Where is my SSD?

[ghoyas332]

I can't find my SSD in the BIOS. I know it's there as it's the only hard drive connected and it boots to windows but in the BIOS it does not show it connected (see pic below). It is connected by a SATA 6GB cable. My real concern is that when I connect my second hard drive it always finds that and thinks the 2nd drive is the primary (and then I can't access office and other programs on the SSD). I went into the BIOS to make the SSD boot first and realize I couldn't find it. Disconnected the 2nd hard drive, went back into BIOS and still can't find it.

Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45
SSD: Kingston SV200 S3 128GB
2nd Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB (not connected at the moment)
Chip: 3.4 ghz Intel i5-3570k
Ram: 8 GB Kington Hyper
Windows 7

This is a new build. I built one other computer like 6 years and I'm still pretty much a noob at this stuff so I appreciate any/all suggestions.

 

[g-unit1111]

Did you make sure the power cables are connected and secured? Did you plug the SSD into SATA-0? Your primary HD must *ALWAYS* be plugged into SATA-0, if it isn't you need to reset your connections.

 

[mesab66]

So, when it's the only drive connected it boots into windows. Upon rebooting and going into the BIOS you can't see it in this page.....but it still boots into windows.

OK....check your manual for additional BIOS settings - if it's connected to a SATA port and it boots fine then the chances are that this port may be displayed elsewhere. Also, check where in the BIOS it allows you to set the boot priority - you might see it listed here (this is also where you can correct some boot issues).

 

[dingo07]

u made the mistake of installing the OS while both drives were in the computer, and now the boot loader is messed up and Not on the SSD, which is why u can't boot from it being the only drive in the computer

 

[g-unit1111]

u made the mistake of installing the OS while both drives were in the computer, and now the boot loader is messed up and Not on the SSD, which is why u can't boot from it being the only drive in the computer

I can't see where that would be a problem - when you load Windows you tell it which drive to install on - even if there's multiple HDs and multiple partitions the BIOS will look for which ever active partition a bootable operating system is installed on.

 

[dingo07]

because sometimes windows will find another installation of windows on another drive, and piece together a boot loader, not fully creating or replicating the one on the installed drive

 

[mesab66]

ghoyas332: can you confirm what you said "I know it's there as it's the only hard drive connected and it boots to windows"

--> to me that says it will boot into windows when it's the only drive connected, and thus the reply given.

 

[ghoyas332]

All cables are properly connected and secured. The SSD will boot to windows when it is the only drive connected. The WD HDD will also boot to windows when it is the only drive connected. When both are connected the WD HDD always becomes the primary and since I can't find my SSD in the BIOS i can't give it boot priority. That's the issue I'm running into. I originally installed windows onto the WD HDD and then cloned it onto the SSD if that helps with suggestions for a fix.

 

[g-unit1111]

because sometimes windows will find another installation of windows on another drive, and piece together a boot loader, not fully creating or replicating the one on the installed drive

Even with the other drive disabled? I can't see how that's possible.

All cables are properly connected and secured. The SSD will boot to windows when it is the only drive connected. The WD HDD will also boot to windows when it is the only drive connected. When both are connected the WD HDD always becomes the primary and since I can't find my SSD in the BIOS i can't give it boot priority. That's the issue I'm running into. I originally installed windows onto the WD HDD and then cloned it onto the SSD if that helps with suggestions for a fix.

Here's what I would suggest doing: Leave your case open. Power into Windows with the SSD running. Right click on the My Computer icon and click Manage. Connect the second drive. Look for the drive in Disk Manager. Assign the drive letter and let Windows find it. Then delete the Windows folder or rename it "windows.old" and reboot your computer with the cover closed. That should work.

 

[mesab66]

Ok ghoyas332, you have 2 installations of windows - one on the SSD and onother on the HDD. You need to get rid of the HDD version. You can, of course, do as g-unit1111 said above. In doing this, your motherboard must be able to detect the HDD being plugged in while powered up. If this works, then while in Disk Manager you could also simply format the HDD (providing you don't have anything important on it), thus removing windows completely. However, there may be issued with the recovery partition if it's on the HDD. And, you might need to confirm the SSD has been correctly restored as the 1st boot device while both are connected.
You can try this out to see if it works.

If not, you might need to use a disk manager's recovery CD or boot USB stick (e.g. Partition Magic) to delete/format the HDD windows while both are connected.

There are other tools that can help e.g. EasyBCD but with all this, you need to be carefull.

 

[ghoyas332]

Best answer selected by ghoyas332.

 

[ghoyas332]

thank you everyone for your help. I tried g-unit1111's fix and it worked. Actually got the BIOS to show both the Kingston SSD and the Western Digital HD and get Kingston as the 1st boot device (although I'm guessing the WD HDD probably won't boot now anyways). Mesa - your fix is probably cleaner but this seemed the easy way out and things seem to be working properly now. Thanks again!