Challenging issue for Win 7 gurus... and here it is now....

First of all, my system architecture at home is:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit running on a Dell Studio 540 Intel Quad Core Q955 Chipset 6GB Ram. 2 internal HDD. In Disk 0 slot a 1 GB Hitachi Deskstar 32Mb Cache 7200rpm loaded with the Win7 OS; in Disk 1 slot a 1 TB WD Caviar Black FAEX1002(no operrating system on this one).

Additionally I have an external 4-bay Enclosure a SansDigital TowerRaid TR4M (-B)P holding another 3 hard drives.
The details are as follows:
The Enclosure is connected with e-sata cable to a HighPoint RocketRaid 622 e-sata controller card at the back of the PC tower.
the HDDs are:
a. Western Digital 5000 AAKS Blue 500 GB 16 MB Cache 7200rpm with the Win7 OS on it
b. WD 2001FASS Black Caviar 2TB 64MB cache 7200 rpm with the Win7 OS on it
c. WD 2000EALS Green 2TB 64B Cache (oscillating speeds as all 'greens' have) NO OS on it.

The Bios booting pecking order on the computer shows listed as:

- Sata: PM - Hitachi Desktar
- CD/DVD: (details of it follow)
- Boot to Utility Partition
- System Setup
- Diagnostics



The curious situation that presents itself is:
If I start/boot the PC with its defaulted Bios it wont start with the Hitachi disk installed as Disk 0 inside the PC tower. It starts with the WD 5000AAKS (which is installed inside the external enclosure and which is not listed on the BIOS). To be able to boot the Hitachi Disk installed as Disk 0 inside the tower AND listed at the top of the BIOS list i have to start the PC hittting the F12 key and manually choosing the disk in the Bios list.
Can anyone find a logical explanation to this behaviour by Windows 7 on my PC? (I remind at this point that the WD 5000AAKS also has the OS loaded into it).


IF there is a logical explanation, is there a way to stop this and make the OS behave as it should under these circumstances?


I would appreciate the opinions, suggestions and coaching of those gurus that I do know exist in these Forums.


Thank you kindly.

usually this setting is handled by bios not windows.
i dont know your BIOS but there is usally two settings boot priority (SATA, DVD, USB etc.) and hard disk priority (which HDD is checked first).

From the manual:

Boot


Boot Device Priority
Sets the boot device sequence. Only the bootable devices that are connected to the computer are listed as options.

Removable Device Priority
Sets the boot priority among the attached removable devices.

Hard Disk Boot Priority
Sets the hard drive boot priority. The items displayed are dynamically updated according to the hard drives detected.

CD/DVD Boot Priority
Sets the CD/DVD drive boot priority. The items displayed are dynamically updated according to the hard drives detected.

Click to expand...

Check the option highlighted in RED.

vaidas3 said:

usually this setting is handled by bios not windows.
i dont know your BIOS but there is usally two settings boot priority (SATA, DVD, USB etc.) and hard disk priority (which HDD is checked first).

Click to expand...

As I stated the Hitachi HDD placed as Disk 0 inside the tower is the top option for booting...BUT unless I start the PC hitting F12 to choose the boot manually, it would boot from the WD 5000AAKS which is NOT inside the PC but inside the External Enclosure, now THAT is what I find strange and an oddity.

My question is ...How do I prevent this from happening?