W10 will no longer boot when my HDD (F:Drive) is installed

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Shane Hawk

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Oct 11, 2013
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I'm not sure if this is the right sub forum or not.

Hello, I'm trying to get my pc to boot after some weird things happened when I attempted a safe mode boot. I am going to try and give an accurate account of what occurred with as much info as I can remember.

So, I needed to boot into safe mode to remove some unwanted software, but the safe mode boot failed/got stuck.

I heard my HDD (F: drive) spinning up when it attempted to boot into safe mode as if my pc was trying to read windows from it instead of my SSD (C: drive). I powered off and unplugged the HDD (F: drive) and the safe boot worked and I successfully removed the unwanted software.

Next, I changed back to normal boot, powered off, and plugged back in my HDD (F: Drive). However, windows still will not boot up. My pc gets stuck on the loading part of the windows boot, the part right before you can enter the password and my HDD (F: drive) spins up every time I try to boot into windows.

Some back history of my drives that might help with a solution: My sata cables have been in the wrong order for 3 years, ever since I installed W10 on an ssd (i didn't know there was a specific order). The HDD (F: drive) is #0, the SSD with W10 (C: drive) is #1, but I switched the order in BIOS so the SSD would load first. I have had no problems until now.

Did some partition get put on the HDD upon the attempted safe mode boot since the cables were in the wrong order?

Or, is did something else go wrong?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Solution
USAFRet


And it fails to boot if you were to connect the HDD?

Verify the HDD is NOT in the boot order.
Or
Obtain a USB SATA dock, and connect the HDD after the system is booted up on the SSD.
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Shane Hawk

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Things I have tried:

1. Swapped sata cables.
2. Tried to install W10 with only HDD installed using USB windows media creation tool to try and format/remove partitions, but I can't install windows on it because it says the drive needs a driver.
 
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Shane Hawk

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MERGED QUESTION
Question from Shane Hawk : "PC will no longer boot with F: drive HDD installed"



Things I have tried:

1. Swap sata cables.
2. Install windows with only the HDD installed in an attempt to reformat/remove partitions, but it won't let me install because it says I need a driver for the drive.
 
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Shane Hawk

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@karenjoly, I tried installing windows with a USB media creation tool on my HDD (F: drive) with the SSD uninstalled in an attempt to reformat/get rid of any partitions, but windows will not install on the HDD because it says the the HDD needs a driver.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Completely unsure of what you're attempting here.

Where do you want the OS? On the SSD?
What is on the HDD?
What are you trying to boot from to accomplish this?
 
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Shane Hawk

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well, w10 will no longer boot when my F: drive HDD is plugged in. i tried to install w10 on the HDD so i can format it, but w10 will not install on the HDD because it says the driver is missing.

right now, the HDD F: drive only has steam games, pictures, music and some other documents of mine.

 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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You don't install the OS on that drive to format it.
Quite the opposite. You cannot format it if you install the OS on it and boot from it.
 
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Shane Hawk

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when you boot up the pc with a USB that has the media creation kit, it gives you the option to format. this is what i wanted to do, not actually install the OS.

is there anyway i can format the drive since windows doesn't boot up when the drive is plugged in and an installation disc/usb will not work with the drive either? i have never used linux or ubuntu, but could i install them on the HDD and format that way?
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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1. You should use a USB stick, not a full HDD.
2. You do this from a working PC.

If the OS is already on the SSD, what exactly are you trying to do?
 
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Shane Hawk

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I am trying to save the data that is on my F: drive that used to work and boot up with windows perfectly fine for 3 years. At the very least, I would like to format the drive so I can have the storage.

Something screwed up when I chose safe mode boot to uninstall malicious software. Upon restart with the safe boot option, my pc did not boot. The only way windows would boot is by unplugging my F: drive.

I can not get windows to boot when the drive is plugged in.
Windows will not install on the drive for the purposes of formatting.

I'm just trying to either save my F: drive HDD or format it.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Disregard "drive letters"
We're looking for the physical drives.

The OS is on the SSD?
Does the system boot properly from having only the SSD connected?
You wish to hopefully save some data on the HDD?
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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And it fails to boot if you were to connect the HDD?

Verify the HDD is NOT in the boot order.
Or
Obtain a USB SATA dock, and connect the HDD after the system is booted up on the SSD.
 
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Solution
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Shane Hawk

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All I can figure, and I am probably way off base here, is that since my sata cables were in the wrong order, it added or took away some sort of flag that was on my HDD. When I tried a safe mode boot, I heard my HDD spinning up, exactly like it did when I used to only have an HDD.

Normally, I never hear my HDD unless I start listening to music or playing games that I added to the HDD as a second steam library.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Exactly.
You can connect it after the system is properly booted up from the normal drive, the SSD.
So whatever boot action may or may not be happening on the HDD is of no consequence.
 
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Shane Hawk

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@ karenjoly, Perhaps that is the reason.

It was leftover files from popcorn time. But I don't think that was the problem because I could always boot my pc with those files. The problem started when I tried a safe boot.

Also, in my initial post, I clearly wrote I was attempting a safe mode boot "to get rid of malicious software". So I don't understand why you said that I didn't mention it originally.

Regardless, I appreciate all the suggestions and I might end up having to use your recent one.
 
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