Upgraded SSD and my PC Won't Boot Into Win 7 After

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Tru2Chevy

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I am trying to upgrade my PC from an old Samsung 840 Pro 128GB SSD to a newer SanDisk 480GB SSD. The old SSD has my Win 7 install and most of my programs / games / etc. so I really don't want to reinstall Windows on the new SSD. I downloaded the free version of Macrium Reflect, created a boot CD, and used that to take an image of the old SSD. Before restoring the image to the new SSD I opened it in Disk Management and initialized it as an MBR disk formatted with NTFS (same as the old ssd). I then used the Macrium software to restore and verify that image to the new SSD while it was connected to the PC via an external USB enclosure. After restoring the image I could see and access all of my files on the new SSD, so I shut down the computer, removed the old SSD and installed the new larger SSD in it's place - and the system won't boot into Windows. It will post, check for a boot disc in the CD-ROM, and then just sit. If I boot using the Macrium boot disc I can see the new SSD with all of my files and my Windows install. I ran the options in that software to repair a Windows install that won't boot, but it made no difference. I shut down again and reinstalled the old SSD, and everything works perfectly normally.

I tried resetting the BIOS, and then the new SSD was recognized and booted. Resetting the BIOS put it back into IDE mode as opposed to AHCI. When it's set to IDE mode I can see the new SSD in the BIOS, but I lose two of the HDDs, so that's not a viable solution. Setting the BIOS back to AHCI caused the HDDs to be visible again, but the new SSD to disappear again.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I'm at a loss for what to try next.

System Details:
- Intel Core2Quad Q9300
- Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H mobo
- 8GB DDR2 (4x 2GB)
- Sapphire HD 7770 Ghz edition graphics card
- Samsung SSD - Windows 7 / Games / Programs
- 2x 3TB HDDs in a software mirror for my Plex library
- 2x 500GB HDDs in a software mirror for photos / music / etc
 
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Tru2Chevy

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To update:

I reset the BIOS to factory settings and was able to boot with image on the new SSD, but that set the BIOS back to IDE mode instead of AHCI, and caused me to only see one of the mirrored sets of drives (both in Windows and in the bios). If I go back and set the BIOS to AHCI again I can see both mirrors in the bios again, but not the new SSD (and this causes the system to not boot from the new SSD once again).

I have also tried doing a direct clone of the old SSD to the new one (while the new one was mounted in an external USB drive bay), and had exactly the same results as trying earlier with an image.
 
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terryd75

terryd75

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Did the new SSD come with cloning software? If it did, I'd try using that. Otherwise, I've had excellent results using Acronis. I think you can download a free version of Acronis that gives you a 30 day trial period, with full functionality. But, even if you have to buy it, it's worth it. My guess it that the cloning software you used did NOT copy everything needed. best of luck.
 
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Tru2Chevy

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Nope. After many tests, including a fresh install of Windows 7 on the new SSD, the drive is just not recognized by my mobo when it's in AHCI mode (only seen when the BIOS is set to IDE mode). I'm in the process of sending it back to Amazon and buying a different drive.
 
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Jack_242

Jack_242

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Has the computer ever been in RAID?
 
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Tru2Chevy

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I tried to setup the mirrored drives I have using the hardware RAID on the mobo several years ago (when I was first building this system), but ran into some issues and decided that a Windows 7 software mirror was good enough for me. I just wanted a little extra insurance (besides regular backups) against drive failure. The system has been running normally for several years now with the two software mirrors and my 128GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD all set to AHCI in the BIOS.
 
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Jack_242

Jack_242

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have you moved your sata cables to new ports? Also if the computer was turned off while doing an important task it can corrupt the data across the two hard drives.
 
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Tru2Chevy

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Yes, I tried swapping cables and ports, no change.

The original Samsung SSD is currently in the machine and running the original Win7 installation with no issues. I had this same problem when trying to do a fresh install on the new Sandisk SSD while it was the only drive connected. As soon as the BIOS is put into AHCI mode, the drive disappears.
 
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Jack_242

Jack_242

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I believe the problem lies with your two hdd's that were in raid 0. In order to fix this problem you need to wipe the two hdds and set them back up in raid.
This can be done by:
1. Set motherboard to raid save and restart.
2. Enter the raid window at boot when prompted to.
3. Delete the raid set up in the raid menu
4. Format disks
5. Set them back in raid 0
6. Restart computer and go back into bios.
7. Set bios to AHCI mode save settings and enjoy.
 
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Tru2Chevy

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Nothing was ever in a RAID 0, and as far as the hardware was concerned, nothing was ever in any sort of RAID config. The only RAID setup was two software mirrors setup entirely in Disk Management in Windows 7. The new Sandisk SSD wasn't recognized by the mobo even when it was the only drive connected (unless the BIOS was set to IDE mode).

Sorry if my earlier mention of one of the mirrors not showing in the BIOS when it was set to IDE mode made that unclear - what I meant by that was that of the 5 drives connected to my 5 SATA ports, 2 of them just didn't show up at all when the BIOS was put in IDE mode (and it happened to be the two 500GB drives).

I appreciate the suggestions, but this is all a moot point for now anyway, as the new Sandisk SSD is already on it's way back to Amazon (as I posted yesterday) and I'm waiting for a new (different model) SSD to be delivered.
 
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