Question:

How can I fix the boot issue on my PC that requires a Windows USB drive to be inserted? >
> I have installed Windows on my SSD, but whenever I try to boot my PC without the USB drive that contains the Windows installation media, I get a blank screen with a blinking cursor on the top left corner. However, if I plug in the USB drive and restart the PC, it boots up normally. What is causing this problem and how can I resolve it?

Answer:

How to fix the boot issue on your PC that requires a Windows USB drive

If you have recently installed Windows on your solid state drive (SSD), you may encounter a boot issue that prevents your PC from starting up without a USB drive that contains the Windows installation media. This article will explain what causes this problem and how you can fix it.

The boot issue is likely caused by a misconfiguration of the boot order or the boot loader on your PC. The boot order is the sequence of devices that your PC checks for an operating system when it powers on. The boot loader is the program that loads the operating system into memory and starts it.

When you install Windows on your SSD, the Windows installer should automatically configure the boot order and the boot loader for you. However, sometimes this process may fail or be interrupted, resulting in a faulty boot configuration.

If your boot order is incorrect, your PC may try to boot from a different device than your SSD, such as your hard disk drive (HDD) or your optical drive. If these devices do not have a valid operating system, your PC will display a blank screen with a blinking cursor, indicating that it cannot find a bootable device.

If your boot loader is incorrect, your PC may not be able to locate or load the Windows operating system on your SSD, even if the boot order is correct. This can happen if the boot loader is corrupted, missing, or pointing to the wrong partition. In this case, your PC may also display a blank screen with a blinking cursor, or an error message such as “BOOTMGR is missing” or “NTLDR is missing”.

When you plug in the USB drive that contains the Windows installation media, your PC may be able to boot from it, since it is a valid bootable device. The Windows installation media contains a recovery environment that can repair the boot configuration on your SSD, allowing your PC to boot normally.

How to fix the boot issue?

To fix the boot issue, you need to access the recovery environment on the Windows installation media and use the Startup Repair tool or the Command Prompt to repair the boot configuration on your SSD. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Insert the USB drive that contains the Windows installation media into your PC and restart it.

2. Press the appropriate key to enter the boot menu, such as F12, F10, or Esc, depending on your PC model and manufacturer. You should see a list of bootable devices, such as USB, HDD, SSD, DVD, etc.

3. Select the USB drive from the list and press Enter to boot from it. You should see the Windows logo and a loading screen.

4. When prompted, choose your language, time, and keyboard settings, and click Next.

5. Click Repair your computer on the bottom left corner of the screen. You should see the recovery environment options, such as Troubleshoot, Reset this PC, System Restore, etc.

6. Click Troubleshoot and then click Advanced options. You should see the advanced recovery options, such as Startup Repair, Command Prompt, System Image Recovery, etc.

7. Click Startup Repair and follow the on-screen instructions. The Startup Repair tool will scan your PC and attempt to fix any boot issues automatically. This may take several minutes. If the tool succeeds, your PC will restart and boot normally from your SSD. If the tool fails, you may need to use the Command Prompt to repair the boot configuration manually.

8. To use the Command Prompt, go back to the advanced recovery options and click Command Prompt. You should see a black window with a blinking cursor, where you can type commands.

9. Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each one. Replace X with the letter of the drive where your Windows is installed, which is usually C or D. You can use the command `diskpart` and `list volume` to check the drive letters.

“` bootrec /fixmbr bootrec /fixboot bootrec /scanos bootrec /rebuildbcd bcdboot X:\Windows exit “` These commands will repair the master boot record (MBR), the boot sector, the boot loader, and the boot configuration data (BCD) on your SSD. The last command will copy the boot files from the Windows folder to the boot partition.

10. Remove the USB drive and restart your PC. Your PC should boot normally from your SSD without the USB drive.

Conclusion

The boot issue on your PC that requires a Windows USB drive to be inserted is caused by a faulty boot configuration on your SSD. You can fix it by using the recovery environment on the Windows installation media and repairing the boot order or the boot loader on your SSD. This should allow your PC to boot normally without the USB drive. If you still encounter the boot issue or other problems, you may need to contact a professional technician or reinstall Windows on your SSD.

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I hope this article helps you. Please let me know if you have any feedback or questions. 😊