Anyone with one PC can't find their hard drive and SSD when you try to connect them, so what is going on?
Anyone with one PC can't find their hard drive and SSD when you try to connect them, so what is going on?
I was going to upgrade my PC with a new SSD but keep the old hard drive for storage. I had a 120 GB SSD sitting around, so I copied everything over to it using cloning software. The computer runs perfectly if I only plug in the new SSD; I booted up Windows, ran tests, and then shut down. It was all set up right with just the new drive connected directly via its proprietary cables (the ones that come from a SATA power adapter). Since that cable is also for the hard drive, I bought a small splitter to give power to both drives at the same time. I can't use a different power source because there isn't one available. I'm attaching an image here so you understand what I did; yes, I decided to remove the CD drive in the end. I tried using the two SATA ports on my motherboard and they worked fine for booting into Windows. But when I connected both the SSD and the hard drive at the same time with a splitter and different cables, it wouldn't even turn on. You can see pictures of what I'm talking about here. The PC is an HP Pavilion All-in-One model 27-q101in, and you might want to check those links too.
Have you tried connecting the power and splitter to both drives, making sure only the ssd has the SATA cable plugged in? If your computer starts up fine but acts weird when using multiple drives, it could be because two different copies of the OS are trying to start at the same time without a correct boot order. Did you format the hard drive instead?
If the system works with both drives powered on, but only the ssd has its SATA cable connected, try turning off just one drive and booting up that way so you can install Windows. Once installed, turn the computer off and reconnect your other drive to boot into it while still being running. Or try connecting the hard drive back in after the system is already on without disconnecting the power cable first (this isn't really recommended unless you have set things up like a hot-swapping feature for USB drives).
Sure, the hard drive was what the PC started with. I tried plugging it in separately with a new power supply, but the SSD stayed connected to the old one and wouldn't show up when checking the computer's settings or device manager. The system just turned on straight into the SSD instead.
Yes I tried with both drives plugged into my wall outlet, but only the SSD started working using a different Sata cable. It still wouldn't boot up for me. And yes I've formatted the hard drive already. The splitter is definitely powering it up, because I can hear and feel it spinning when I try to turn it on.
Check out this picture. When I plug my adapter into the PC, those drives don't appear in Windows' list of options to install from. But if I take the adapter out and only plug in the SSD directly, they show up right away.