BIOS changing/losing boot-order or "forgetting" connected HDDs

costin96

Estimable
Aug 18, 2015
2
0
4,510
Hello there,

Since I changed my HDD with a SSD and installed Windows 10 on my laptop, I am experiecing boot-up problems. I own an Asus G56JR (i7 4700hq, 8gb ram, gtx760m). Some time ago I've bough a Kingston HyperX Fury 120GB SSD and a Raidsonic Convertor SATA HDD-ODD 2.5", IB-AC642.

For information purposes, I'll leave the links here:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Icy-Box-IB-AC642-Adapter-for-2-5-inch-SSD-HDD-Laptop-Extension-for-Slim-DVD-Bay-/371411026399
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kingston-HyperX-Fury-120GB-SHFS37A-120G-2-5-SSD-SATA-Internal-Solid-State-Drive-/321748184741

So, I done the upgrade in the folowing manner:
- took out the HDD from the laptop, and placed the SSD in it's slot (the HDD is a WD Black 7200rpm 500GB)
- took out the optical drive, placed the HDD in the ODD Caddy/Adaptor, slided it inside the optical drive.

Now I basically have one SSD and one HDD in the laptop. So far so good. Proceeded to install Windows 10, and at the first two attempts it told me that I can't install Windows on the SSD. After two more restarts it worked.

Installed Windows 10 on my SSD, formated the HDD, installed my stuff, all "good". Daily, the laptop refuses to start from the first try. I just press the start-up button and it tells me to "Reboot and select proper boot device".

If I reboot and go in BIOS, the SSD it's gone from the boot order. Sometimes the HDD is gone from the boot order as well, sometimes the HDD is selected as primary boot. I either have to restart it 2-3 times, or go in Advanced -> SATA CONFIG -> Connected Hardware. After it displays the connected Hardware (HDD + SSD), they will appear in BOOT OPTIONS in BIOS.

PS: How the boot options goes on my laptop:
P1 -> HDD/SSD (if it detects hdd or ssd, they will appear under P1, you can choose only one)
P2 -> only appears if other stuff is detected (Like optical drive, USB).

I don't quite remember if in the past (when I had the original laptop, without SSD or ODD Caddy), the boot order was DVD, HDD or HDD, DVD.

Also, the HDD is on SATA PORT 1, and the SSD is on the SATA PORT 2. Basically the DVD-bay seems to be SATA PORT 1 and the HDD bay seems to be SATA PORT 2.

Any help would be nice. Sorry for the wall of text.

Thanks
 

metalicgeek

Estimable
The first consideration to make when noticing that BIOS settings are changing, is that your CMOS battery may be dying, or was misplaced, perhaps during the process of opening the laptop to insert the drives. Replace the CMOS battery.
 

costin96

Estimable
Aug 18, 2015
2
0
4,510


Hello, I was also thinking about the same fault. Was using my laptop today, and if I leave it off for like 30 minutes, it boots back normally. The problem normally occurs when I leave it off much more time. Yesterday, I left it on the table, off, without battery or power adaptor plugged for like 8 hours. Started it and it was all bugged.

Anyway, how am I able to change the BIOS battery? Didn't saw any at all when I removed the cover for the HDD.
My asus G56JR has a small cover held in by 3 screws, that you can remove and swap the RAM, HDD, WiFi and Bluetooth chip, without minding the wararntly. Same goes for the optical driver.

Also, what kind of battery do I need for the BIOS?
Do you think this problem would be covered by warranty? I still got like 11 months left. The only problem is that I dropped the laptop like 4 months ago and it's a little scrathed on the plastic on the back.
 

Slashgeek

Estimable
Aug 11, 2015
5
0
4,520


If you are still within warranty, do not touch anything and have it serviced. You should be able to have it repaired for free.