[SOLVED] Storage Issues

[GarretOstrander]

So I built my first gaming pc back in December 2019. That day I struggled with finding my 2tb hard drive and 500gb ssd in the bios and after awhile I was able to find 1 drive which was my hard drive but it only showed that I had 930 gbs of storage available. After struggling for so long I just said screw it and decided to begin using my computer. I haven’t addressed the issue until today because it says my drive usage is 100% and I also feel like my boot times are exceptionally slow. I’ve tried to troubleshoot the issues of finding the ssd and to figure out why I have less than half of my hard drive storage available and why my hard drive’s usage is at 100%. If you could help me with this I would be so grateful!!

 

[USAFRet]

Please show us a screencap of your Disk Management window.

 

[GarretOstrander]

Please show us a screencap of your Disk Management window.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bk8bl9vj64fbpoi/Photo Sep 14, 7 52 50 AM.jpg?dl=0

 

[USAFRet]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bk8bl9vj64fbpoi/Photo Sep 14, 7 52 50 AM.jpg?dl=0

OK...

Disk 0 shows it as a 1TB drive, not 2.
Make/model of this item?

SSD and motherboard - What specific make/model is it?

 

[GarretOstrander]

OK...

Disk 0 shows it as a 1TB drive, not 2.
Make/model of this item?

SSD and motherboard - What specific make/model is it?

It is a Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Harddrive

The SSD is a Samsung 860 EVO 500 GB 2.5" and the Motherboard is an Asus PRIME Z390-A ATX LGA1151

 

[USAFRet]

It is a Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Harddrive

The SSD is a Samsung 860 EVO 500 GB 2.5" and the Motherboard is an Asus PRIME Z390-A ATX LGA1151

I know you're saying 2TB, but DM shows 1TB.
Can you read the model num from the label? Or CrystalDiskInfo or Speccy.

For the SSD...have you tried different SATA ports or cables?

 

[GarretOstrander]

I know you're saying 2TB, but DM shows 1TB.
Can you read the model num from the label? Or CrystalDiskInfo or Speccy.

For the SSD...have you tried different SATA ports or cables?

I know you're saying 2TB, but DM shows 1TB.
Can you read the model num from the label? Or CrystalDiskInfo or Speccy.

For the SSD...have you tried different SATA ports or cables?

Here’s the link to a picture of the drive and it’s model number, etc. Also I included another link of the bios and what it shows. Lastly I just switched the sata cables for the hard drive and ssd to see if one of them was defective but the hard drive still booted up and the ssd still did not.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6vebzt9w1h6gkqc/Photo Sep 14, 9 27 33 AM.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q3z6e0s1cnk6lss/Photo Sep 14, 9 35 38 AM.jpg?dl=0

 

[USAFRet]

Well, it can't boot from the SSD until there is an OS on it.

1TB vs 2TB...where did you purchase this drive?
DM and the BIOS show a 1TB, the label shows 2TB.

 

[GarretOstrander]

Well, it can't boot from the SSD until there is an OS on it.

1TB vs 2TB...where did you purchase this drive?
DM and the BIOS show a 1TB, the label shows 2TB.

Well, it can't boot from the SSD until there is an OS on it.

1TB vs 2TB...where did you purchase this drive?
DM and the BIOS show a 1TB, the label shows 2TB.

Okay then what would I need to do to boot the SSD? Because when I checked the advanced HDD/SSD SMART information it showed and recognized my SSD as a device. Also I bought the hard drive from new egg.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

The 2nd link clearly shows that that drive is only 1TB (1000.2GB). It's not unheard of for scammers to print their own labels. Now, did you purchase directly from Newegg, or one of the resellers that they host? There's a big difference.

 

[USAFRet]

To boot from the SSD, you need to either migrate from the old drive to the new, OR do a clean install on the SSD.

But, since it does not appear at all in DM, this is a whole different problem.

 

[USAFRet]

The 2nd link clearly shows that that drive is only 1TB (1000.2GB)

Does the label on that drive look a bit wonky?

