Question Why do I boot into bios when i only have 1 m.2 drive installed

[crandolf1089]

hello, I am currently trying to sell my 970 pro m.2. drive which is currently formatted. The issue is when i take it out my computer boots to the bios, I have windows installed on my 960 evo m.2. and there is nothing on the drive im taking out, anyone know what's going on?

 

[boju]

Formatting doesn't entirely erase data. Did you have the two drives connected when installing Windows 10?

Win10 has a habit of putting boot loader file on other drives and it looks like the boot loader is on the ssd youre removing and the system is still able to read it.

Try do a system repair with the intended ssd removed. Boot with Win10 install to do a repair.

Fix UEFI Boot: Fix for Windows 10, Windows 11, 7, and 8

This article explains step-by-step solutions that you can use to fix your computer’s UEFI boot for these Windows versions: Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 7, and Windows 8. This how-to articl…

neosmart.net

 

[crandolf1089]

okay thanks so much for your reply, i will have to download windows 10 and try it

 

[crandolf1089]

I'm having trouble installing windows 10 on a thumb drive from microsofts website, however i have found that the m.2 that i was taking out, it has a 600 mb partition labeled as EFI system partition, was wondering with that information will i still need to repair with the installation tool, thanks again!

 

[boju]

That partition would be holding the boot loader file in there.

Did you use Microsoft media creation tool to setup win10 on a usb stick?

 

[crandolf1089]

Yes i did, im trying again for a 3rd time so i can relay the exact message it gives

 

[boju]

How is the usb stick formatted prior? If ntfs, try fat32. If already fat32 try ntfs.

 

[crandolf1089]

okay i got the usb drive to work through rufus, but when i tried to diagnose and repair my computer with the build in utility, it came back saying it couldn't repair anything :/

 

[boju]

Is that with the ssd giving you grief removed?

 

[crandolf1089]

yes it is, i can format my main drive if that'll fix it

 

[boju]

remove the ssd then run the usb Win10, hope it finds a reason to repair then


Edit sorry i got confused with my own question lol, i came back to proof read, i got distracted. If ssd removed and win10 couldn't find whats wrong perhaps its not boot loader issue. It does sound like it though when that drive is removed. Unless bios's boot order is out of whack?

See https://neosmart.net/wiki/fix-uefi-boot/

A reinstall would fix it yes id say so.

 

[evongugg]

Stupid question.
Did you check the boot order in the bios?

 

[SkyNetRising]

You have to recreate boot-loader on remaining drive.
That can not be fixed with automatic repair (@boju suggestion will not work here).

Can you show screenshot from Disk Management?

Basically, what must be done:

shrink existing windows OS partition (by 500MB);​

create new bootloader partition (type EFI system);​

format it (Fat32) and​

create bootloader files on it using bcdboot command.​