Solved Operating System not listed in System Recovery

[tsm102]

Hello,

My PC won't boot so I wanted to do a system recovery. But when I try to do that, my OS is not listed. I clicked on load driver but I couldn't find it there as well.

More details that might be helpful:

• My driver shows up in the BIOS just fine.
  
• I get no error messages when trying to boot my PC. (Just a black screen with a blinking cursor at the top left corner of the screen)

Thanks

 

[GokAy]

I would check if System Drive is on the first SATA port (SATA0 or 1) and use Restore Disk made with a SP1 same bit installation.

 

[tsm102]

I would check if System Drive is on the first SATA port (SATA0 or 1) and use Restore Disk made with a SP1 same bit installation.

Now that you've mentioned it, I can see the drive in the boot priority but not in any one of the ports. They're all N/A. How can I fix that? Thanks for the reply by the way!

 

[AddRAM]

It`s not connected, check all the confections again, then check em again :shock:

 

[tsm102]

It`s not connected, check all the confections again, then check em again :shock:

It was working fine and was never unplugged in the first place, but I still did it anyway before I posted this thread...

 

[GokAy]

It is disabled in BIOS perhaps? Did you check BIOS settings, or best to just reset BIOS to defaults (an option in there somewhere). Make sure to take note of any modifications you have previously made though.

 

[tsm102]

It is disabled in BIOS perhaps? Did you check BIOS settings, or best to just reset BIOS to defaults (an option in there somewhere). Make sure to take note of any modifications you have previously made though.

It's enabled in the BIOS and I just reset the BIOS to defaults, and still, nothing.

Background:

Now I tried to think of what might be causing it, and I think I figured it out but it might not be the actual reason. So windows update keeps scheduling an upgrade to Windows 10 and I don't wanna upgrade just yet. Which is why I kept postponing it since there is no option to cancel the upgrade for some reason. Anyway, I remember at one time it started upgrading on its own and I freaked out, it has just started so I forced the computer to shut down because I couldn't cancel the upgrade. So that might be why this is happening? Although I managed to boot up the computer for days just fine after that so I'm not sure.

 

[GokAy]

Hmm, I would try:
- other SATA ports
- another SATA power cable
- using DVD drive's cables

If still no luck then plug it to another PC and see if it is alive.

 

[tsm102]

Hmm, I would try:
- other SATA ports
- another SATA power cable
- using DVD drive's cables

If still no luck then plug it to another PC and see if it is alive.

Phew! People! It's not dead!!
I changed the power cable and I can now see my ssd! But It's now on port 5.

I'll be back.

Edit: Does it matter which SATA port boot drive is on?

 

[tsm102]

Update:

So I switched ports and tried different cables. The only difference is that I can now see my SSD in the BIOS. It was on port 5, that didn't work. Then on port 2, didn't work. And finally on port 1, and that also didn't work. By "didn't work" I mean that it's still not showing in System Recovery. Note that the SSD is first on everything in the BIOS (boot priority, first drive in the boot tab,..etc)


What to do now ? I'm a noob, so do not avoid asking the obvious. And I sure hope to god that it's just a silly mistake and I won't have to replace anything.

 

[GokAy]

Since you can see it now, try to plug it into SATA0 (or SATA1, whichever is first).
Also, make sure your Recovery Disk was made on a SP1 machine. If it was, still try with a freshly made one.

 

[genetics73]

When you attempt to recover the system with Windows Repair disk, disregard the fact that the OS is not detected. Do NOT load drivers. Click next and go into Command Prompt. Once there, at the prompt, type the commands shown below, paying attention to spaces between bootrec and /. Press ENTER after each command:

bootrec /rebuildbcd
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot

Then, reboot. Most of the time, the system will be revived.

 

[tsm102]

Since you can see it now, try to plug it into SATA0 (or SATA1, whichever is first).
Also, make sure your Recovery Disk was made on a SP1 machine. If it was, still try with a freshly made one.

Yah that didn't work, sadly.

 

[tsm102]

When you attempt to recover the system with Windows Repair disk, disregard the fact that the OS is not detected. Do NOT load drivers. Click next and go into Command Prompt. Once there, at the prompt, type the commands shown below, paying attention to spaces between bootrec and /. Press ENTER after each command:

bootrec /rebuildbcd
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot

Then, reboot. Most of the time, the system will be revived.

Okay so I did that, here's what I got:

For the bootrec /rebuildbcd, "Total identified windows installations: 0"

as for the bootrec /fixmbr and bootrec /fixboot, it said "the device is not ready yet"

 

[tsm102]

Might be helpful..

I can see my drive in the bios. When I switch ports I can see in the bios that the ssd is now on a different port. But it's not detected with any of these commands, and as you can see, I can't even see it in the load drive window.

I have 2 other HDDs, when I connect them to the computer they show up with the list disk command, it's only my ssd that's playing games.

I appreciate your help and I hope that someone would stick with me, this is getting frustrating..

P.S. Any way I can backup my data? I might end up reinstalling windows. I can't do the notebook and the live cd methods, cuz my drive is not detected anyway.

 

[genetics73]

In this case, follow GoKay's advice and plug the disk into a different SATA port. I am not sure what else to suggest short of trying the disk out in a different machine, to at least recover the data.

 

[genetics73]

This may be helpful: SSD Installation: Step by Step on How to Properly Install an SSD. You may end up having to reinstall Win 7 on the SSD drive, but at least your data will be spared. It is not necessary to use Acronis True Image for cloning; a free version of Easeus software will work just as well - see EaseUS Disk Copy Freeware - Free Disk Copy, Disk Clone Software download to Clone Hard Drive

Speaking of Live CD - its workings should not depend on SSD detection. If you use a Ubuntu or Mint Live CD you may be able to copy your data to an external drive.

 

[tsm102]

This may be helpful: SSD Installation: Step by Step on How to Properly Install an SSD. You may end up having to reinstall Win 7 on the SSD drive, but at least your data will be spared. It is not necessary to use Acronis True Image for cloning; a free version of Easeus software will work just as well - see EaseUS Disk Copy Freeware - Free Disk Copy, Disk Clone Software download to Clone Hard Drive

Speaking of Live CD - its workings should not depend on SSD detection. If you use a Ubuntu or Mint Live CD you may be able to copy your data to an external drive.

My data being spared is all I ask for really Also, I tried both methods that's why I'm certain they won't work. Tried the live cd and the notebook method; couldn't see my drive.

Thank you, I'll see what I can do with the cloning tomorrow.. I'll write back. Thanks again

 

[tsm102]

So the SSD is dead. Not sure if I should mark this thread as solved but I will anyway..

Thanks to whoever tried to help me out