Assistance with Windows boot drive issues
Assistance with Windows boot drive issues
My computer began to run extremely slowly, almost as if it needed Windows to refresh itself to open File Explorer. After a restart, I saw a message prompting me to reboot or select the correct boot device. I repeated this process several times, and on the fourth attempt it directed me to repair the C drive. This has happened multiple times recently—about two to three times in the last couple of weeks. The drive in question is an SSD that’s roughly two months old, while my HDD is around a year old. Is this problem related to Windows or the SSD itself? I’ve verified the drives are healthy, though it’s worth noting Windows has crashed recently with an "UNEXPECTED STORE EXCEPTION" error.
Are there any connected devices such as USB or Thunderbolt ports? I'm checking for potential conflicts with other bootable items.
Yes, your HDD still has Windows installed, but you can't boot from it using a Windows installation media.
Do you have two windows—an HDD and an SSD? This could be the issue. Can you open the BIOS and check the two drives?
You mentioned having an SSD as the boot device. Did you reinstall Windows during the setup? I'm unsure what steps you took. If you didn't reinstall, it's possible the HDD is failing or the Windows install is damaged (even the Recovery drive with your files is corrupted). If you did reinstall, confirm the system is starting from the SSD instead of the HDD.
I put widows on the SSD but kept the Windows on the HDD too (I didn’t take it out).
I've encountered situations where Windows has placed essential boot files on secondary drives simply because they were connected during installation. If you remove the HDD, does the system not boot into Windows at all? It's conceivable that while Windows was loading through the SSD using files from the HDD, the HDD could be deteriorating and preventing the SSD from functioning correctly. It's a bit unlikely but not impossible. Try disconnecting the HDD and see how it performs. Share your results.
I never removed Windows from the HDD once the SSD was installed in the system. Yes, I can access the BIOS and view both drives.