SATA hot swap?

iviv

iviv

iviv

Soldato
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I upgraded from win 8 to 10,and had some issues with getting the black screen after login. Managed to fix it temporarily by unplugging excess drives and monitors for long enough to get it activated, then plugged in my new ssd and did a fresh install on there.
All well and good, windows running fine, except when I plug that old drive in again. For some reason my computer will always chose to boot off that old drive, no matter where it is in the boot order and even when I select it in the boot options during post.
So, my plan b is to keep the power plugged in but then just plug the SATA cable in once I'm already in windows. I've seen lots of posts saying you can do this, and a couple saying you can't, so I just wanted to check here first! The drive in question is a Kingston ssd, and a gigabyte z97x gaming 7. I only want to copy some stuff off it then I'll be formatting it so I can actually boot with it plugged in.
Thanks!
 
I can't see anything bad happening from just trying it, if you're lucky it works and you can back-up your data, if not you might have to play around with a few BIOS options to enable it, you could also try booting into recovery and deleting it's MBR, or as a last resort try a SATA-USB adapter.
 
I've done it a few times, you just need to go into device manager and scan for devices if it doesn't detect it automatically.

Your other option is to get an Ubuntu live CD or something, boot from that and wipe the old disk?
 
Sounds like the MBR needs repairing/updating.

What happens when it boots off the old drive? Old windows install? You can change the MBR and the location it's stored from windows. Failing that, I'm pretty sure it can also be done from the recovery/windows disc.

If you're only looking to plug the drive in once wit the power on, I would probably risk it myself. Leave the SATA connected and just add the power cable once booted
 
mushtafa said:
Sounds like the MBR needs repairing/updating.

What happens when it boots off the old drive? Old windows install? You can change the MBR and the location it's stored from windows. Failing that, I'm pretty sure it can also be done from the recovery/windows disc.

If you're only looking to plug the drive in once wit the power on, I would probably risk it myself. Leave the SATA connected and just add the power cable once booted
Click to expand...

I would want to do it the other way round (and have done previously). Power cable in, then plug SATA in once it's booted. I never like drawing extra power suddenly like that by plugging stuff in after boot. Doesn't feel right on a PC!
 
My thinking was that plugging the power in last, allowed the drive to boot up and make connection with the board.

If the SATA was the last to be plugged in, the drive is already powered booted and reporting a no signal within its brain. Adding the connection could confuse it?

I don't know! Don't hold me responsible for a dead drive!
 
mushtafa said:
Sounds like the MBR needs repairing/updating.

What happens when it boots off the old drive? Old windows install? You can change the MBR and the location it's stored from windows. Failing that, I'm pretty sure it can also be done from the recovery/windows disc.

If you're only looking to plug the drive in once wit the power on, I would probably risk it myself. Leave the SATA connected and just add the power cable once booted
Click to expand...

Yeah, it boots into the old install with the same black desktop after logging on, otherwise I'd just use that to copy the files over.
I don't think there's anything majorly important so I'm going to go and plug the sata cable in now. Didn't want to be messing around with power cables, since that seems far more likely to cause issues than a data cable!

Edit: Worked like a charm! Files copied over, wiping it now.
 
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I have been using a "Icy Box External Enclosure IB-390StUSD-B 3.5" eSATA + USB 2.0 Combo & Docking Station - Black" for the last 8 years.

It is essential an external SATA hard drive caddie, that comes with a 5.25" dock. When you slide the external hard drive in, it makes contact with the docks SATA power and data connectors (which are connected to the motherboard / PSU). I been using this method for external hard drive backup since I bought it and it has always worked without any issues.

I am now using it on my Gigabyte Z97X-SLI motherboard. You do need to set the bios setting to AHCI though.
 
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