Windows 10: Problems after reinstalling old hard drive

Discus and support Problems after reinstalling old hard drive in Windows 10 Drivers and Hardware to solve the problem; Hello, I'm a tech consultant in a major big-box retailer. A customer came in with a laptop they had purchased from another retailer and was... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Drivers and Hardware' started by Tech03238, Jan 10, 2020.

  1. Tech03238 Win User

    Problems after reinstalling old hard drive


    Hello,


    I'm a tech consultant in a major big-box retailer. A customer came in with a laptop they had purchased from another retailer and was complaining about the overall sluggish performance of the machine. Its running an AMD A6 with 4GB of RAM and a 5400rpm HDD, so its pretty low end. I recommended upgrading to a SSD to improve day-to-day performance, which he opted to do. I transferred all of his information over to the new drive using USB/SATA cables and got his computer up and running. I didn't erase his old drive so it contains everything that was on the laptop prior to me upgrading it.


    Unfortunately, I didn't transfer his settings or his printer drivers over, which meant that he's been unable to connect to his printer for the past few days. He was also missing some files and was complaining about mouse lag which didn't exist before. We eventually decided that given the litany of issues he was experiencing with the SSD it was probably best to put everything back to the way it was and reinstall the old HDD.


    After successfully reconnecting the drive, I am now experiencing a whole host of issues:


    1 I am constantly getting a CTFmon.exe error dialog box. It appears at the Windows login screen, and closing it only causes it to reappear after a few seconds.


    2 The start menu and task bar are inaccessible. I can mouse over the elements and the GUI responds as normal, but nothing actually launches when I click on them.


    3 The settings and device manager are also inaccessible. I've been attempting to launch them using Win + R and CMD.exe, but I've gotten errors both times. I saw a post on another forum that suggested checking for driver updates, but I'm unable to do this without having access to these utilities.


    4 I've attempted to boot into safe mode, but this results in a critical stop error that forces me to boot into Windows normally.


    5 Windows performed an automatic disk inspection on the second boot up and found no issues. I've tried running chkdisk myself manually, but this results in the computer locking up.


    6 Explorer is usable, so I'm still able to navigate the file system without much issue. I should mention I did receive an Explorer.exe error stating the class was not registered, but this has thus far only happened once.


    7 HDD activity has tended to stay in the 15-20% range, according to task manager.


    As far as I know the customer is running 1909 on the HDD. Performing a reset is not an option since doing so would wipe out his printer drivers/settings and thus put us back in the same situation we were in with the SSD.


    I consider myself a technically minded person, but the vast majority of my knowledge is self-taught. Normally I would research this myself, but I feel like I've already wasted enough of this customer's time already and thought posting here would result in the fastest possible solution.


    I would appreciate any feedback or insight anyone can provide on this issue.

    :)
     
    Tech03238, Jan 10, 2020
    #1

  2. Reinstall Windows 10 to new hard drive

    Hi Rodolpho,

    We want to know about the issue you're having with your recovery drive. Please answer the questions below:

    • Are you trying to reinstall Windows 8 or Windows 10?
    • If you already upgraded to Windows 10, were you able to create a new copy of the recovery drive?

    We suggest creating a new copy of the recovery drive and then follow the steps provided by Andre Da Costa above this thread.

    Update us with the outcome so we can assist you further.
     
    Robert Caw, Jan 10, 2020
    #2
  3. Overclock your hard drive!!!

    Heres a much easier hack that I realized quite a few years ago that really does work!

    REQUIREMENTS:
    • Hard drive with molex power connection.
    • PSU with more than 1 strand that has molex plugs on it.
    • Wire strippers, soldering iron if you're fancy, electrical tape if you're not.
    STEPS:
    • Take the strand of connectors from your PSU, and decide which one will be the donator for this overclocking adventure.
    • Cut the yellow and orange cables, then twist them together.
    • Find the power connector you've chosen as the overclocking connector, and release the orange cable from the connector. Now use your preferred method to bind them together, then place it back together.
    • Plug in a drive and feel the speed!
    Congratulations! You've just overclocked your hard drive!
     
    Sir B. Fannybottom, Jan 10, 2020
    #3
  4. xarzu Win User

    Problems after reinstalling old hard drive

    new system old hard drive...

    I have an old hard drive that has those old ribbon connections to transfer data to the mother board.

    I have a new computer that mostly uses those cool little ATA (I think that is what they are called) connections.

    The new computer has a Vista OS.

    I opened up the case and I was supprised to see on the motherboard a wide ribbon connection and so I connected the old hard drive and a free power connection.

    When I turned on the computer, the system started up like usual and did not notice the new hard drive.

    I went to the Control Pannel and did an automatic add hard drive call and it did not find the old hard drive.

    Any suggestions?
     
    xarzu, Jan 10, 2020
    #4
Thema:

Problems after reinstalling old hard drive

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