Question Windows won't boot after power cut. Windows installation USB won't boot either

[kourkoubini]

A few months ago, a very brief power outage occurred while I was using Windows 10. It lasted less than a second and when I turned my computer on again, it booted into Ubuntu, which was installed on an old HDD that I rarely used, instead of my Windows SSD, which used to be the default boot option. I tried to manually boot into that SSD, but it was not listed as an option.

Browsing the contents of the SSD through Ubuntu is possible and all the files seem to be there. Gnome disks reports a bad sector, though I'm not sure if that happened before or after the power cut.

I thought that maybe the UEFI entry for Windows got somehow deleted and I tried to boot into a Windows installation USB, as well as a Windows recovery drive, to see if I can restore it from the command line, but they won't boot either. I toggled CSM support and secure boot on and off, I used different flash drives, I tried creating them with Rufus, Windows Installation Media Tool and also manually and tried both GPT and MBR options, but they never get past showing the Windows logo and/or loading animation, or a black screen, even after waiting for a long time. The flash drives boot normally on other other computers. Updating BIOS also didn't help and booting from a CD is not an option.

Linux live systems boot normally from USBs and Windows Installation USBs used to work in the past, too, as that's what I used to install Windows on the SSD.

Changing the SATA mode from AHCI to RAID made the Windows USBs boot, but my SSD was inaccessible. (And caused Ubuntu not to boot.)

I haven't tried transplanting the SSD to another computer to see if it boots, but I was wondering if I can find a solution to my problem before I do that. Any ideas?

System specifications:

PSU: Corsair RM750X (750 Watt, 2 years old, new)
SSD: Samsung 870EVO 500GB (Windows 10 is installed here. ~66% full)
Motherboard: B550 Aorus Pro V2
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900x

 

[dwd999]

A few months ago, a very brief power outage occurred while I was using Windows 10. It lasted less than a second and when I turned my computer on again, it booted into Ubuntu, which was installed on an old HDD that I rarely used, instead of my Windows SSD, which used to be the default boot option. I tried to manually boot into that SSD, but it was not listed as an option.

Browsing the contents of the SSD through Ubuntu is possible and all the files seem to be there. Gnome disks reports a bad sector, though I'm not sure if that happened before or after the power cut.

I thought that maybe the UEFI entry for Windows got somehow deleted and I tried to boot into a Windows installation USB, as well as a Windows recovery drive, to see if I can restore it from the command line, but they won't boot either. I toggled CSM support and secure boot on and off, I used different flash drives, I tried creating them with Rufus, Windows Installation Media Tool and also manually and tried both GPT and MBR options, but they never get past showing the Windows logo and/or loading animation, or a black screen, even after waiting for a long time. The flash drives boot normally on other other computers. Updating BIOS also didn't help and booting from a CD is not an option.

Linux live systems boot normally from USBs and Windows Installation USBs used to work in the past, too, as that's what I used to install Windows on the SSD.

Changing the SATA mode from AHCI to RAID made the Windows USBs boot, but my SSD was inaccessible. (And caused Ubuntu not to boot.)

I haven't tried transplanting the SSD to another computer to see if it boots, but I was wondering if I can find a solution to my problem before I do that. Any ideas?

The windows installer works best when there is only 1 drive installed when you try to boot it. Perhaps if you disconnect your other drives, especially the Ubuntu drive, the installer usb might boot.

 

[kourkoubini]

The windows installer works best when there is only 1 drive installed when you try to boot it. Perhaps if you disconnect your other drives, especially the Ubuntu drive, the installer usb might boot.

Thanks. I just tried this but it didn't work.

 

[Ralston18]

Regarding:

"Changing the SATA mode from AHCI to RAID made the Windows USBs boot, but my SSD was inaccessible. (And caused Ubuntu not to boot.)"

Before trying the "1 drive installed" were you able to switch back from RAID to AHCI?

Not sure (full disclosure) about the progression of events and how recovering back to a Windows 10 boot drive might be accomplished. If at all possible now.....

Overall, this thread may now be more applicable to Storage than Windows 10.

Barring additional posts within this thread I will move thread to Storage as warranted.

 

[kourkoubini]

Regarding:

"Changing the SATA mode from AHCI to RAID made the Windows USBs boot, but my SSD was inaccessible. (And caused Ubuntu not to boot.)"

Before trying the "1 drive installed" were you able to switch back from RAID to AHCI?

Not sure (full disclosure) about the progression of events and how recovering back to a Windows 10 boot drive might be accomplished. If at all possible now.....

Overall, this thread may now be more applicable to Storage than Windows 10.

Barring additional posts within this thread I will move thread to Storage as warranted.

Yes, I can switch between AHCI and RAID. The Windows installation USB/Recovery drive only boots if SATA mode is set to RAID (I have no idea why), but I can't do anything with it in that mode.

I'm not sure if it's a storage problem. Something seems to prevent Windows from booting, whether that is the Windows installation on my SSD or a Windows ISO on a USB. Whatever that something is, it doesn't affect Linux in any way. What could it be?

 

[kourkoubini]

I had a similar hiccup a while back, and it turned out to be a quirky boot issue. What worked for me was diving into the UEFI settings. I'd suggest checking if your UEFI firmware recognizes the SSD. Sometimes, after power outages, it messes with the boot order.

In my case, I had to manually add the Windows SSD as a boot option in the UEFI settings. Also, keep an eye out for any legacy boot settings – toggling between UEFI and legacy boot might do the trick.

The firmware only mentions my SSD when showing me the options for creating a RAID array, though it doesn't let me make one with it.

My SSD is not listed among the candidates for a boot option in the UEFI settings.

I tried, but I couldn't find a Legacy boot option, but I assume it's the same as the CSM support option. Isn't it?

 

[Ralston18]

@kourkoubini

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Include PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)?

Disk drive(s): Make, model, capacity, how full?

What is the source of the Windows Installation USB?

 

[kourkoubini]

@kourkoubini

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Include PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)?

Disk drive(s): Make, model, capacity, how full?

What is the source of the Windows Installation USB?

The Windows Installation USB is a flash drive I used to write the Windows 10 image on. I got the image from Microsoft's website and tried several methods to write it to the flash drive, including using Rufus, formatting the flash drive to a FAT32 filesystem and pasting the contents of the ISO in it, as well as using Microsoft's Windows installation media tool. I tried this on two flash drives. I also made a Windows recovery drive from another Windows 10 machine. All methods work normally on my laptop, but not on my desktop.

 

[Ralston18]

Moving thread to "Storage".

Although the problem may be Windows in some manner - storage/drives are key to a working install or reinstall.

Plus a history involving RAID and Open Source software/dual boot....

And with a power outage involved someone may note or be aware of some related issue or matter that I am missing.

 

[kourkoubini]

Apparently, the SSD was the issue, here. @Ralston18 was right, it was a storage problem.

I removed the SSD and put it in my laptop. The laptop complained that there were problems with the drive and a backup should be made. I continued with the boot process and it booted into a BSOD.

Without the SSD plugged in, my PC can now boot into Windows USBs normally, while the laptop, with that SSD in it, can no longer do that. I don't know why the USB boot process is affected by the SSD, but my question of what was causing the USB issue has been answered. Thanks for your input, everyone.