Solved Cloned SSD will not boot computer

spapakons · Jun 18, 2024

In some cases the clone might be OK but not boot. Check your Disk Manager. Is the partition set to active (bootable)? Set it to active. You can also remove the old disk, boot with Windows USB and select Repair. If you see a list of options, select Repair Startup, otherwise it is done automatically. This should check the boot files and if necessary reinstall the Windows Bootloader and mark the disk active (bootable). On next restart you should be able to boot into the new SSD without any issues.

hdmi · Jun 18, 2024

spapakons said:
You must press F9 a couple of times at first screen when you switch on the computer.

Incorrect. As the user manual clearly states, the correct procedure is to just press and hold the key, not press it a couple of times.

spapakons said:
If you are too slow it doesn't work.

Correct. That's why the user manual also states, also very clearly, that it has to be done immediately.

spapakons · Jun 18, 2024

I said to press the key a couple of times because the CPU might be busy and ignore the keypress if you do it once. Some computers are too slow to send data to screen upon switch on that by the time you see something is too late. That's why you have to press F9 for boot priority as soon as you switch it on. Don't wait for the screen. That's also why you have to press the key at least twice because depending on the stage of initialization (aka POST - Power On Self Test), the first keypress might be ignored (not registered). Been there done that thousand times.

hdmi · Jun 18, 2024

spapakons said:
I said to press the key a couple of times because the CPU might be busy and ignore the keypress if you do it once. Some computers are too slow to send data to screen upon switch on that by the time you see something is too late. That's why you have to press F9 for boot priority as soon as you switch it on. Don't wait for the screen. That's also why you have to press the key at least twice because depending on the stage of initialization (aka POST - Power On Self Test), the first keypress might be ignored (not registered). Been there done that thousand times.

Like the user manual suggests, the HP does not have the problem that you describe. This problem is so old, in fact the vast majority of manufacturers already fixed it many, many years ago, like, way more than 8 years ago.

spapakons · Jun 18, 2024

It doesn't harm to know what to do if your computer has this bug. "I am getting older always learning", as we say in Greek. Many of us have computers over 10 years old.

DaSOB · Jun 18, 2024

SIW2 said:
Try selecting Windows Boot Manager

It is only showing one, so presumably it is the original kingston disk.

Yep, that's the Kingston disk. If the Crucial SSD is connected at all, the system will not boot. I can't even get into Safe Mode at those times. I have the Crucial SSD plugged into a USB slot at the moment so Disk Manager can pull it up.

I have run Check Disk on the Crucial drive, but no errors were detected.

spapakons · Jun 18, 2024

What if you only leave the Crucial connected at the first SATA and remove the Kingston? Does it boot? Do you see Windows Bootloader on the list if you press F9 to get to the Boot Menu? If not either the disk is not bootable (not marked active or boot files missing) or the clone failed. In the first case you can Repair Windows as I described in my older post. This will add the missing boot files and mark the partition active (bootable).

hdmi · Jun 18, 2024

DaSOB said:
This is all I get.

View attachment 99400 View attachment 99401

Update your BIOS. https://support.hp.com/us-en/driver...pc-series/model/11715680/swItemId/cp-266394-1

DaSOB · Jun 18, 2024

hdmi said:
Update your BIOS. https://support.hp.com/us-en/driver...pc-series/model/11715680/swItemId/cp-266394-1

Done - thanks! I'll be away from my computer for a while, but I'll get back on this a bit later.

Megahertz · Jun 18, 2024

DaSOB said:
I did that - booted, pressing F9 repeatedly. The boot menu didn't come up - I just got a black screen with some info in the upper left and an instruction to press ESC to launch the boot menu. Pressing ESC didn't do anything.

Megahertz said:
One thing at a time.
Remove the Kingston and Install the Crucial on same place were the Kingston was. Install the Kingston on the caddy.
Then boot and press F9 to launch the boot menu. Select to boot from the Kingston.
Clone the Kingston into the Crucial.
Shutdown, remove the Kingston and, on BIOS select the Crucial as main drive. Save BIOS settings.
Boot from the kingston.
Report

Did you remove the kinston drive and replaced with the Crucial drive?

spapakons · Jun 18, 2024

If the drive is not marked active (bootable), it doesn't show in the Boot Menu list. For UEFI mode the drive must also be in GPT mode, not MBR, otherwise you have to enable CSM (Legacy mode) in BIOS to get legacy entries.

DaSOB · Jun 18, 2024

Megahertz said:
Did you remove the kinston drive and replaced with the Crucial drive?

Yes, several times. I just finished re-cloning the Crucial drive with Acronis, but I get the same results.

spapakons said:
If the drive is not marked active (bootable), it doesn't show in the Boot Menu list. For UEFI mode the drive must also be in GPT mode, not MBR, otherwise you have to enable CSM (Legacy mode) in BIOS to get legacy entries.

It is GPT, I checked that. I am unable to set it up in the Boot Menu since when the Crucial drive is installed, the system will not come up at all. It will show on the file tree if I have it connected by USB, but I can't do anything with it. I have run Check Disk and there are no bad sectors. But if it is installed in either bay, either by itself or along with the Kingston SSD, the computer will not boot. Pressing F9 during booting with the Crucial drive installed just results in the black screen and unresponsive keyboard.

