The drive was listed in the boot sequence list but was not numbered, thus not even in the boot order. I am going to transition all of the files over to the current drive and format the drive, then place the files back on there and try the booting process again to see if it still hangs up.
Is the hard drive set first to boot when the external is connected? Make sure.
Formatting is not enough. It requires going deeper to delete boot code and the partition table which might be interfering. Use the booted Win7 installation media to run Diskpart Clean Command.
Then format the drive for data storage with Logical partitions which can never interfere: Partition / Extended : Logical Drives - Windows 7 Forums
Yes, the hard drive was listed as first in the boot order then the onboard USB/CD-ROM drive.
I have your reference pulled up on another tab and will use that for the process of trying to fix this.
After bouncing around schedules and working with moving a ton of data and performing the steps gregrocker recommended, I completed it and tested...only to still be at the same brick wall I was at before. Not all is lost though because it taught me something I had never done before and will keep it in my references in case I need it.
Next, It dawned on me that the drive may be at fault.
I contacted Western Digital about the probability that this drive failed (which would have been a big surprise, considering it was only six months old but not improbable) and the first option they provided me was, disconnect the drive, boot then plug the drive back in.
Really?
Yeah, that works out great when you do that remotely.
Option 2 they gave me was asking about my BIOS. Had I had the most recent upgrade?
As it turns out, the BIOS was version A12 (with Dell) and the current version was up to A22. I performed the BIOS upgrade and initial testing proves that it may have been the BIOS being the stickler in the whole process. What I don't understand is, why this came up only after installing Windows 7 because it was working fine before I went down that road. Now, booting up on either the Windows 7 or the Kubuntu drive, there no longer seems be a lag or hang to complete booting.
Before I give this the all clear, I'm going to double check the drive and make sure all of the data got back in its place on the USB Drive, perform another boot on both internal hard drives separately and then come back and give this a "mark solved" provided everything passes (which I believe it will).
Thanks again for all of the inputs. Another lesson learned for my pocket.
laserman
Sometimes a BIOS update is required for running a newer OS or even a larger HD. It should tell you what changes were made in subsequent BIOS updates.
You can reboot into Dell F12 key menu to run Diagnostics to get a full suite to test hardware. Sometimes even more Diagnostics are on the Utility Partition choice.
Otherwise here is WD Data Lifeguard bootable flash stick and Windows version
for testing your HD.
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