Windows 10 won't boot after moving SATA cables around

[LeanMan82]

Hi All,

I seem to be perplexed by the predicament my hardware has gotten into because I barely made any modifications. In any case the following message appears whenever I try to boot up my machine:

“Windows boot Manager:

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:

Insert your windows installation disc and restart your computer.

Choose your language settings, and then click “Next.”

Click “Repair your computer.”

If you do not have this disc, contact your system administrator or computer manufacture for assistance.
Status: 0xc000000f

Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.”

Now, I’m trying to migrate my 120 GB Kingston SSD image to my 500 GB Samsung SSD including operating system and all. The Kingston SSD is the one that is running my operating system. I created a backup of my 120 GB Kingston SSD with AOMEI backupper and then did a disk restore to the 500 GB Samsung SSD. In any case, I switched the SATA cables to my Samsung SSD and the machine couldn’t boot with that SSD and so I decided to go back to my Kingston SSD and figure out where I went wrong. The Kingston SSD has been solid up to the point I decided to mess around with the SATA cables and I hadn’t modified any of its files (just backed them up). Now the Kingston SSD won’t boot and the above message appears. What gives?

Could I use a windows 7 startup repair utility to repair my windows 10 boot manager?

Specs:
Motherboard: ASUS P8-Z68-M
Harddrives: C:\ - Kingston (main OS), G:\ - Samsung (new SSD), F:\ - Western Digital Data Drive, 500 GB
OS: Windows 10 (upgraded from Windows 7) – has both GPT and MBR boot partitions
RAM: 16 GB
Processor: Intel i7 2600k, 3.40 GHz, LGA1155, 95W

A little history:
I recall that when I was building my PC way back when, I started to fear switching the SATA cables on my hard drives because this used to happen whenever I fiddled around back there. When I finally got a working setup I stopped because I was afraid I would again run into this unbootable state. Does anyone experience this type of sensitive nature to SATA interfaces? Am I missing a configuration? Or is this normal and I can’t swap around cables willy-nilly? They say SATA in AHCI mode is hot-swappable but this has gotten to me to a point where I’m afraid to fiddle with the hardware in my computer. This doesn’t seem to be normal.

 

[USAFRet]

1. You don't need to create an Image first, and then recover to the new drive with that image. You should be able to do it in one simple step.

2. Assuming the system still boots properly from the old drive and only the old drive...(verify this!) Steps for a successful clone here:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive
Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe as necessary.
Delete the original boot partitions, here:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/4f1b84ac-b193-40e3-943a-f45d52e23685/cant-delete-extra-healthy-recovery-partitions-and-healthy-efi-system-partition?forum=w8itproinstall
-----------------------------

Pay attention to the part after the cloning operation is finished.

 

[LeanMan82]

How funny I've already saw this in another forum post just a few moments ago - however my predicament is not this. My old drive no longer boots as my OP states. Why did this happen with swapping SATA cables? All of this is not making sense to me.

 

[cherry blossoms]

Please note, SATA drives are hot swappable IF the drive is setup as a removable device and properly ejected in software so all writes to the drive are finished. System drives are generally not setup as removable drives.

 

[USAFRet]

How funny I've already saw this in another forum post just a few moments ago - however my predicament is not this. My old drive no longer boots as my OP states. Why did this happen with swapping SATA cables? All of this is not making sense to me.

Even returning all the cables and drives to their original position...it still fails to boot up?

 

[cherry blossoms]

You will need your win10 install media to repair the drive. if you did a direct upgrade without media you can use the following tool from Microsoft to help you create that media:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

 

[LeanMan82]

How funny I've already saw this in another forum post just a few moments ago - however my predicament is not this. My old drive no longer boots as my OP states. Why did this happen with swapping SATA cables? All of this is not making sense to me.

Even returning all the cables and drives to their original position...it still fails to boot up?

YES. Can I use my windows 7 install media to repair the boot partition?

 

[Neur0nauT]

If you've swapped the SATA cables then you've probably swapped the OS drive to a different SATA connection, and thus the drive letter will have changed in the Master Boot Record (MBR). So when it boots, it goes looking for the OS on the wrong drive.

