Issue with PC upgrade during setup.
Issue with PC upgrade during setup.
Hi, after roughly nine years I chose to treat myself and upgrade my PC. At first I considered just upgrading my CPU, which would mean getting a new motherboard and case for future upgrades. I ended up choosing an i7 14700K and a Gigabyte Z90 Aorus Elite AX.
After spending time taking apart my old PC and assembling the new one with both old and new parts, I reached the setup stage. I thought rebooting my SSD and starting fresh was necessary, so I did that. I logged into the Windows boot/installation USB, deleted and formatted my drive, then installed the OS. Once Windows was running, I began its updates and started installing essential software like antivirus and GPU drivers.
Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly, but a few restarts were needed during installations. As everything appeared to go well, I decided to shut down the computer, plug in my second drive (I have two 2.5" SATA SSDs), close the case, plug it back in, connect the monitors to the GPU (which was only using one for this installation), and resume setup.
Then things took a turn for the worse. After turning on the PC, it got stuck on the Aorus BIOS logo screen and couldn’t progress past that point.
I tried everything—checked the boot drive, restarted the BIOS—but nothing worked. I decided to go back one step, unplugged my second drive, but that didn’t help. Then I went further back, rebooted from the Windows installation USB, deleted everything and reinstalled Windows again, restarted, and everything worked until I moved on to the previous software updates and upgrades. Eventually, I shut down and plugged in the second SSD again, but the problem returned, locking me onto the BIOS logo screen.
I’ve tried many things and don’t know why this happens. The only solution I’ve found so far is to format everything and reinstall Windows, but it still fails once I connect the second SSD.
Anyone have an idea what might be going on?
Thanks in advance!
When trying to boot after connecting another drive, it's common that the new drive isn't listed at the top of the boot sequence. Sometimes simply verifying its position isn't sufficient; you might need to adjust the boot configuration.
This can happen because your system offers two different boot drive options. One may display the manufacturer's part number, which is typical for older Windows versions like XP or Vista. The other could show "Windows Boot Manager," suitable for newer operating systems and UEFI setups.
The exact behavior depends on whether your BIOS supports traditional CSM booting or modern UEFI. Refer to the relevant documentation: https://superuser.com/questions/1284392/...-boot-mode
Your inability to start may stem from incorrect settings in the BIOS boot menu. Adding drives can disrupt this process.
In summary, you might need to modify several boot menus:
1) Make sure hard disks and SSDs are prioritized above other devices that hold boot media. If USB booting is set higher, the system could freeze if a USB device is detected.
2) Confirm your boot drive appears first when multiple drives are connected. This becomes tricky with identical SATA SSDs; serial numbers can clarify which one is which.
3) If the BIOS lists "Windows Boot Manager" as an option, select it as the initial boot choice.
It's possible your Windows installation was fine, but the addition of a second SATA SSD altered the boot order to an unbootable state in the BIOS.
To improve your chances next time, connect your boot SSD to the SATA port 0 on the motherboard (usually the first port BIOS checks for bootable drives). If your drive was on port 3 and the second on port 2, the latter would rank higher and take precedence.
Also, when installing Windows from USB, it's wise to disconnect all other drives to prevent accidental formatting of the wrong one. If your second SSD contains no critical data and you have backups, you can leave it connected during installation. I tend to keep things straightforward.