Windows 10: Windows 10 cannot boot without secondary drive installed

Discus and support Windows 10 cannot boot without secondary drive installed in Windows 10 Network and Sharing to solve the problem; Hello Everyone.I discovered this issue while trying to replace my 2TB HDD.I have windows 10 installed on a 120GB SSD - My idea was to keep the OS files... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Network and Sharing' started by YukonDanger, May 4, 2022.

  1. Windows 10 cannot boot without secondary drive installed


    Hello Everyone.I discovered this issue while trying to replace my 2TB HDD.I have windows 10 installed on a 120GB SSD - My idea was to keep the OS files isolated not only within a partition, but on their own SSD.In addition to the 120GB SSD, I have several other disk drives for general storage - I have disconnected most of them in order to isolate the issue:Windows cannot boot unless the 2TB HDD is connected. Somehow there are windows files necessary for booting on the 2TB HDD.If I disconnect the 2TB HDD and try to boot, I get the message "Reboot and select proper Boot Device or Insert Boot Med

    :)
     
    YukonDanger, May 4, 2022
    #1

  2. Windows 10 1909 Causes Secondary Hard Drive to not be Recognized

    Installing the Windows 10 1909 Update causes my secondary hard drive to not be recognized.

    Steps to confirm issue:

    • Secondary drive not visible in Windows Explorer
    • Secondary drive not visible in device manager
    • Secondary drive not visible in disk manager

    Steps to replicate issue:

    • Installing 1909 update

    Steps to resolve issue:

    • Uninstall 1909 update

    Since updates can only be delayed for so long, an actual fix would be appreciated.
     
    Teknophile, May 4, 2022
    #2
  3. topgundcp Win User
    topgundcp, May 4, 2022
    #3
  4. Hood Win User

    Windows 10 cannot boot without secondary drive installed

    New Secondary Drive Causes Boot Failure Windows 10

    For the second time now, Windows 10 failed to boot after initializing and formatting a spare drive (using Windows Disk Management). After the boot fail, UEFI boot settings were still set to boot from Windows Boot Manager, but it still wouldn't boot, just goes into diagnostic mode, fails to repair boot problem, and goes to the repair menu. In advanced options I can then load a recent image (made with Windows 7 Backup and Recovery in control panel), and everything goes back to normal. My question is what causes this problem, and how do I repair it without re-imaging Windows? I don't recall ever having this problem in other Windows versions, only in Windows 10. Anyone else notice this problem?
     
    Hood, May 4, 2022
    #4
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Windows 10 cannot boot without secondary drive installed

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