help w/ HDD swap

alright, so im running modified A12 bios. M17X-R3. Windows 8.

Vertex 4 in middle slot, stock 320gb in the side slot. first off, this is the optimum setup for the SSD correct? the modified bios brings back the 6 gb/s, but i cant remember what slot it was for?

also, im trying to swap out the 320gb for a 1TB. 320 just aint big enough anymore, even with the SSD. managed to cut my storage down for now to clear up the 320, but it'll get full fast again.

anyways, I must have set my bios to RAID on accident instead of AHCI, and i don't know whats going on but every time i pull the 320 and boot up its saying that there's no boot device?

for now im back to the 320 on the side bay and SSD in the middle?

edit:
I dunno whats going on, maybe win8 is storing something on my 320 for reason? i even formatted it. is it putting the boot partition on the 320 for some reason?

 

Reminds me of my post-2x failed linux install r3 (third time was the charm) - Windows MBR on the pile of spinning rust, which loaded GRUB, which then loaded the Windows MBR on my SSD. My response: wipe everything, reinstall windows, reinstall Mint, make sure the MBR is on the SSD this time.

As for your issue... I'd first check that you have the boot order set correctly (if I recall correctly the r3 with modded A12 let you exclude boot devices), and try both RAID and AHCI. On the r3 the only real advantage of AHCI was TRIM support (IIRC, it wouldn't run in RAID for some reason), and sometimes Windows throws a fit if you change the drive type without reinstalling it - so check if that was the issue. (or at least my AHCI-installed crucial m4 wouldn't boot if the motherboard was set to RAID)

If you can boot with the 320GB drive installed but not with it uninstalled, I would try running a windows disk in repair install mode - hopefully that would fix the boot table issues. (Do remember to do this with the 320GB drive not installed, otherwise it might just put you back in the same situation)

Otherwise, check what kind of BIOS you are loading windows under - BIOS (might be called legacy) or UFEI. Once again windows dislikes having that sort of thing changed, and so that could be the problem.

Apologies for the wall of rambling, my brain might not be fully functioning at the moment. Yaaay midterms!

 

lols my brain aint half functioning. ambien been kick my due to my sleep schedule and me attempting to control it.
ended up using EasyBCD? to copy the boot portion that was on the stupid 320, then deactivated it. was a bit more involved than im used to lately. havent had to do anything this extensive since XP. win7 and 8 were generally pretty easy to take care of without beating your face in with performance hits.

but yea, basically it made a 100mb partition on my 320 that every time i removed it would freak out like 'zomg there's nothing to boot to' and it was making me wanna bash my face in. once i got the boot moved over, rebooted, during boot had a BSOD "we're collecting info" then reboot and i was in minus the 320. after that it was cake walk, plug in new 1tb - > login -> disk manager -> make new full partition and keep the boot secotr on SSD.

really in weird that it put the boot on my HDD. seems pretty pointless to do so and only complicates things later on. i even had just the SSD for the original install plugged in. must have accidentally hit something to cause it think it needed a boot sector away from my primary.

anyway, all is good. well sorta. i couldnt get the boot to delete off my 320, wouldnt let me, so that'll be interseting when i forget about it and in a couple months go to use it elsewhere and its trying to boot to something that aint there lol

 

Glad you got it (mostly) fixed! And once again, linux will delete that pesky boot partition for you! (Linux: giving you not just enough rope to hang yourself, but enough to hang every person in your town a different way!)

As for why Windows put the boot table on your HDD - I'm guessing that was the default boot device, and windows in it's "eternal wisdom" will not ask you to change the boot order, but will instead put the boot record on a different device than the OS

 

That happens. It may have been that