The Boot Drive is No Longer Detected
Generally, if a SATA drive is configured as the bootable drive, then the
computer relies on that drive to boot the computer and to launch Windows. It
is the source of most of the computer's operations. So, if the computer
suddenly stops detecting the bootable drive, this will almost certainly mean
that the computer will fail to boot at all. Instead, some error message will
occur, and it will become obvious that a serious problem has occurred.
This set of troubleshooting steps will attempt to get the drive detected again, or
to conclude whether the drive has failed and should be replaced.
One error in particular, however, is more important than others to watch out
for. If a "SMART error" has recently appeared on your computer, this generally
means drive failure is imminent or has already occurred. If you have received a
SMART error, we strongly recommend that you stop everything and make an
immediate backup of any and all important data contained on this drive that is
not already backed up.
Drive is not spinning up
Note: These steps are NOT applicable for SSD drives.
If the drive is not receiving power or receiving an incorrect level of power, it will
not spin up.To check to see if this is the cause of the BIOS not detecting the
hard drive, follow these steps:
1.
Power off the computer
2.
Open the computer case and remove the data cable from the hard
drive. This will stop any power saving commands from being sent.
3.
Turn on the system. Check to see if the hard drive is spinning. If
you touch the side of the drive you should feel a slight vibration. If
you do not hear or feel the hard drive spinning, the drive did not
start.
If you cannot determine whether the drive is spinning:
1.
Boot the computer and listen carefully.
2.
Shut the computer down.
3.
Disconnect the power cord from the computer itself.
4.
Disconnect the power cable from the hard drive in question.
5.
Reconnect the power cord to the computer itself.
