Windows 10 will not boot unless HDD is unplugged and plugged back in

[kodaxx]

Wait till you hear this one. I have a Dell Inspiron One 2305 that I've upgraded the RAM in (to 8GB from 4GB). I also upgraded the HDD to a Western Digital Blue 1TB 7200RPM. I installed Windows on here and it works fine...This is the only HDD in the computer.

Here's the kicker: After being turned off for some time (1 day, maybe 2) the SATA cable needs to be unplugged and plugged back in to boot up, otherwise the BIOS does not even see the drive. I can restart as many times as I want and the BIOS will never detect it until I open the computer, unplug and plug in both the SATA cable and the power cable and then, no problem. The HDD is spinning, even when the BIOS does not detect it.

This is consistent and its become a real head scratcher for me...I've tried changing SATA ports on the motherboard, as well as visually inspecting solder with a microscope. The port works fine with the CD drive. Could it be my cable? Could my PSU be underpowered?

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there kodaxx,

That is unpleasant. 🙁

Even though this sounds like a connection related issue, it would be nice to back up your important data until you sort this out.

After that, you can just use different SATA and power cables. If we assume that the port is fine, then most probably, faulty cables are causing this.

It would not hurt to check the drive's health status out. You can run both short and extended DLG tests on it: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=8Y3tMY

Let me know how this goes,
D_Know_WD