Ok, I just bluescreened because I connected the sata cables to the HDD while in windows. Weird thing is, this time it booted fine with the wd hdd connected. Surely the problem is not fixed though, so what do you recommend I do now that I have access to the hdd in windows? Should I try formatting it or something else?
here is my disk management
I would not plug or unplug HD's while there is power to the system, unless you're installed in AHCI mode so you have hotplugging and can Safely Remove Hardware on the drive first.
Did you wipe the HDD with Diskpart Clean Command
yet to remove any code which can interfere?
There is nothing wrong with plugging in the sata data or sata power cable when you`re already in windows. It`s a Molex power cable you don`t want to connect while you have power.
If there`s nothing on the drive you need, then yes, format it.
Also do what Greg has suggested.
After that you shouldn`t have any issues with it.
Format does not remove boot code or the partition table which is where interference from a HD can come from. It needs to be wiped with Diskpart Clean Command.
If you put the HDD in the lowest BIOS boot priority and the SSD in the highest boot priority, then it should be OK. With that setup the BIOS will not even be looking for the HDD.
I used the diskpart clean command on the WD hdd and tried putting it in the lowest boot priority as well as disabling the wd from the boot menu all together. It still will not boot. Also, this time i actually had to try 3-4 times to get it to boot on the ssd alone without the wd hdd connected. It hangs at the same place every time it happens, "Starting Windows". So apparently the problem is present for sure without the wd hdd even connected. what the hell?
Should I try clean all with the diskpart clean instead, or will it not matter? Any other ideas?
EDIT:
I was able to boot now again for the first time with both drives since the diskpart clean command by connecting the wd while i was in windows, then getting bluescreen and then it booted after a restart. To be clear, it still won't boot normally at all with the wdd hdd, and it boots maybe 30%-50% of the time with only the sdd connected.
Now which one do I choose out of these?
Do you think the hardware might be faulty based on all the info in this thread? I really have no clue why it won't boot the majority of the time I try if it's not because of a hardware issue. Shouldn't all the stuff I did with cmd in the original post have resat now that I cleaned it in diskpart? Should I maybe take this to a another sub-forum on here about hardware?
Have you tried another cable, gone over all the connections to make sure they are secure, paid attention to where you connected the SSD based on mobo manufacturer's Manual from its Support Downloads webpage?
Test your hardware from the Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7
Unplug the HDD and run a few Startup Repairs to see if it finds any issues.
I think I would start over and reinstall following these same steps to get and keep a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7. This time keep the HD unplugged so that it doesn't interfere. Having a System Reserved partition land there is a major problem which might not have completely repaired.
Once you do this then if the problem persists you'll know it's hardware.
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