be reinstalled since there is a new registry.

One possible option might have been to clone the hard drive to the ssd.
That is possible if the new ssd is large enough.
 
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