Question:

How can I fix the issue of my laptop switching back to HDD as the primary drive after a Windows update, despite having installed an SSD and migrated the OS to it?

Some background information:

– I bought a 128 GB SSD and 4 GB RAM for my old laptop in late 2021 to improve its performance.

– After installing the SSD and RAM, I noticed a significant improvement in the speed and responsiveness of my laptop. The SSD had a different home screen than the HDD, and none of the apps I had installed on the HDD were present on the SSD. I had to reinstall them on the SSD, but I could still access my files on the HDD through the File Explorer.

– About 4-5 months later, my laptop crashed and showed a blue screen of death, saying that it needed an update. I updated it, but then everything reverted to how it was before I installed the SSD. The home screen, the apps, and the boot time were all back to the HDD settings. The SSD was still there, but it seemed like it was not being used as the primary drive anymore. My laptop became slow again, and I felt like I wasted my money.

– I want to make the SSD the primary drive again, and have my laptop read every file from the SSD only.

– Another strange thing that happened was that after installing the SSD, I had MS Office 2019 on my laptop, which I did not expect. The previous MS Office 2010 that I had on the HDD was gone. But after the update, MS Office 2010 came back, and MS Office 2019 disappeared.

Answer:

How to Fix the SSD-HDD Switch Issue After a Windows Update

If you have installed a solid state drive (SSD) on your laptop to boost its performance, you may have encountered a frustrating issue where your laptop switches back to using the hard disk drive (HDD) as the primary drive after a Windows update. This can result in a slower and less responsive laptop, as well as a loss of some applications and settings that you had on the SSD. In this article, we will explain why this happens and how you can fix it.

The most likely reason why this happens is that your laptop has two different boot options: one for the SSD and one for the HDD. When you installed the SSD, you probably cloned or migrated your operating system (OS) from the HDD to the SSD, and then changed the boot order in the BIOS to make the SSD the first option. This way, your laptop would boot from the SSD and use it as the primary drive.

However, when you updated your Windows, it may have changed the boot order back to the HDD, or created a new boot option for the HDD that overrides the SSD. This can happen because Windows sometimes does not recognize the SSD as a valid boot device, or because it tries to repair the HDD boot option that may have been corrupted or damaged. As a result, your laptop boots from the HDD and uses it as the primary drive, ignoring the SSD.

How can you fix it?

To fix this issue, you need to change the boot order back to the SSD, or delete the HDD boot option altogether. Here are the steps to do that:

1. Restart your laptop and enter the BIOS setup. The exact key to do this may vary depending on your laptop model, but it is usually one of the F keys (F1, F2, F10, etc.), the Esc key, or the Del key. You should see a message on the screen that tells you which key to press.

2. Once you are in the BIOS setup, look for the boot menu or the boot order. It may be under a different name, such as boot priority, boot configuration, or boot sequence. You should see a list of boot options, such as HDD, SSD, CD-ROM, USB, etc.

3. If you see both the HDD and the SSD in the list, make sure that the SSD is the first option, and the HDD is the second or lower option. You can use the arrow keys and the enter key to change the order. If you only see the HDD in the list, you need to add the SSD as a boot option. You may need to enable or disable some settings, such as legacy mode, secure boot, or UEFI mode, to make the SSD visible. Refer to your laptop manual or online guides for more details on how to do this.

4. Once you have changed the boot order or added the SSD as a boot option, save the changes and exit the BIOS setup. Your laptop should restart and boot from the SSD.

5. If you want to delete the HDD boot option completely, you can do so by using a tool such as EasyBCD or bcdedit. These tools allow you to edit the boot configuration data (BCD) of your Windows, which stores the information about the boot options. You can use these tools to remove the HDD boot option from the BCD, so that your laptop will only boot from the SSD. However, be careful when using these tools, as deleting the wrong boot option or making a mistake can render your laptop unbootable. Make sure you backup your data and create a recovery disk before attempting this.

What about the MS Office issue?

Another strange thing that may have happened after the Windows update is that your MS Office version changed from 2019 to 2010, or vice versa. This is because your laptop has two different versions of MS Office installed: one on the HDD and one on the SSD. When you switched from the HDD to the SSD, or from the SSD to the HDD, you also switched the MS Office version that you were using.

To fix this issue, you can either uninstall the MS Office version that you do not want, or change the default program that opens your MS Office files. To uninstall the MS Office version that you do not want, you can use the control panel or the settings app to find and remove the program. To change the default program that opens your MS Office files, you can right-click on any MS Office file, select “Open with”, and choose the MS Office version that you want. You can also check the box that says “Always use this app to open .docx files” or similar, to make it the default program.

Conclusion

Installing an SSD on your laptop can greatly improve its performance, but it can also cause some issues if your laptop switches back to using the HDD as the primary drive after a Windows update. To fix this issue, you need to change the boot order in the BIOS, or delete the HDD boot option from the BCD. You may also need to fix the MS Office issue by uninstalling or changing the default program. By following these steps, you can enjoy the benefits of your SSD and avoid the frustration of a slow and outdated laptop.