Windows 7 won't boot with second SATA hard drive

[kayem]

Hello,

I've recently purchased two 30GB SSDs which I have set up in a RAID 0 array and I have installed Windows onto these drives. I have a second, 2TB Seagate Barracuda Green HDD that I have used to put my user profiles and additional programs/games on as it wouldn't fit on the SSD.

Everything was fine for a few days after installation. Then this morning I rebooted the computer and it just stalled on the flashing cursor (underscore) in the top left corner of the screen. I did the basic fixes (Windows repair, checking RAM) and nothing worked.

Then I thought that I should try disconnecting all but the SSD with the OS on it. SUCCESS! It booted to Windows but couldn't find any programs/user data so it created a new "profile". I shutdown the computer and tried reconnecting just the data hard drive...it hung again.

I have two additional hard drives (used for backups) that don't affect anything at all when I plug them in.

Does anybody know what could be the problem? I'm at a loss and I need the computer
for this weekend.


Help!


Thanks in advance for any advice that you can give me,
Kyle

 

[kayem]

Hmmm. just did another test by moving the data HDD to a different SATA port (port 6 instead of 5 on my ASUS Crossfire Formula IV MB). Windows booted no problem.

Now the question is: does anybody know what would cause this behaviour?


Thanks again,
Kyle

 

[gregrocker]

Windows 7 doesn't much like RAID configs. It is not redundant as advertised since you lose everything if you lose one SSD, performance is best with an SSD not RAID, and with built-in backup imaging you can store an image on the other drive to reimage the HD or its replacement in 20 minutes which is more practical than non-redundant Redundant Arrays..

If the problem persists I would break the RAID, install Win7 to one SSD, put your programs or data on the other, backup and storage to the SATA.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello kayem, welcome to Seven Forums!

Greg has good advice, have a look at this tutorial at the link below and be sure to post back with any further questions you may have and to keep us informed.



User Profiles - Create and Move During Windows 7 Installations