You could try repairing the MBR. How to repair Windows MBR

Or ideally, return the drives to their original SATA connections.

 

[USAFRet]

YES. Can I use my windows 7 install media to repair the boot partition?

Probably. Do this with only the original drive connected.

 

[LeanMan82]

If you've swapped the SATA cables then you've probably swapped the OS drive to a different SATA connection, and thus the drive letter will have changed in the Master Boot Record (MBR). So when it boots, it goes looking for the OS on the wrong drive.

You could try repairing the MBR. How to repair Windows MBR

Or ideally, return the drives to their original SATA connections.

Hold on, the SATA cables has the drive letter tethered to it. That is limitation... Wow, ok well how do I setup my MBR prior to changing the SATA cables so that it knows and things will go more smoothly the second time around?

 

[SgtScream]

What happens if you unplug all sata connections except the original boot drive? Do you still have the boot issue? Also, you may have your boot drive accidentally plugged into a different sata port that may be disabled in the bios.

 

[Neur0nauT]

Not the cables themselves, but the SATA connections for each drive connected to your motherboard are configured on the MBR of the OS drive.

eg. Say your OS drive is called Disk 1 and is plugged into SATA port one. Then the MBR records this and knows to boot that drive as the primary OS drive. If you then plug Disk 2 into SATA 1, then the MBR is going to say...."hey where is Disk 1 containing the OS I wanted to load!?"

The MBR is automatically configured when you install the OS for the first time, so it knows where all the drives are and what letters are assigned to them.

This is only an issue on the drives with a primary boot partition, (OS drives) so if you remove all other drives except your OS drive then repair the MBR. Make sure it boots back into Windows. Then reconnect your other drives afterwards. You might find that some of them will now have different drive letters than before since you've moved them around, but at least you'll be back into Windows.

 

[LeanMan82]

What happens if you unplug all sata connections except the original boot drive? Do you still have the boot issue? Also, you may have your boot drive accidentally plugged into a different sata port that may be disabled in the bios.

I have already disconnected all sata connections except the original boot drive and yes I still have the boot issue. I had labeled all the sata connections prior to doing this moving around business precisely because I was afraid of this - but the other part of my OP is why the hell is this stuff so sensitive. Again, I go back to one of my earlier questions - is this normal for you guys? So far, I haven't wanted to touch my computer precisely because I'm afraid this would have happened. But I got tired of the SSD storage and also not having a good backing up scheme in case I ran into trouble somewhere down the future.

 

[LeanMan82]

Not the cables themselves, but the SATA connections for each drive connected to your motherboard are configured on the MBR of the OS drive.

eg. Say your OS drive is called Disk 1 and is plugged into SATA port one. Then the MBR records this and knows to boot that drive as the primary OS drive. If you then plug Disk 2 into SATA 1, then the MBR is going to say...."hey where is Disk 1 containing the OS I wanted to load!?"

The MBR is automatically configured when you install the OS for the first time, so it knows where all the drives are and what letters are assigned to them.

This is only an issue on the drives with a primary boot partition, (OS drives) so if you remove all other drives except your OS drive then repair the MBR. Make sure it boots back into Windows. Then reconnect your other drives afterwards. You might find that some of them will now have different drive letters than before since you've moved them around, but at least you'll be back into Windows.

Yes I understand, I meant the MBR is limited and this is fairly shoddy if you ask me because that means I can't plug and play Harddrives with different OS without fear of data corruption which would be a dream. Is there a way I could have done this without running into my MBR becoming corrupt?

 

[USAFRet]

No, this is not normal.
Something went wrong in your migration process. The original drive should still be working.

Also, this is why I always connect the OS drive to the lowest number SATA port..0 or 1, just for continuity across systems I build. I never have to think about where it went.

 

[SgtScream]

At this point, i'd go out to staples and purchase a hard drive dock. Plug that drive into another working computer and back up the data, then instlall a fresh copy of windows on the ssd then move your data back over.

 

[USAFRet]

At this point, i'd go out to staples and purchase a hard drive dock. Plug that drive into another working computer and back up the data, then instlall a fresh copy of windows on the ssd then move your data back over.