 

[USAFRet]

Also I bought the hard drive from new egg.

From actual Newegg, or from a 3rd party seller on Newegg?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Does the label on that drive look a bit wonky?

My first impression was that the label was a fake. Something about it just doesn't look quite right.

 

[GarretOstrander]

To boot from the SSD, you need to either migrate from the old drive to the new, OR do a clean install on the SSD.

But, since it does not appear at all in DM, this is a whole different problem.

I think I might’ve seen what I did wrong. I looked in the RAID volume info and it notices the hard drive is 1.8 Tb and the SSD as 465 gb. So I believe I may have merged them accidentally?

here is the link to the photos:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k2lfjpior17hkqr/Photo Sep 14, 9 52 51 AM.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2cic3b53yt3v44n/Photo Sep 14, 9 53 02 AM.jpg?dl=0

 

[GarretOstrander]

From actual Newegg, or from a 3rd party seller on Newegg?

I bought it straight from new egg

 

[USAFRet]

I think I might’ve seen what I did wrong. I looked in the RAID volume info and it notices the hard drive is 1.8 Tb and the SSD as 465 gb. So I believe I may have merged them accidentally?

here is the link to the photos:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k2lfjpior17hkqr/Photo Sep 14, 9 52 51 AM.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2cic3b53yt3v44n/Photo Sep 14, 9 53 02 AM.jpg?dl=0

Oh my.

A 2TB HDD and a 500GB SSD, in RAID 0, WILL result in a 1TB volume and RAID array.
And running at the speed of the slowest...the HDD, and throwing out the size of the largest.

What, specifically, is on this system.
The only real way to undo this is a full wipe and reinstall. We can go into details and procedures if you want.

 

[GarretOstrander]

Oh my.

A 2TB HDD and a 500GB SSD, in RAID 0, WILL result in a 1TB volume and RAID array.
And running at the speed of the slowest...the HDD, and throwing out the size of the largest.

What, specifically, is on this system.
The only real way to undo this is a full wipe and reinstall. We can go into details and procedures if you want.

Ah I see. I knew I made a big mistake but with this being my first build, but I never really knew what the issue was. Everything on the computer can be reinstalled so I do not mind wiping the drives. I would love to go through the details and procedures to fix this!

 

[USAFRet]

Ah I see. I knew I made a big mistake but with this being my first build, but I never really knew what the issue was. Everything on the computer can be reinstalled so I do not mind wiping the drives. I would love to go through the details and procedures to fix this!

So, you start over.

Create a new Win 10 install USB.
Power off.
Disconnect all drives except the SSD.
Boot from your USB and install on the SSD, deleting ALL existing partitions on it as you go through the process.

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

Later, connect the HDD and delete all partitions on that as well.

Remember...you'll be starting from a clean slate. Drivers, applications, etc, etc.

 

[GarretOstrander]

So, you start over.

Create a new Win 10 install USB.
Power off.
Disconnect all drives except the SSD.
Boot from your USB and install on the SSD, deleting ALL existing partitions on it as you go through the process.

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

Later, connect the HDD and delete all partitions on that as well.

Remember...you'll be starting from a clean slate. Drivers, applications, etc, etc.

Hey! So I figured out how to set up the new system and it works better than ever! I just have one more question. I decided to boot the system using only the ssd like you said but now that I downloaded windows and some of my games onto it, how do I set up the 2 tb hard drive and delete it's partitions?

 

[Rae Nelvin]

Hey! So I figured out how to set up the new system and it works better than ever! I just have one more question. I decided to boot the system using only the ssd like you said but now that I downloaded windows and some of my games onto it, how do I set up the 2 tb hard drive and delete it's partitions?

Using the Disk Manager you can full format the 2TB HDD and Create New Volume into it and you can install your games onto it.

 

[USAFRet]

how was the issue resolved?

Starting over completely.
A full clean reinstall on the SSD, and then (presumably) deleting all partitions on the 2TB HDD.