Windows 10 startup problems Boot complications on Windows 10 System issues during launch
Windows 10 startup problems Boot complications on Windows 10 System issues during launch
For a considerable period, my setup included six solid-state drives. One 240GB SSD was dedicated to Windows 10 installation, while the remaining five served as general storage (3x1TB and 2x2TB). Recently, I merged three of these into a single 6TB drive—combining two 1TB units and one 2TB unit. After removing those three, I installed a new 1TB SSD for game installations, freeing up space. During this process, I rearranged connections to ensure both SSDs connected to SATA3 ports. However, my computer stopped booting. I've attempted numerous troubleshooting steps, but I'm struggling and worried about causing further issues or needing a full reset. Here are my specs:
- Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4
- CPU: Intel i5-3570k
- RAM: 2x8GB
- Graphics: Asus GTX 1060 (3GB)
- Power Supply: Corsair HX750 (blue lettering, vertical design)
- Boot Info: UEFI recognizes all SATA devices; black screen says "Reboot and select proper boot device..."
After powering on, I encountered a persistent error message. I've tried various solutions—DVDs, Ubuntu media, an old Boot CD—but nothing worked consistently. I've reset the BIOS, cleared CMOS, rearranged cables, and even used disk management tools. Still, after several attempts, I'm stuck at a black screen with no clear resolution.
I'm concerned about missing steps, especially since my EFI partition might have been on one of the drives I removed. If you could help, it would be greatly appreciated.
Encountered a comparable issue with ASRock as well. In BIOS, adjust the boot order so the Boot Manager comes first, then the OS drive. When attempting to boot directly from the drive, it reacted negatively and warned, "Oh no, no OS! THE SKY IS FALLING!" The problem stemmed from the incorrect boot sequence. An alternative approach would be using a Windows Media USB drive, booting from it, adding an image to one of the disks, and selecting the SSD partition during promotion.
I've already adjusted the boot sequence properly. I can bypass that and use the F11 option (boot menu or similar) to pick any storage directly. When the Windows installation on the SSD appears, it displays "No operating system found." I recommend disconnecting any drives without an OS and then pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart. Choosing the Windows media USB works normally, which let me run commands like chkdsk and bootrec. Could you clarify what you mean by adding an image to a spinning disk? Do you want to install another Windows 10 copy there? If yes, it likely creates a new bootloader that would enable booting from the SSD.
You can set up a Windows media creation USB from a laptop or similar device. When you start, remove the existing Windows installation from the SSD. If it fails to recognize Windows, install a fresh Windows image onto another hard drive. Once booted, check if the SSD is detected correctly. If not, restart and attempt again. When prompted about the boot partition, ensure the correct one appears in the list. Select it and save any necessary files, then reformat the boot drive using a new Windows installation following the same procedure as part A.1 with the SSD as the target.
It appears several UEFI settings reference both C:\ drives. You might be dealing with multiple entries for the new and old SSDs. I’ve worked with tools like BootIce to remove existing UEFI data, and Macrium Recovery includes a Windows boot rebuild utility in their recovery media that could help.
I opted for a complete reset and started over. I set up Windows 10 on my 1TB SSD and am currently preparing a backup of my 240GB SSD. Once that's finished, I'll clean the drive and reinstall Windows 10 to use it as my primary boot source. After installing Windows 10 on my 1TB SSD, there was no bootloader to select the alternative installation. This situation is quite challenging for me since I have a lot of complex software installed, including several DAWs with numerous plugins.