Windows 7 hangs at start after adding new drives to new build.

CWR63 · Jul 6, 2016

These are my specs:

Trophy Wife

Following the Newegg first PC build videos I assembled my rig as shown, pre installing the SATA data and power cables so I can later install the HDD from my old machine. Decided later to use my Seagate backup drive to transfer my old data instead, but those cables are still attached to the PSU and mobo respectively - in case that has any bearing on my problem.

All three drives are hooked up by SATA power and data cables, I then disconnect the data cables from the Crucial 1 TB SSD & WD 3 TB HDD (cache and archive drives) leaving the Samsung connected so the OS (Windows 7 Pro 64bit) will only be loaded on the fastest boot drive.

After installing OS, updates, drivers and the like everything's fine, so it's time to reconnect the data to the other 2 drives so I can make a backup image of my system to store on the archive disc like the video says to do. Power off, allow everything to fully power down, turn off PSU, let all residual power die down, wait some more for good measure, put on static discharge leash clipped to PSU riser - push clips into drives, then carefully reverse the steps to power on. I'm taking no chances.

Starting Windows animates in slow motion to a blank dark screen and hangs there. Let it run for a half hour to see if it comes out on its own, then reboot and go into BIOS, sometimes it shows the just the boot and optical drives in the drive list and the bootable drive list, but not the other 2 drives; other times it shows the 3 SATA drives in the drive list, nothing in the bootable list, and the optical drive is not shown at all (it is an external USB 3.0 drive which the BIOS may only detect when it's in a USB 2.0 slot).

Whenever I disconnect the 2 drives data cables again, everything's fine again. I think they were disconnected during power up tests, but if they weren't maybe one of them has a boot quadrant?

Do I dare try a hot plug?

SkyNetRising · Jul 6, 2016

Try attaching storage/optical drives one by one and rebooting until you find one that causes problems.
And check boot order after each reboot.

Boogieman_WD · Jul 6, 2016

Hey there CWR63.

Go ahead and follow @SkyNetRising's advice. You could also try them out with a different computer if you have that options. Also try different cables and ports as well (there might be a faulty port on the mobo or a cable which could cause similar issues). It would be even better if you could connect them externally via a SATA to USB adapter, external enclosure, or a docking station, to see if all secondary drives are recognized and then use their respective manufacturers' diagnostic tools to test them for errors, just to see if anything weird pops-up. Here's a link on how to run the Quick and Extended tests with DLG on the WD drives: How to test a drive for problems using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows.

Hope that helps. Please keep us posted on your progress.
Boogieman_WD

CWR63 · Jul 6, 2016

SkyNetRising :

I will, and I'm assuming that I shouldn't try to hot swap 'em?

SkyNetRising · Jul 6, 2016

You can try, but BIOS needs to be configured accordingly for that to work.

Boogieman_WD · Jul 6, 2016

Yup, I'd rather go though everything else before trying hot-swap. I tend not to recommend that someone messes around the PC case while the computer is turned on. That's why I've suggested connecting them externally or trying out a different computer.

CWR63 · Jul 6, 2016

Gotcha. Well I'm gonna need 8 hours of sleep, so it might be a day before I can report back.

CWR63 · Jul 7, 2016

I've had a chance to power off and plug in the other SSD, 1TB Crucial that I hope to use as a cache drive, and after a slow power up it was successful. I immediately checked disk management and found it listed as Disk 0 - it was named drive D: but labeled with something like master boot potential? I sort of panicked and R clicked - changed it into unallocated.

So now it has no drive designation, just labeled

Disk 0
Basic
931.39 GB
Online

R-click here gives options
Convert to dynamic disk...
Convert to MBR disk
Offline

with the shaded area to the right labeled: 931.39 GB Unallocated

R-click on shaded area gives option
New Simple Volume...

Should I be doing this under disk management? Why am I still having to make a text approximation of a GUI 16 years into the 21st century?

SkyNetRising · Jul 7, 2016

CWR63 :

Depends on what you want to do with that drive. Not sure what you mean with 1TB "cache drive".

CWR63 · Jul 7, 2016

SkyNetRising :

Sorry, just my designation - I do a lot of 2D graphics work and plan to use this as a cache drive for big poster size projects.

500GB SSD "boot drive" for fast loading OS, programs and games; 1TB SSD "cache drive" for workspace and perhaps some of the larger 3D programs; 3TB HDD "archive drive" for storage.

