Windows is present on the M.2 storage but fails to start.
Windows is present on the M.2 storage but fails to start.
It seems the bootloader wasn't present on your first M.2 storage, but appeared on a secondary drive. After swapping the M.2 to the new board, it still wouldn't boot because of the missing bootloader. Windows often places it on the first free drive found in the disk list, which can lead to confusion. Over time, checking the disk manager will show how the numbering changes, helping you understand why it might be incorrect. It's usually best to install it on a single drive for reliability, or use a RAID setup if needed.
Only one installation was needed, and it was the drive I intended for the system to start from. I didn’t make any changes except replacing the old drive with a brand new one.
I believe you got the story wrong. He did install windows on that system with one drive connected
It seems like a major issue because the bootloader was absent, but it’s resolved now.
He appears to have just one hard drive that could be problematic. There seem to be only two possible reasons: he made a mistake (as you mentioned) or the drive itself is defective. If the drive is bad, selling it wouldn't make sense.
I kept the same USB installation unchanged. Used the identical M.2 port during several attempts on the WD750, formatting the drive each time. Tried numerous BIOS settings with the WD750 CSM disabled and Secure Boot enabled. I won’t sell the WD750—it’s not worth the effort at that price right now (around 50 pounds new on clearance). Likely to purchase a separate M.2 enclosure for video files storage; it functioned well in the laptop as my second SSD.