DaSOB · Jun 18, 2024

I connected the Crucial drive via USB, restarted, and pulled up BIOS. This is what I'm seeing - the J Micron is the Crucial SSD. The Kingston drive isn't even shown.

So I went ahead and selected the JMicron and pressed enter, and after a few seconds when it looked like the system was going to boot up ("pinwheel" turning below the HP emblem), I got this...

The computer re-booted from the Kingston drive even though the JMicron was still attached.

Megahertz · Jun 18, 2024

DaSOB said:
I connected the Crucial drive via USB, restarted, and pulled up BIOS. This is what I'm seeing - the J Micron is the Crucial SSD. The Kingston drive isn't even shown.

View attachment 99505

So I went ahead and selected the JMicron and pressed enter, and after a few seconds when it looked like the system was going to boot up ("pinwheel" turning below the HP emblem), I got this...

The computer re-booted from the Kingston drive even though the JMicron was still attached.

As I already wrote, Windows doesn't boot on a USB device (Windows rules). The Kingston is shown as Windows Boot manager.

Replace the Kingston with the Crucial and it should boot or install the Crucial on an SATA port (internally) and disconnect the power or SATA cable from the Kinston.

DaSOB · Jun 18, 2024

Megahertz said:
As I already wrote, Windows doesn't boot on a USB device (Windows rules). The Kingston is shown as Windows Boot manager.

Replace the Kingston with the Crucial and it should boot or install the Crucial on an SATA port (internally) and disconnect the power or SATA cable from the Kinston.

OK, thanks. I was trying the USB boot just for the heck of it. I had replaced the Kingston with the Crucial in the 600 SATA port earlier, but the computer simply displayed the HP emblem without the "pinwheel" below it. I waited several minutes just in case something was initializing, but the system did not boot. When I try to pull up BIOS with just the Crucial drive in the SATA 600 port, all I get is the unresponsive monochrome screen I posted about earlier.

Winuser · Jun 18, 2024

DaSOB said:
OK, thanks. I was trying the USB boot just for the heck of it. I had replaced the Kingston with the Crucial in the 600 SATA port earlier, but the computer simply displayed the HP emblem without the "pinwheel" below it. I waited several minutes just in case something was initializing, but the system did not boot. When I try to pull up BIOS with just the Crucial drive in the SATA 600 port, all I get is the unresponsive monochrome screen I posted about earlier.

From my past experiences, If the drive doesn't show as a boot drive in the BIOS then it's not bootable.

DaSOB · Jun 18, 2024

Winuser said:
From my past experiences, If the drive doesn't show as a boot drive in the BIOS then it's not bootable.

This one sure doesn't seem to be. I've cloned it and re-cloned it several times with Acronis, Macrium and Active@, all of which are supposed to produce an exact, bootable copy. I've scanned the SSD three or four times - no bad sectors showing. Disk management shows it as healthy and online, but the system doesn't seem to know that.

I've been online with Crucial two or three times - they haven't been able to help me although they did try. I've also posted in the HP community - no luck there either.

I'm at my wits' end with it.

spapakons · Jun 19, 2024

It must be some incompatibility between the Crucial and your computer. It happens occasionally. To be on the safe side I would replace the Crucial with another brand, if possible. You can use the Crucial as secondary disk or on another computer. I have seen some old laptops and a few desktops being incompatible with certain brands of SSD. Some of them can detect the disk if you change from AHCI to IDE or "compatible" (if there is such option in BIOS), but then you can use MBR only. Best is if you can replace with another brand.

hdmi · Jun 19, 2024

DaSOB said:
I connected the Crucial drive via USB, restarted, and pulled up BIOS. This is what I'm seeing - the J Micron is the Crucial SSD. The Kingston drive isn't even shown.

View attachment 99505

So I went ahead and selected the JMicron and pressed enter, and after a few seconds when it looked like the system was going to boot up ("pinwheel" turning below the HP emblem), I got this...

View attachment 99506

The computer re-booted from the Kingston drive even though the JMicron was still attached.

This is what's called progress. See: How to Fix an INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE BSOD in Windows 11 or 10

hdmi · Jun 19, 2024

After it boots in Windows from the Kingston SSD, see if Crucial Storage Executive is able to detect the Crucial SSD through the USB connection. Crucial Storage Executive Tool | Firmware Download
If yes, try using Storage Executive to upgrade its firmware. If it reports that the latest firmware has already been installed, then that's good. Else [if it turns out that the Crucial SSD's firmware cannot be upgraded through the USB connection], you might want to temporarily connect the Crucial SSD to the SATA port of another PC by using a SATA connection (not USB) because, then, it should be possible (if needed) to upgrade the firmware of the Crucial SSD by using Storage Executive still after all. If you do that, you can also use Storage Executive to check again if nothing seems to be wrong with the Crucial SSD.

If you already tried every possible suggestion and it turns out in the end that the only way to be able to use the Crucial SSD is through the USB connection, then, as an alternative choice to using it merely as a secondary disk (i.e. an alternative choice to using it as just a data disk as opposed to using it to store the EFI system partition, or ESP, and the Windows system partition, and etc. on it like you normally would), you could maybe consider to use it to run Windows on it in "portable mode", like this: How to Run Windows 11 on a USB Drive (and Take it With You)