This may seem overkill, but this is what I worked with for 18 years prior:

Starter Wife

Boogieman_WD · Jul 7, 2016

So you don't mean actual cache drive as in SSHD kind of situation, but more of a drive which you're going to use for temp files and some programs? If this is the case you can simply click on "New simple volume" and follow the wizard in order to format the SSD and use it. How to partition and format a drive on Windows and Mac OSX

CWR63 · Jul 7, 2016

Boogieman_WD :

Is it a problem that it is showing up as Disk 0? I can just swap the plugs at the mobo to fix that, right? Unless it doesn't actually matter.

SkyNetRising · Jul 7, 2016

It doesn't really matter. The important thing is that you specify correct boot order in BIOS.

CWR63 · Jul 7, 2016

SkyNetRising :

And that can only be accessed during the boot process? So I'll reset, spam delete or F2 during boot and confirm that everything is in the correct order in BIOS. Then save and exit, shut down safely, connect the data cable for the 3TB HDD and do this again.

If it hangs on start with the WD 3TB HDD connected, what are my options?

If it starts up okay like this SSD did, do I have to partition it since it's over a TB, or is that no longer necessary? These procedures sometimes go out of date without warning, the hazard of YouTube not offering a simple newness sorting when following these type of tutorials.

SkyNetRising · Jul 7, 2016

CWR63 :

Options depend on actual problem.
1. Drive may be faulty. Then get a replacement.
2. Motherboard has problem supporting drives larger than 2TB. Then try updating BIOS to latest version. If that still doesn't resolve the issue, then get a pci/pcie sata controller card, that would support your 3TB drive.

And yes, you will need to set your 3TB drive to GPT format, create partition and format it.

CWR63 · Jul 7, 2016

SkyNetRising :

Sorry, wording was imprecise, I was asking if I would need to make 3 X 1TB partitions, as that used to be advised. The Sabertooth X99 can handle 3TB drives, apparently (just checked their forums), so if it fails it's most likely that the drive's bad.

Okay, off to storm the castle!

SkyNetRising · Jul 7, 2016

You can make one 3TB partition (2.7TB to be precise) or a bunch of smaller ones. GPT format allows to make a lot of partitions.
Do what's best for your needs.

CWR63 · Jul 7, 2016

SkyNetRising :

Well, after extensive tests I could not get the system to start with the WD Re 3.0TB plugged in. With and without the 1TB SSD, using a different data cable, plugged into a different port, nothing doing. The odd thing is that the BIOS always identified the drive and it's location accurately. I just don't understand how a faulty storage drive can hang an OS - is it trying to be the boot drive? But then why would Windows even start - plus, every time I checked the BIOS it had the 500GB SSD correctly listed as the boot.

Because it's an Re drive?

I'll contact the retailer and see what's up. I don't have another PC that's new enough or powerful enough to hook this drive into for testing. Are there any other options?

Boogieman_WD · Jul 7, 2016

Sorry to hear about everything you've been through with that HDD.

It's not uncommon for a faulty drive to mess things up for the system in general, even though there's no OS on it. So if the HDD is at fault, this is somewhat "normal" if you can call it that. It's not because of its model. The WD Re drive should work just as fine as any other drive with that setup, so there might be a problem with it.

Since you can't try it out with a different computer, you should contact the customer support of the vendor you got it from and try to RMA it. Another option would be to do that via our support portal: WD Support Portal.

Please keep me posted.

SkyNetRising · Jul 7, 2016

BIOS update. If that doesn't help, then pci/pcie sata controller card.

But if drive is faulty, then it's all pointless.

CWR63 · Jul 7, 2016

I'll start the RMA process and keep you posted. You were both very helpful, but SkyNetRising was the first response and so received the "best answer".

CWR63 · Jul 8, 2016

I'm sending it back to WD tomorrow - as it was purchased a week more than 30 days ago, the Amazon sponsored retailer said "Nyah, nyah, to the manufacturer with you!" so that's another $5 to ship it back, added to the $20 less that it is selling for on Amazon currently, leading to slight buyers remorse, i.e. 'This means I'm paying $25 more than someone buying it today' but I realize that's not how it actually works.

At least it was the storage drive and not the boot drive. I'll update again when I (hopefully) receive a replacement. Thanks again to you both for the help.

CWR63 · Jul 14, 2016

Got it back today. Installed it and initialized a moment later - 5 minutes tops. Thanks to your helps I finally have a fully functional 21st century machine. I'll post a link when I publish it as a finished build at pcpartpicker.com - still have some finishing touches to attend to.

Boogieman_WD · Jul 14, 2016

Good job!

Windows 7 hangs at start after adding new drives to new build.

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