Installed new PSU and new hard drive, computer no longer boots to Windows

[Astaroth420]

Hi,

I've got a peculiar problem. I've just bought a new PSU (Corsair CX750M) and a new 2TB hard drive. Hooked them up just an hour ago.

Here are my computer specs for reference:

CPU: Intel i5-3570K
GFX: AMD Radeon HD 7870
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK
PSU: Corsair CX750M
SSD : Crucial M4 128GB
HDDs: Seagate 1TB, Seagate 2TB, WD Caviar Blue 500 GB

Unfortunately, it appears that my SSD can no longer boot Windows 8.1 as it could before. I can access the BIOS and mess around in it, my fans are all spinning (incuding the GPU fan) and all my drives are being detected just fine. Now here's the strange part: My BIOS still tries to boot with the correct device (my SSD), but it accesses a Windows bootloader that I used to have over a year ago. This was before I had Windows 8 installed, when I had both Windows 7 and Ubuntu installed. I can pick either option in the bootloader, obviously neither option works.

Another thing to mention is that I may have switched around what drive uses what SATA port on my motherboard during the PSU installation. Not sure if this is relevant of not but I'm mentioning it just in case.

I'm really trying to figure out a way to restore my current installation as I'm not really up to reinstalling Windows 8 all over again. I also hope my drives haven't been fried somehow by the new PSU...

So, any ideas? Thanks in advance 🙂

 

[Burpo]

Yes, switching the data ports of your hard drives led to this problem. Try switching them, or attach only the SSD to find out whether it's borked or you just had it in wrong port. Re-attach the other drives once it starts to boot.

 

[Astaroth420]

Hi,

I've tried switching my SSD to every SATA port on my mobo. The result was the same each time.

How can I know whether my SSD is now broken or if I just need to reinstall Windows?

 

[Smoove910]

what happens if you disconnect the 2tb drive and try booting? You should also put the SSD back on the same sata port you originally had it on.

 

[Paperdoc]

I can suggest two processes to help. The first (and part of the second) is based on this little-known quirk. You set the Boor Priority Sequence in BIOS Setup according to the names of the devices in your machine, as shown on the screen. And thereafter that is how the devices are identified. But in reality, the BIOS does NOT identify by the names - it stores the boot device location in terms of the PORT that device is connected to. So if you change the port for the boot device, it won't find it even though the screen will show you that you are trying to boot from that device (by name).

Part A.
1. Disconnect all your storage devices except for the optical drive. Connect that unit to the SATA port you want it to be on regularly. Restore power and boot into BIOS Setup. Go to Boot Priority Sequence and set the optical drive as your only boot device, then SAVE and EXIT. The machine will try to boot from there and fail (assuming you do not place a bootable CD in the drive). Now shut down. This step erases all records of other boot devices.

2. Reconnect your SSD to the SATA port you want it on. Boot up into BIOS Setup again, and go back to Boot Priority Sequence. Now add the SSD to your list of devices. (Many set the sequence to the optical drive first, and then the HDD (or SSD) so that it is possible to boot from a bootable CD any time merely by placing one in the drive.) SAVE and EXIT again and see if it boots properly. If it does, you can shut down and reconnect your two HDD's where you want.

Part B
3. If it does not boot from the SSD, this probably means that the original Windows Install process did its "thing" for self-protection. By way of explanation, that process looks for all the available storage devices and, if it find a second one (other than the designated boot device), it places on it a small semi-hidden Partition that contains copies of key OS files. The plan is that, if ever the OS files on the boot device are corrupted, this will be detected when the boot fails and automatically the boot process will go the the second device and copy good versions of the bad files to the OS device, then complete the boot. A nice self-repairing process! BUT the "problem" is that, on EVERY boot-up, the system looks for those backup files on the second device and will NOT boot without them. This is what happens if you disconnect the second storage device, or its location somehow becomes "lost". Normally there are two ways to recover from this "problem". The most obvious is to re-install the second storage device that contains those backups - in your case, I imagine that is the 1 TB HDD that is your older one. You MIGHT have to ensure that it is connected to the same SATA port it was originally for this to work - I'm not sure whether that is important. If you do have to do this, it might work better if that is the ONLY HDD attached at the time, so there is no confusion about which is the "second storage device". The other option is to leave that second device NOT connected, at least temporarily, and force Windows to make an adjustment. To do this you need the Windows Install CD. You leave connected ONLY your boot device and your optical drive - no other storage devices. You set the machine to boot from the optical drive and install the Windows CD there, then boot. But do NOT follow a normal Install process. Look for a Repair Install process and run that. This will find that the backup files are missing from the boot device and there is no other storage device to find them on, so it will place the missing backup files on the only boot device present, the C: drive - your SSD. When it is done you shut down, remove the CD, and reboot. It should boot normally from the SSD alone. AFTER that is done you can reconnect your HDD's, but the system will not need them to boot.

This last process defeats part of the Windows self-healing plan, because it places the backup copies of OS files on the SAME device as the original boot copies. That is not as secure as having them on a different device. But it does work, giving some protection, and it eliminates being forced to maintain the second storage device at all times.