System boot with USB SSD attached


johnml49

Member
Local time
4:57 AM
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5
OS
Windows 11 Pro
I have two Seagate Backup Plus USB SSD drives attached to my computer. Very often when I turn on my system it fails to boot, no error just a blank screen. If I disconnect the two drives, I boot no problem.
Just to be clear, I am not booting from the USB SSD drive, they are just attached to the system.
Any Ideas what's happening?

Thanks,
John
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    i9 10900 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Z 590M- Plus
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon R7 200 series
    Sound Card
    RealTek High Definition Autio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung LED 24"
    Hard Drives
    (C:) SAMSUNG (MZ-V7S1T0B/AM) 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB - M.2 NVMe Interface
    (D:) (E:) Model WDC WD10EARS-00Y5B1 1TB
    Seagate Backup Plus 2TB USB SSD
    Seagate Backup Plus 4 TB USB SSD
    PSU
    Corsair RM850X
    Case
    Silverstone GD04
    Cooling
    Intel stock cooler with CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    350 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    MS Defender, Bitdefender
Have you made sure the HDD Windows 11 installed on is the first boot device in BIOS?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
I have found this to be true on a number of systems, no matter what the boot order is in bios. For people that keep their usb devices plugged in all the time and have this problem, what I have found to work is to disable usb as a boot option in your boot order. I think it's because some BIOSes are buggy. A good BIOS should skip over invalid devices but not all of them do for whatever reason. Try updating your BIOS.
Then if you ever have a need to boot from a usb drive, change it back as a boot option in bios
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
I have one old Flash Drive that will disable boot on just about any PC that I plug it in to. And I have one old PC, that will not boot to it's internal SSD if a Flash Drive is plugged into any USB port. so I've just put a sticky note on that PC, to not boot up with a FD plugged in.
Weird problems come with simple fixes. Sometimes.

TM :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-11/Pro/64, Optimum 11 V3, 23H2 22631.3085
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Made w/Gigabyte mobo/DX-10
    CPU
    AMD FX 6350 Six Core
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte, DX-10, GA-78LMT-USB3
    Memory
    Crucial, 16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Onboard, ATI Radeon HD 3000; NVIDEA GeForce 210, 1GB DDR3 Ram.
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Crucial SSD 500GB, SanDisk 126GB SSD, Toshiba 1TB HD
    PSU
    EVGA 500 W.
    Case
    Pac Man, Mid Tower
    Cooling
    AMD/OEM
    Keyboard
    101 key, Backlit/ Mechanical Switches/
    Mouse
    Logitech USB Wireless M310
    Internet Speed
    Hughes Net speed varies with the weather
    Browser
    Firefox 64x
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, Super Anti Spyware
    Other Info
    Given to me as DEAD, and irreparable.
    Rebuilt with Gigabyte mobo, AMD cpu, 16GB ram and 500GB Crucial SSD.
I have two Seagate Backup Plus USB SSD drives attached to my computer. Very often when I turn on my system it fails to boot, no error just a blank screen. If I disconnect the two drives, I boot no problem.
Just to be clear, I am not booting from the USB SSD drive, they are just attached to the system.
Any Ideas what's happening?

Thanks,
John
I had exactly that problem with USB flash drives. I had set the BIOS boot order to look for USB flash drives first in case I ever needed to boot from my emergency recovery flash drive. But when I did that, my PC wouldn't boot if I had any flash drive plugged in. So I gave up on boot order and have it set to always boot from the C: SSD drive. If I ever do need to boot from the flash drive, I'll have to go into BIOS and do it as a one-off situation.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Ryzen 7
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG STRIX B-450
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC
    Hard Drives
    C: SSD, 500 GB
    D: HDD, 1 TB
    J: HDD, 1 TB
    Antivirus
    Norton
Thanks all for your help. Eksy61, I'll try changing the BIOS.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    i9 10900 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Z 590M- Plus
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon R7 200 series
    Sound Card
    RealTek High Definition Autio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung LED 24"
    Hard Drives
    (C:) SAMSUNG (MZ-V7S1T0B/AM) 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB - M.2 NVMe Interface
    (D:) (E:) Model WDC WD10EARS-00Y5B1 1TB
    Seagate Backup Plus 2TB USB SSD
    Seagate Backup Plus 4 TB USB SSD
    PSU
    Corsair RM850X
    Case
    Silverstone GD04
    Cooling
    Intel stock cooler with CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    350 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    MS Defender, Bitdefender
If I ever do need to boot from the flash drive, I'll have to go into BIOS and do it as a one-off situation.

