Solved Comp boots to bios everytime since formatting a secondary drive

[stebobibo]

Running windows 7. I have 3 hard drives in my computer. 1 I used for backups only. The Operating system is on another drive. I formatted (wiped clean) this drive (the backups one), and ever since my computer starts in bios. So when I start it up there is a black backround page with "American Megatronics" at the top. And at the bottom of this page it says "press f1 to recover bios settings", and that's the only option available. I went to the boot section and made sure it has the right drive in boot priority 1 (which wasn't at first but I changed it), but still no luck. Tried disconnecting peripherals; didn't work. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[townsbg]

Sounds like the drive you wiped had the bootloader on it which windows might do if you have 2 drives in a computer during an OS install. When installing windows on a computer with multiple drives it is best to remove any that don't have an operating system on them to avoid that situation. I simply disconnect the power cable to any secondary drives for the duration of the Windows install. Regardless you will have to restore the bootloader. Fix the MBR – Guide for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10

 

[stebobibo]

Hi and thanks for the reply. That shouldn't be the case because that drive wasn't added to the computer until after Windows had been installed (years after in fact). I'll still give your suggestion a try, if you still think I should.
One other thing I did before wiping the drive was open the computer up, unplugged the cables to the drives and blew air into the ends to remove dust. When I replugged them into the motherboard I might have put them in different slots. Could this have caused the issue and if so, how would I know what slots are the right ones for each drive? I have access to all the drives (all are working). Thanks again.

 

[file3456]

I have access to all the drives (all are working). Thanks again.

So it's fixed now or what?

I'd make sure your OS drive is in port 0. I think it's listed as port 0 or port 1 on my motherboard.

If you still have an issue, use the last known Config. option in BIOS.

This isn't a bootloader issue, it's a SATA port issue and BIOS. When you turn on the computer BIOS isn't picking up on the bootloader for the OS to boot. On its face it sounded like the bootloader files were wiped.

 

[townsbg]

Hi and thanks for the reply. That shouldn't be the case because that drive wasn't added to the computer until after Windows had been installed (years after in fact). I'll still give your suggestion a try, if you still think I should.
One other thing I did before wiping the drive was open the computer up, unplugged the cables to the drives and blew air into the ends to remove dust. When I replugged them into the motherboard I might have put them in different slots. Could this have caused the issue and if so, how would I know what slots are the right ones for each drive? I have access to all the drives (all are working). Thanks again.

Well I suggested that because the last time I had vista as a primary OS I had multiple hard drives and I discovered that Vista put the bootloader on a second hdd if one was installed. I don't know if 7 does the same thing. You can still recover the bootloader from the install disk. It's the next thing to do if the port change doesn't work and should fix your issue.

 

[stebobibo]

Hey guys, thanks for your help. Sorry for being slow to reply. I've still be unable to fix the issue. I tried changing the ports. I tried restoring the bootloader using the guide you posted, townsbg. I ran into a snag at one point of the process, however. I booted from my install disc, chose fix my comp. On the next page it was supposed to show my operating sysytem installed on my SSD. But all it showed was my DVD drive (that had the install disc in). I went through the rest of the steps with the command prompt, nevertheless. Where it looked for OS it never found it either. Needless to say it didn't fix the issue.



Also there are some other problems that have been happening since this boot issue, maybe they are related and can shed light on solutions. They are: The windows clock is always wrong. It's always at 2008 or 2009 and that's years before I had this comp. Also, on the taskbar where it is supposed to show the internet connection, it's not there anymore. Plus, when I click that up arrow button on the taskbar, most of the icons that should be there are missing. When I restart my computer or shut it down and turn it on again soon after, it boots up normally and the clock is at what I set it before.

 

[badcrc]

Clock not keeping time points to the cmos battery being kaput (button battery on motherboard). The cmos battery keeps the mobo clock running when pc is turned off, and also keeps the cmos chip 'alive' so any setup in BIOS eg boot order, ram speed etc is retained.

Get a new battery, setup boot order in BIOS - and don't forget to save. Usually F10

 

[Megahertz07]

As already explained, the CMOS coin battery (CR2032) must be replaced.
The CMOS coin battery keeps the clock running and save the BIOS settings.
As it lost BIOS settings it is loading the defaults.

 

[stebobibo]

Thanks a lot guys! When the battery arrives I'll let you all know if that fixed it

 

[stebobibo]

Hey guys, the battery fix worked! Now the computer boots normally and the clock works. Thanks so much everyone who gave a response, it's really appreciated!