hey guys i need help..
I just bought an external hdd thats 1 terabyte and when i have it plugged in2 the comp, my pc doesn't load windows it just stays in this screen that appears b4 XP kicks in n boots up..i think it might be the comp searching for my OS in external drives (n taking forever 2 search a terabyte), therefore i need 2 change the BIOS settings but here is where my problem lies..i dnt know what my hdd is called lol
ive written down what all the drives are here..
1st Boot Device [1st Floppy Drive] (obviously not that one)
2nd Boot Device [SM-HL-DT-STDVD RAMGSA] (C Drive?)
3rd Boot Device [PM-ST3800BAS]
4th Boot Device [IBAFE Slot 0546v4116]
Also..because i have 2 disconnect my hdd so i can press f12 when the comp starts 2 change the BIOS settings..woulnd that mean my hdd wouldnt be listed here becaus it isnt connected?
..looks funny

I'd bet that it wouldn't be listed there under it's own name when it's not connected.

To find out the name right-click on My Computer and select Manage. From there select Devices & then look through your installed devices to see what they are called. (Hard discs for your HDD, Disc Drives for your CD/DVD-RW & USB devices for your external HDD - assuming it actually is a USB device)

Can you connect your external HDD after Windows is already booted up and running? To see if it selects the right drivers and/or needs to run any checks on the drive. Might be useful because I don't think your PC is trying to boot from the external drive (it could be, but I don't get the feeling it is)

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CDK,

Unless the external drive has a bootable partition on it, the PC wouldn't try to boot from it anyway. Fyn gave you some prime advice in his post.

Once Windows is running, plug in the external drive, assuming it is a USB drive, and windows will likely load the drivers for it. If it has never been formatted, you will have to use the disk manager to assign it drive letter and format it using NTFS. NTFS is necessary because of the drives size.

Keep us posted on your progress.

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right after you turn on your pc, go into your BIOS or setup using F2 (sometimes its DEL, ESC, F1, or F10) you will have to look and see what to press. go into boot menu and remove the check next to REMOVEABLE DEVICES or USB DEVICES in the boot order.

K i took a pic of the 'Boot Device Priority'...


Click to enlarge

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Looks normal to me. Did you try plugging in the external after bootibg windows?

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Yeah i can plug in the hdd after the OS loads n it runs smoothly..its just i have 2 turn on my comp with the hdd unplugged then wait 4 it 2 boot up THEN i can connect the hdd..i need 2 find out how i can have the hdd connected all the time and turn my computer on without it freezing up in that one screen..apparently its searching 4 the OS in the external hdd when i have it plugged in n turned on and thats why it stays in the same screen 4ever. i need it 2 load xp from my c drive but i dnt know how..i changed the boot order like in the pic above and it still freezes..any ideas friends?

How often do you reboot your computer that you need to have it able to boot w/the external connected?? I boot about once a week (not including program installs or hiccups) and could very well live w/pluging it in after boot. Does the external have a power switch? That way you could leave it plugged in but turned off.

Also, you should have your DVDRam (assuming that it's your dvd/cd drive) for 1st Boot and your hard drive for your 2nd. All the other drives should come after the hard drive.

Also you were saying that you are not sure which one is your c drive and which one was your ext. hdd in your bios, the best solution for that one is to restart your computer (without external hdd), go into bios and place your bios order as Luv stated above (CD/DVD drive, hard drive then floppy) make a note of what each are called. Then after your comp has restarted, plug in your ext hdd and restart your computer again, go into bios again and ensure that the ext hdd (the one that you do not have a note of from before) is after the internal hdd and then it should sort out your problem.

Let me know how it goes.

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i think there's something wrong with the MBR [master boot record] of the external drive, causing the OS to lock up. Connect it when the PC is running, and do a check for disk errors, file system errors and such. If possible, reformat it.

kk yeah the hdd turns on and off with the comp.

I'd be on the same lines as maxD here. some bios will interrogate the HDD and if it's duff or dying it will freeze the boot-up.

I had similar problems with my raid array some time back... (Many people may still remember my frustration & pain when 4 out of 5 drives died one after another) each time I connected a duff disk my computer would not boot, remove it all came fine.

I would get onto the drive manufactures web site and download their diagnostic test disc and do a check of the disk, I did this and got all drives swapped out FOC as they were still under warranty.

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