Added a second SSD, but the PC won't start anymore—still locked in BIOS, no matter if it's unplugged
Added a second SSD, but the PC won't start anymore—still locked in BIOS, no matter if it's unplugged
I purchased an additional SSD for extra space. The existing storage was functioning well for years:
1) M.2 Samsung 500 GB SSD (works with Windows 11 and some applications)
2) SATA 1TB HDD (regular storage)
3) Brand new, recently bought SATA LC Power Phoenix 960 GB SSD
I connected the new SSD to the motherboard using a fresh SATA cable (since only one M.2 port was available) and a random unused SATA power cable. I tried waking the PC from sleep, but it became unstable—didn’t want to shut down or sleep. After turning it off, I unplugged the new SSD completely. Despite this, nothing changed, and I still couldn’t boot.
I thought the issue might be related to the boot order, but in the BIOS, it’s unclear which device is set as primary:
(boot order as listed)
1) UEFI USB Key
2) UEFI USB Hard Disk
3) UEFI Hard Disk (tried placing this at 1, no success)
4) UEFI USB CD/DVD
5) UEFI USB Floppy
6) UEFI Network
Why doesn’t it automatically reset everything when the new SSD is removed?
is this secondary disk still present and connected through its identical SATA motherboard port?
windows will utilize several disks if available.
this previous 1TB drive might still hold essential OS files.
if it's not installed or isn't using the same SATA port anymore, it could stop the OS from loading.
the only possible locations would be to/from the power supply.
thus it functions as a power cable.
Yes, both of the old disks stayed in place and were connected properly. It seems the PC no longer recognizes them, even though the new SSD is now unplugged. During BIOS exit, it briefly flashes and returns to the same state—just with only one empty drive connected. This could be a useful concept, but I’m not sure if it works in this situation since the old HDD remains unchanged. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.