Thanks all for your help. Eksy61, I'll try changing the BIOS.

You both have ASUS boards (as do I) so on system startup (or restart), with the USB plugged in, start tapping F8. You'll be given this "one-off" boot menu. This is how I boot to all my bootable flash drives. There's no need to modify your boot order in BIOS.

1676619343722.png
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3374
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-12700F
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3050 XC Black Gaming
    Sound Card
    RealTek HD 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming 27" 2K HDR Gaming
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 990 Pro 1TB NVMe (Win 11)
    SK hynix P41 500GB NVMe (Win 10)
    SK hynix P41 2TB NVMe (x3)
    Crucial P3 Plus 4TB
    PSU
    Corsair RM850x Shift
    Case
    Antec Dark Phantom DP502 FLUX
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black + 7 Phantek T-30's
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 320
    Mouse
    Razer Basilisk V3
    Internet Speed
    350Mbs
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Winows Security
    Other Info
    Windows 10 22H2 19045.4170
    On System One
  • Operating System
    Win 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3374
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-11700F
    Motherboard
    Asus TUF Gaming Z590 Plus WiFi
    Memory
    64 GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2060 KO Ultra Gaming
    Sound Card
    SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung F27T350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB
    Samsung 870 EVO 500GB SSD
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cougar MX330-G Window
    Cooling
    Hyper 212 EVO
    Internet Speed
    350Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
@Scott He is not trying to boot from the usb drive. The problem is he can't boot into windows if there is a usb drive plugged in whether that drive is bootable or not. I believe what the OP means is he's going into bios to turn off usb boot so the mobo doesn't even look for a usb drive in the boot order. If turning it off fixes his problem, if ever he needs to boot from usb he'll have to turn the option back on at that time. Then a bootable usb drive will show up in the one-time boot menu.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Had it happen occasionally a while back. Switching to using a powered USB hub seemed to solve it. Has not happened since then.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Pro Retail Upgrade to Win 10 Pro, to Win11 Pro 23H2 OS( Build 22631.3235
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 3 3200G with Radeon Vega Graphics
    Motherboard
    MSI B450 Tomahawk
    Memory
    Corsair DDR4 32g (29.9 GB usable)
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon Vega 8
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB (SATA (SSD))
    931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EZEX-00RKKA0 (SATA )
    Seagate BUP 4TB USB3 (This drive died at one year)
    (3) Seagate BUP Slim 2TB USB3
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500G USB3
    PSU
    Corsair TX 750W
    Case
    Cooler Master tower
    Cooling
    3 generic fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech Backlit USB
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    T-Mobile 5G 100+ Mbs
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender and Malwarebytes Prem
    Other Info
    A bunch of legit software
@Scott He is not trying to boot from the usb drive. The problem is he can't boot into windows if there is a usb drive plugged in whether that drive is bootable or not.

Ubderstood.

I believe what the OP means is he's going into bios to turn off usb boot so the mobo doesn't even look for a usb drive in the boot order. If turning it off fixes his problem,

That should fix his problem.

if ever he needs to boot from usb he'll have to turn the option back on at that time.

He wouldn't need to turn it back on just by using the ASUS F8 boot menu.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3374
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-12700F
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3050 XC Black Gaming
    Sound Card
    RealTek HD 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming 27" 2K HDR Gaming
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 990 Pro 1TB NVMe (Win 11)
    SK hynix P41 500GB NVMe (Win 10)
    SK hynix P41 2TB NVMe (x3)
    Crucial P3 Plus 4TB
    PSU
    Corsair RM850x Shift
    Case
    Antec Dark Phantom DP502 FLUX
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black + 7 Phantek T-30's
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 320
    Mouse
    Razer Basilisk V3
    Internet Speed
    350Mbs
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Winows Security
    Other Info
    Windows 10 22H2 19045.4170
    On System One
  • Operating System
    Win 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3374
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-11700F
    Motherboard
    Asus TUF Gaming Z590 Plus WiFi
    Memory
    64 GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2060 KO Ultra Gaming
    Sound Card
    SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung F27T350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB
    Samsung 870 EVO 500GB SSD
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cougar MX330-G Window
    Cooling
    Hyper 212 EVO
    Internet Speed
    350Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Security

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