Solved What is the correct way to unplug and replug SATA Internal Drives?

[Mike Lynch]

My PC has the following external cables / devices attached to it:
Power Cord
Mouse
Keyboard
Ethernet Cable
VGA Cable


When I attempt to unplug and replug an internal SATA drive I cause some type of error / problem.
I shut down the PC and unplug the Power Cord.
When I complete the unplug / replug, the PC reports an error.
Windows is unable to boot.
To recover, I have been using my Windows-7 Pro Install Disk.
I run the Repair Function and Windows reports 'no problem found'.
I then remove the Install Disk and reboot Windows.
It works and thinks work as before the unplug / replug.
What should / can I do to prevent whatever I am doing that causes this situation?

 

[billmcct]

Always shut the computer down when unplugging an internal drive. Or anything internal for that matter.

 

[cornemuse]

I have 'hot swappable' drive bays for hdds. They have power switches on them. Turn off power, remove hdd/tray.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!IMPORTANT!! This does NOT work if os/C: drive is in a tray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-c-

 

[Mike Lynch]

And how does that help me?

 

[AK6DN]

My PC has the following external cables / devices attached to it:
Power Cord
Mouse
Keyboard
Ethernet Cable
VGA Cable


When I attempt to unplug and replug an internal SATA drive I cause some type of error / problem.
I shut down the PC and unplug the Power Cord.
When I complete the unplug / replug, the PC reports an error.
Windows is unable to boot.
To recover, I have been using my Windows-7 Pro Install Disk.
I run the Repair Function and Windows reports 'no problem found'.
I then remove the Install Disk and reboot Windows.
It works and thinks work as before the unplug / replug.
What should / can I do to prevent whatever I am doing that causes this situation?

BIOS gets corrupted (ie, bad battery) when you shut down the PC?
PC forgets about the disk configuration in BIOS so you can't boot.



Conceivably a flaky disk data cable and/or drive, but not as likely given it works later.



Otherwise unplugging/replugging the disk cable WHEN THE PC IS POWERED OFF should be 100% OK.

 

[Mike Lynch]

I did replace the battery with a new one just in case, same results.
I will give the power off, unplug / replug a try.
Thank you for your suggestion.

 

[AK6DN]

I did replace the battery with a new one just in case, same results.
I will give the power off, unplug / replug a try.
Thank you for your suggestion.

Replacing the battery would have (most) likely corrupted the BIOS config for sure, or set it back to default.


It may take one or two power off/on/reboot cycles to guarantee the BIOS has been reconfigured correctly.

 

[White]

That happens often, every time you have the devices connected ?.

Windows forced you to install recent drivers for the connected devices or return to the previous version of the driver.

 

[cornemuse]

I thought you had 'multiple' drives inside. If you figure out your problem, & plan on swapping drives, an external swappable bay/tray will keep you from taking your comp case apart every time.

 

[Mike Lynch]

Thank you: AK6DN, cornemuse

AK6DN:
I followed your suggestion and it worked.
I needed to do it several times more and it still worked.
Thank you for your help!


cornemuse:
I like your suggestion regarding the Removable(s).
I looked online and saw several Brands and Styles.
Could you refer me to the one you use?

 

[cornemuse]

I have 4 of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Kingwin-Universal-Tray-Less-Backplane-Enclosure/dp/B00M3WNWB2

!!Remember! if its C:\, turn off the comp 1st!! If D(?) E F etc, turn off the power switch & pull out/swap drives.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

There are just certain things that we don't do, either by personal experience or by someone we respect telling us about it.


I could go down a long list of things I absolutely WON'T do, but suffice it to just say that I will NEVER unplug anything inside my Desktop PC with the power ON. The PSU doesn't like it, the Motherboard doesn't like it and eventually YOU won't like it either.


When you boot up your PC, the Bios takes an inventory of all the hardware that's connected to the motherboard. It really doesn't like to see that inventory change, on the fly.


Cheers Mates!
TM