F5F Stay Refreshed Software PC Gaming Games Crashing on Startup

Games Crashing on Startup

Games Crashing on Startup

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LeCuriousFox
Member
227
01-02-2026, 11:21 PM
#1
Occasionally, games saved on my secondary HDD fail when starting up. I launch them and they either load briefly or I reach the menus. Then a notification appears in the bottom right corner asking "HDD (F):" to decide what to do with removable drives. Shortly after, the game crashes to desktop. This issue occurs with Steam titles such as The Witcher and Microsoft store games like Forza. If anyone has experienced this and knows a solution, please share it. Thanks.
L
LeCuriousFox
01-02-2026, 11:21 PM #1

Occasionally, games saved on my secondary HDD fail when starting up. I launch them and they either load briefly or I reach the menus. Then a notification appears in the bottom right corner asking "HDD (F):" to decide what to do with removable drives. Shortly after, the game crashes to desktop. This issue occurs with Steam titles such as The Witcher and Microsoft store games like Forza. If anyone has experienced this and knows a solution, please share it. Thanks.

K
kervinc
Posting Freak
804
01-03-2026, 07:35 AM
#2
It might be a defective SATA cable...is it an external or internal storage device?
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kervinc
01-03-2026, 07:35 AM #2

It might be a defective SATA cable...is it an external or internal storage device?

X
Xo_PVP_Girl_oX
Senior Member
500
01-19-2026, 03:09 PM
#3
Internal.
X
Xo_PVP_Girl_oX
01-19-2026, 03:09 PM #3

Internal.

R
Rxnger
Member
198
01-20-2026, 05:40 AM
#4
It seems like there might be some confusion in your message. Could you clarify what you're referring to? I'm here to help with any questions or issues you have!
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Rxnger
01-20-2026, 05:40 AM #4

It seems like there might be some confusion in your message. Could you clarify what you're referring to? I'm here to help with any questions or issues you have!

M
Mikcool
Member
96
01-20-2026, 06:55 AM
#5
I've experienced similar issues before with multiple 1TB drives in a hot-swap bay; they would either lose data or power. Once I switched to a solid connection, everything worked fine. Could you be losing your data connection? Try using a different data cable as recommended by others.
M
Mikcool
01-20-2026, 06:55 AM #5

I've experienced similar issues before with multiple 1TB drives in a hot-swap bay; they would either lose data or power. Once I switched to a solid connection, everything worked fine. Could you be losing your data connection? Try using a different data cable as recommended by others.

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lostman765
Junior Member
5
01-20-2026, 11:51 PM
#6
I simply unplugged and plugged it back in, and the games are now functioning. It might be a short-term solution. If I obtain a different cable, I’ll give it a try. Thanks.
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lostman765
01-20-2026, 11:51 PM #6

I simply unplugged and plugged it back in, and the games are now functioning. It might be a short-term solution. If I obtain a different cable, I’ll give it a try. Thanks.

H
HRSpeedy
Junior Member
34
01-30-2026, 05:41 AM
#7
It seems there might be a loose connection.
H
HRSpeedy
01-30-2026, 05:41 AM #7

It seems there might be a loose connection.