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Saturday, March 4, 2017 10:39 PM
A few days back I was surfing the web, when my PC (Laptop) suddenly froze. I had to do a manual power off, when afterwards I couldn't boot. With the help of another PC I was able to make a DVD to boot from, but several problems persists:
I want to make a reinstall, but I am told I cannot reinstall as long as I am booting from a DVD. When I enter the BIOS, it does not list the harddisk as a bootable option.
I used Diskpart to list the partitions, but it isn't there either.
I have 4 drives on my pc, 3 normal drives and a SSD. The SSD should be the bootable one where Windows is installed, but it isn't found.
The weird thing is, when I enter command prompt, it enters my SSD as default, and I can copy files etc.
I don't know how to proceed, I need to make my pc bootable again, either through repair or reinstall.
I am on a Danish language version of Windows 10.
I have run the self repair function several times with reboots in between.
I have backup of almost all important files, so wiping drives is possible.
All help is appreciated
Kristoffer
All replies (14)
Thursday, March 9, 2017 2:08 AM ✅Answered
What kind of SSD is it, how long have you had it, have you had previous issues with it? I used to run a backup application such a COMODO that caused some of my SSD's to freeze the OS, although it never caused this issue in particular.
If you can, I would put this drive into a USB docking bay to see if you can read this drive on another computer. Chances are the drive may be bad if the BIOS does not see it.
Another way to test this is if you can open up the laptop and put another drive in there to see if it can see that drive. If it can't, then the HDD/SSD controller might have went. I've seen this happen with a brand new laptop before after imaging it with a fresh OS.
Also, if you do manage to get the SSD working, try running a firmware update on the SSD.
You may be able to install media on a flash drive or CD/DVD media to do this from the boot options from the manufacturer.
Also, if you are running Windows Recovery Environment from the CD/DVD drive, then, if I am not mistaken, the X:\ drive that you see would be the files on the recovery environment image on the media itself, and not the SSD.
Daniel Scoland MCP 70-698 CompTIA Security+, Network+, A+ IT Professional
Thursday, March 9, 2017 9:35 AM ✅Answered
Hi Kristoffer3005,
"I know that my SSD drive (the current X drive) has my windows installation on it. When I enter the command prompt, I am starting out in X:\sources."
"X" is the Window Recovery Environment drive.
Since the SSD is a system drive and "scanos" parameter didn`t scan an usable drive. I suspect the SSD was not detected by the BIOS. You should troubleshoot the BIOS issue firstly. Resetting the BIOS could be the first step. Try to plug the SSD to another machine to ensure the SSD could work well.
This is more likely a hardware issue than a system issue. You may contact the PC repair center for help.
Best regards
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Sunday, March 5, 2017 11:04 PM
I used Diskpart to list the partitions, but it isn't there either.
What about List Volume instead?
Robert Aldwinckle
Monday, March 6, 2017 3:12 AM
Hi Kristoffer3005,
"When I enter the BIOS, it does not list the harddisk as a bootable option."
Are those drives listed in the BIOS?
If those drives are not listed in the BIOS, I think the issue should be more related to the BIOS. Check the hard drive connection, unplug the drive and re-plug them. Resetting the BIOS, try to configure different mode for the drive but we should ensure the SSD drive is configured as "SATA" mode.
Best regards
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Monday, March 6, 2017 8:16 PM
I used Diskpart to list the partitions, but it isn't there either.
What about List Volume instead?
Robert Aldwinckle
When I opened "my computer" before the problems, I had 4 drives +1 DVD drive.
Now when I use the command prompt I only see 3 + 1 DVD drive.
I now have C, D, E, X.
The one designated X is my SSD drive which have windows on it.
when I use "Diskpart" and "List disk" it tells me there are 2 disk, both online, neither dynamic and "Disk 1" is marked GPT. The other drive (disk 0) is size "0 b".
When I use "List volume", there are 3:
Volume 0 is the DVD drive
Volume 1 is the C drive (NTFS, 349 GB, Healthy)
Volume 2 is the D drive (NTFS, 349 GB, Healthy)
"list partitions tells me disk 0 doesnt have partitions, and disk 1 has 2, both primary and size 349GB. One has an offset of 1024 KB the other 349GB.
Hope that helps.
Monday, March 6, 2017 8:29 PM
Hi Kristoffer3005,
"When I enter the BIOS, it does not list the harddisk as a bootable option."
Are those drives listed in the BIOS?If those drives are not listed in the BIOS, I think the issue should be more related to the BIOS. Check the hard drive connection, unplug the drive and re-plug them. Resetting the BIOS, try to configure different mode for the drive but we should ensure the SSD drive is configured as "SATA" mode.
Best regards
I do not know how to correctly make sure they are listed in the BIOS. When I choose the option "Add new boot option" they are not there to choose from...
Checking the cables is hard as it is a laptop (and bolted down tight!) but I could do it. But seeing as I am able to access the files on the Harddrives (via CMD), I guess the cables are allright?
In the menu "Save and exit" I tried to "restore defaults", but it failed to change anything :(
In the menu "Advanced", I browsed the "SATA configuration". It is in SATA mode "AHCI" (as it should be), and have 3 ports listed (2, 4 and 5).
