Windows 10: Unable to Boot Windows 10 with External Hard Drive Attached

So this question is asked here and there with nothing concrete.


I have an alienware alpha with Windows 10. Whenever I plug in an external hard drive Seagate Backup Plus NAB90MJS 2019 the computer goes into black screen. Things I have tried:


1. Using Legacy BIOS

2. Disabling USB Devices in BIOS

3. Lowering the priority for USB connected devices during boot up.

4. Installed WDS SES Driver I know mine is a seagate but per another website that solved their problem with a WD external hdd

5. Tried both front USB 2.0 ports and the USB 3.0 ports in the back of the alienwhere alpha.

6. Changed "USB setting" and disabled the "USB Selective Suspend Setting". Mine did not have battery bc it's not a laptop. For those who want to try it it's windows+R, type in powercfg.cpl, Change Plan Setting, Change Advance power setting, look for "USB Setting" and then turn off. If on laptop you will do that for "on battery" and "plugged in setting."


The external HDD is fine when I plug it in. If I leave it there however the computer will not boot up and locked in the black screen. It seems to be booting up from the external drive via USB port. The alienware logo doesn't even boot up it's just a black screen. If I use Legacy BIOS, it recognizes my SSD drive but unable to boot devices. I have to be in UEFI mode to boot up properly so it's back to standard SECURED BOOT UP mode. I believe this is a Windows 10-specific issue with USB device drivers rather than an alienware alpha or external HDD issue.


I have another PC for which a similar issue arises when I plug in my external Blu-ray driver and it will not boot-up Windows 10 unless I unplug the external blu-ray driver from the front USB 2.0 port as it appears to be attempting to boot up from the external blu-ray drive.


So I want to pose the generic question: I am unable to boot windows 10 with external drives attached. Anyone with any ideas?

:)

 

unrecognised external hard drive on Windows 10

Since you already reinstalled the drivers of the External Hard Drive, let's run the
Hardware and Devices troubleshooter as it can resolve your concern. You can do that by following these steps:

• 
  Press the Start button.
  
• 
  Type and select Troubleshooting.
  
• 
  Click on View all on the left panel.
  
• 
  Select and run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.
  

If the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter doesn’t resolve your concern, we suggest that you change the letter of the External Hard Drive. You can do that by following these steps:

• 
  Press the Start button.
  
• 
  Type and select Control panel.
  
• 
  Select System and Security.
  
• 
  Select Administrative Tools, and a new window will appear.
  
• 
  Double-click Computer Management, and a new window will appear.
  
• 
  Select Disk Management that is located under
  Storage in the left pane.
  
• 
  Right click on the External Hard Drive that is not showing on the File Explorer.
  
• 
  Select Change letter and network path, and a new window will appear.
  
• 
  Select Change, and choose the letter that you want for the External Hard Drive.
  

After changing the letter of the External Hard Drive, we suggest that you reboot your laptop for the changes to take effect.



Let us know how it goes.



Regards.

 

Help with external hard drive

Hi Debbra,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I appreciate your interest in windows 10 and also for trying the troubleshooting steps to fix the issue. I understand the inconvenience you faced. I will certainly help you with this.

I would suggest you to plug in hard drive then check in disk management you can see the drive or not.

Follow the steps to check Drive in Disk Management.

• 
  Go to the Control Panel then click on the
  Administrative Tools. .
  
• 
  Under the Administrative Tool Click on Computer Management.
  
• 
  Click on Disk Management and check the External Hard Drive.
  

Also check in BIOS whether External Hard Drive is listed or not.

For help with the BIOS settings, refer to the computer manual or contact the manufacturer.

If it doesn’t work then, I would suggest you to update BIOS for updating BIOS contact Lenovo Support.

Follow the link:

Home - Global Support - DE

Disclaimer :

Modifying BIOS/complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of BIOS/CMOS settings
can be solved. Modifications of the settings are at your own risk.

Hope this information is helpful. Please do let us know if you need further assistance, we’ll be glad to assist you.

Thanks.

 

External Hard Drive

Hi John,

We suggest that you try the troubleshooting steps below:

• Open your External Hard Drive file in File Explorer.
• Type the name of the file you want to search on the search box and click Enter.

The file will show up in Search Results and you will be able to move it to the correct folder.

Let us know if you need further help.