Same here.
Cloning is great when it works. Which is 'usually'.
But when it goes bad....time to punt.

 

[LeanMan82]

I was afraid of this but, I swear I barely did anything. I mean I didn't even do the clone part yet. I just imaged this damn empty SSD with the back up of the OS SSD using backup restore and decided to put the SATA connection which starts 1 for me (OS SSD) and plugged it to the newly imaged SSD. And turned the damn machine on and it couldn't boot. Then went back to my original SSD-SATA configuration and I couldn't boot anymore. THE F***?

In any case, does anyone believe the following will work. I'm looking at Fix#4 Rebuild the Boot configuration Database (BCD) manually:
https://neosmart.net/wiki/0xc000000f-error-read-boot-configuration-data/

Thoughts? Please and thank you.

ALSO since this is not normal and I have been weary of my machine for years now, it has this weird chirping sound with my speakers and I can't trust my USB internet connection. At times, I can't keep my phone connected via USB and do file transfers unless its USB3 (the 2.0 ports don't always work). All this has had me speculate that my primary issue has been my motherboard all along and not my peripherals. Would this make sense?

 

[USAFRet]

And now we introduce another variable...a possible faulty motherboard.

So...here's what you do.
The NEW SSD...connect only that drive.
Do a clean install on this.
This is just to verify that the system actually works or fails.

 

[LeanMan82]

And now we introduce another variable...a possible faulty motherboard.

So...here's what you do.
The NEW SSD...connect only that drive.
Do a clean install on this.
This is just to verify that the system actually works or fails.

I can do that!

BTW, when you mention "introduce another variable" ... were you implying that was maybe a bad suggestion? I wasn't able to get what you were trying to get at there.

 

[USAFRet]

And now we introduce another variable...a possible faulty motherboard.

So...here's what you do.
The NEW SSD...connect only that drive.
Do a clean install on this.
This is just to verify that the system actually works or fails.

I can do that!

BTW, when you mention "introduce another variable" ... were you implying that was maybe a bad suggestion? I wasn't able to get what you were trying to get at there.

No...not a bad suggestion.

But it's like most troubleshooting. Other possibilities turn up later.

"My car won't run right!"
'well, try this, and that'
"Well...it kinda runs, but still not right"
'Ok, take out the plugs and clean them, blah blah'

"oh...the gas I'm using is 4 years old"
'well...that may be an issue...try new gas!'

 

[LeanMan82]

And now we introduce another variable...a possible faulty motherboard.

So...here's what you do.
The NEW SSD...connect only that drive.
Do a clean install on this.
This is just to verify that the system actually works or fails.

I can do that!

BTW, when you mention "introduce another variable" ... were you implying that was maybe a bad suggestion? I wasn't able to get what you were trying to get at there.

No...not a bad suggestion.

But it's like most troubleshooting. Other possibilities turn up later.

"My car won't run right!"
'well, try this, and that'
"Well...it kinda runs, but still not right"
'Ok, take out the plugs and clean them, blah blah'

"oh...the gas I'm using is 4 years old"
'well...that may be an issue...try new gas!'

So true!! It does however suck when you keep fiddling around to the point where you make a mess of everything and have to do clean up after you've figured out all the unnecessary things you have done to arrive at the solution.

 

[USAFRet]

For future cloning reference...

You do not need to make an image first, than apply that image to a new drive.
You can do it direct drive to drive, in one operation.

 

[LeanMan82]

For future cloning reference...

You do not need to make an image first, than apply that image to a new drive.
You can do it direct drive to drive, in one operation.

I would take that advice in the future. Would this have prevented the issue with the MBR and the SATA connection swapping fiasco I'm running into right now?

 

[USAFRet]

For future cloning reference...

You do not need to make an image first, than apply that image to a new drive.
You can do it direct drive to drive, in one operation.

I would take that advice in the future. Would this have prevented the issue with the MBR and the SATA connection swapping fiasco I'm running into right now?

Possibly.
But see my steps above.
That is exactly how I do it.