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    Can't get past boot screen with external HD plugged in

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by me12345, Nov 6, 2011.

  1. me12345

    me12345 Notebook Evangelist

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    I had an external HD standing on it's side that was recently knocked over. Now whenever I have that external HD plugged into my laptop, I can't get past the boot screen.

    I think the HD is fine, I can still access all the information, I don't hear any clicking, and I ran the error checking tool in windows, which resulted in no errors.

    Is something wrong with my HD? Is it an issue with my laptop? How can I fix this?

    Thanks!
     
  2. AESdecryption

    AESdecryption Notebook Evangelist

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    I'd recommend that you check your BIOS Setup, it can be found pressing one of the F# keys during boot up. The external HDD might be marked with a higher priority in boot order.

    Optional: Use your external HDD after emptying all the data (backed up all the data that was on the external HDD before testing) to check if the external HDD was the cause of your problem.