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General discussion

Cannot Start Windows

Feb 12, 2007 3:28AM PST

I have an external hard drive and I always have to disconnect when I start my computer. Why is this? When I leave my External HD connected (uses USB) and I boot my computer as soon as the Windows Logo shows and that loading bar starts below it it doesn't actually boot. It just stays on this loading screen forever. Therefore I have to do a hard reset and unplug the USB of the external HD and boot the OS. It works fine and after it's logged in I can connect my External. Does anyone have any idea why this is happening? Also is there a way to see whats happening in the background of that loading screen. I'd rather see info than the windows logo with a loading bar.

Thanks

Discussion is locked

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Updated the BIOS yet?
Feb 12, 2007 5:24AM PST

Some old PCs have that problem which may be corrected with revised BIOS but if you've got the latest BIOS and still have the issue, you may be stuck. You could also try using a USB2 adapter to see if that's a workaround.

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My computer is fairly new
Feb 12, 2007 7:02AM PST

I should have mentioned that I upgraded my computer the past summer with an A8N-E motherboard, AMD 3700+ 64 bit CPU, NVIDIA 7600GT, and extra ram . I'm also pretty sure i have USB2.0. I haven't done a BIOS update recently though, so I'll try that

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USB2
Feb 12, 2007 7:05AM PST

By the way how do I check if it is USB2.0?

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How to tell if you have USB 2.0
Feb 12, 2007 9:00AM PST
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USB tip
Feb 12, 2007 9:02AM PST

If using Windows XP, make sure it has SP2 and is fully updated.

Also make sure you have the latest motherboard chipset drivers installed.

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Just did
Feb 12, 2007 12:26PM PST

Ya I just updated my Nforce chipset driver and the BIOS. I also have SP2, so I think that isn't the problem.

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It also could be
Feb 12, 2007 10:52AM PST

your boot choice settings in BIOS. Set it to boot from internal HD first (or optical drive) and disable booting from USB drives.

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Booting from Internal
Feb 12, 2007 12:25PM PST

Hmm I believe it isn't set to boot from USB drives. Isn't that why it boots XP in the first place? Because it checks my internal, boots it (XP starts loading) but since my External is still in it never gets out of the loading screen. I'll check it anyway, but I'm guessing if it goes into XP loading screen then it's booting from the right (internal) hard drive.

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What is on that USB drive?
Feb 13, 2007 9:04AM PST

Are there Windows system files on the USB HD?

If you are just storing data and/or using it as backup, partition it as extended so that Windows never gets confused.