HDD boots into windows but doesn't show up in bios boot order.

[SithSolo1]

There was a storm earlier at parents and it knocked the computers off. Upon booting the main system my mother said it was giving weird messages so I came over to take a look. The main computer has 2 HDDS, the current 250GB and the old 60GB both with windows XP installs.

I discovered the computer was booting to the old hard drive so I tried to switch it back in the BIOS. The BIOS detects both hard drives but only the older one is select-able as a boot device. If I reboot and slap F8 a bunch after the post it brings up the stand alone boot order and I can select the newer drive there. It then boots into windows normally with no stray issues as far as I can tell. Is there anything I can try to make it select-able in the main bios automatic boot order?

TL;DR
Storm knocks off computer
Both hard drives visible in bios and in both windows installs but main HDD not select-able in main bios boot order
Can use F8 after post to force it to boot to main drive and drive appears fine
wtf?

 

[Kusnierek]

Something made your MBR think the 60GB drive is the drive with the Windows install that it wants to boot from regardless of the order. On its own it no longer detects a bootable OS on the 250GB unless you force it as the only option. What happens if you unplug the 60GB drive and boot normally? For that matter, what are you using the 60GB drive for anyway? If the 250GB boots fine without the 60GB present, why not just wipe the old install entirely if you don't need it?

 

[SithSolo1]

Something made your MBR think the 60GB drive is the drive with the Windows install that it wants to boot from regardless of the order. On its own it no longer detects a bootable OS on the 250GB unless you force it as the only option. What happens if you unplug the 60GB drive and boot normally? For that matter, what are you using the 60GB drive for anyway? If the 250GB boots fine without the 60GB present, why not just wipe the old install entirely if you don't need it?

Thats a great question that I've been asking my father for years but its his computer and he keeps it how he wants it. He wouldn't even let me build it, he had some other guy do it. I'll try disconnecting the drive later today.

 

[SithSolo1]

Pulled the power cord on the older HD, newer drive popped right up in the boot order and booted fine. Ran the extended Data Guard test and passed. For kicks plugged the power back in the older drive, bios saw both drives in the boot order and I was able to set the newer one to boot first. I dunno what the problem was but its working fine now.