Port 2 is DVD
Port 4 have 3 empty slots
Port 5 is device type "Harddisk", with model name "HGST HTS721075A9E630". That doesnt mean anything to me :(
Hope that helps?
Sorry for cutting your signature in the reply MeipoXu, but I wasnt allowed to post the reply. I guess its the link...
Tuesday, March 7, 2017 7:56 AM
Hi Kristoffer3005,
"When I opened "my computer" before the problems, I had 4 drives +1 DVD drive.
Now when I use the command prompt I only see 3 + 1 DVD drive."
According to present symptom, I suspect there is an issue related to the BIOS or the disk is corrupted. Fortunately, the system drive is detected and has a drive letter.
Usually the system drive should be "C". If you are familiar with the diskpart command, we could use the diskpart command line to change the drive letter.
If you don`t mind it, we could try the following command line to restore the BCD configuration.
bootrec /scanos (the "X" should be scanned as an OS drive if you didn`t change the drive letter)
bcdboot X:\Windows (this will restore the bcd configuration)
Best regards
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Tuesday, March 7, 2017 8:37 PM
Usually the system drive should be "C". If you are familiar with the diskpart command, we could use the diskpart command line to change the drive letter.
If you don`t mind it, we could try the following command line to restore the BCD configuration.
bcdrec /scanos (the "X" should be scanned as an OS drive if you didn`t change the drive letter)
bcdboot X:\Windows (this will restore the bcd configuration)
Hi MeipoXu
I am not familiar with any type of command line actions, apart from what web searches has provided me :)
I am therefore happy that you have provided quite detailed descriptions.
I tried the command line:
"bcdrec /scanos", but got the message:
"'bcdrec' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file."
Should I have executed another command prior, or am I missing something else?
I found a guide to change drive letters, but I want to be sure that it is wise to do so at this stage - should I do it or wait?
Grateful for your help
Kristoffer
Tuesday, March 7, 2017 8:51 PM
So you are multi-booting? If so which drive has the boot loader? Check that drive's connections and integrity. If the SSD check with its maker for firmware updates and known issues.
Rob Brown - Microsoft MVP - Windows and Devices for IT - Windows Insider MVP : Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017 7:10 AM
I would make an apology, the command should be "bootrec".
Best regards
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help.
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Wednesday, March 8, 2017 8:17 PM
Hi kristoffer3005
I would make an apology, the command should be "bootrec".
Best regards
No problem MeipoXu.
I ran the command, but it found 0 windows installations.
Therefore, I couldn't complete the second command - It failed to copy since it didn't find any windows installations.
What do I need to do now?
@Rob Brown
I don't know if I am multibooting :-/
How do I check if I am?
I know that my SSD drive (the current X drive) has my windows installation on it. When I enter the command prompt, I am starting out in X:\sources.
I am hesitant about dismantling my laptop to check the cables. It's not that easy for a newbie. I considered the fact that I can freely browse the X drive "proof" that the cables are fine. I ran the selfscan several times, but other than that I do not know how to do something about the integrity of the drive?
Thanks for your input - please advice how to proceed :)
Wednesday, March 8, 2017 11:59 PM
Correct, do not take apart a laptop to get to the cables other ends.
Sounds like you are booting to the CD/DVD - check Startup/Settings (often F2 as you boot so watch the screen) and set the SSD drive as 1st in the boot order.
Rob Brown - Microsoft MVP - Windows and Devices for IT - Windows Insider MVP : Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.
Friday, March 10, 2017 10:23 PM
What kind of SSD is it, how long have you had it, have you had previous issues with it?
Also, if you do manage to get the SSD working, try running a firmware update on the SSD.
Also, if you are running Windows Recovery Environment from the CD/DVD drive, then, if I am not mistaken, the X:\ drive that you see would be the files on the recovery environment image on the media itself, and not the SSD.
Daniel Scoland MCP 70-698 CompTIA Security+, Network+, A+ IT Professional
Hi Daniel
You are correct, what I assumed was my SSD drive was just the "recovery environment image" :(
I will try to extract the SSD drive and connect it to something where I can test it.
As it seems you correctly guessed where I went wrong (believing that the SSD drive was still functional), I have marked your post as answer. Thanks for the help!
I will try to update this thread if I have any luck in reviving the drive, so that others can find info from the post in the future :)
Regards
Kristoffer
Friday, March 10, 2017 10:28 PM
Since the SSD is a system drive and "scanos" parameter didn`t scan an usable drive. I suspect the SSD was not detected by the BIOS. You should troubleshoot the BIOS issue firstly. Resetting the BIOS could be the first step. Try to plug the SSD to another machine to ensure the SSD could work well.
This is more likely a hardware issue than a system issue. You may contact the PC repair center for help.
Hi MeipoXu
Thanks for your most welcome help.
I have marked your post as "answer", and will try to follow your advice. Luckily extracting the harddrive is within my capabilities, so I will soon know if I have a functional drive :)
Again, thanks for your help.
Kristoffer