Question PC doesn't boot if SSD is connected ?

[moisty]

(This is for a friend)

He has a pre-built PC he got 6 years ago. He swapped out the SSD with a new one, however, recently he wanted to use the old SSD again. When he plugs in the SSD it just straight up doesn't boot, not even into BIOS. Fans spin up, monitor turns on, he sees the BIOS prompt however it doesn't go past that. The PC boots perfectly if he removes the SSD, he's tried using different cables in case that was the issue but nothing changed. Everything is seated and connected correctly.

If he plugs it in while his PC is already booted it shows up in device manager but is not accessible.
(Properties screenshot)

 

[JayGau]

Does he have Windows installed on both drives? If he does, the computer might get confused about what boot partition to use and doesn't boot.

If he needs to retrieve data from the old drive, he could try to either boot with only the old drive connected (and copy everything he needs to an external drive), or use a sata to usb adapter and see if he can access the drive folders.

If he doesn't need any of the data on the old drive, connect the drive with a sata to usb adapter and delete all partitions with Windows Disk Management. Then put back into the computer and format it.

 

[USAFRet]

(This is for a friend)

He has a pre-built PC he got 6 years ago. He swapped out the SSD with a new one, however recently he wanted to use the old SSD again. When he plugs in the SSD it just straight up doesn't boot, not even into BIOS. Fans spin up, monitor turns on, he sees the BIOS prompt however it doesn't go past that. The PC boots perfectly if he removes the SSD, he's tried using different cables in case that was the issue but nothing changed. Everything is seated and connected correctly.

If he plugs it in while his PC is already booted it shows up in device manager but is not accessible.
(Properties screenshot)

We need a full parts list of everything.

In addition, a screencap of the Disk Management window.

 

[moisty]

Does he have Windows installed on both drives? If he does, the computer might get confused about what boot partition to use and doesn't boot.

If he needs to retrieve data from the old drive, he could try to either boot with only the old drive connected (and copy everything he needs to an external drive), or use a sata to usb adapter and see if he can access the drive folders.

If he doesn't need any of the data on the old drive, connect the drive with a sata to usb adapter and delete all partitions with Windows Disk Management. Then put back into the computer and format it.

Sorry I should have been more clear, his PC does not boot even with only the SSD plugged in. I told him that it is probably dead but he keeps insisting that it can't be because his Windows detects it if he plugs it in when the PC is already booted.

He doesn't want any of the data on it he just wants to be able to use it.

 

[JayGau]

Sorry I should have been more clear, his PC does not boot even with only the SSD plugged in. I told him that it is probably dead but he keeps insisting that it can't be because his Windows detects it if he plugs it in when the PC is already booted.

He doesn't want any of the data on it he just wants to be able to use it.

Then tell him to get a sata to usb adapter and delete the partitions and reformat it. If that doesn't work, the drive is likely dead.