Hey everyone! I received a Dell Optiplex 990 from a friend a few years back, and I decided to use it as a practice project for upgrading PC parts. My goal is to learn how to build a cooler system down the road without ruining anything costly. Here's what I've got:
- Original specs: 2nd gen i5-2400 CPU (3.10 GHz), 16 GB of DDR3 RAM, 2 x 500 GB HDDs, and a 380W power supply.
- Upgrades: I added a Sapphire RX570 GPU (got it for $70 on eBay) and a 216 GB SSD (just $16.99 on Amazon).
I'm having a good time tinkering, but I'm wondering how much more I can push this setup before I need to start over with a new build. Also, I'm running into an issue with the SSD. I managed to install my system on it and set it as the primary boot option, but now it's disappeared from my boot menu. Device Manager recognizes it, but it fails to boot from it. Any thoughts on how to troubleshoot this issue? I'd really appreciate any advice on both the SSD problem and whether I should consider building a new system soon!
2 Answers
You might not need a new PC just yet. Try resetting the BIOS to see if that helps the SSD show up again. As for the SSD itself, there's a chance it could be a formatting issue, or it may not be the best quality for booting. Keep learning and have fun with it—I think you’re doing great!
It sounds like your SSD might be the culprit, especially if it was super cheap. You might want to check if it's formatted correctly. Sometimes cheap drives can be dodgy, but even if it feels solid physically, it could have issues under the hood. Just to clarify, did you install Windows on the SSD before trying to set it as the primary boot option?
Thanks for the tips! I'll check the BIOS and see if that changes anything. As for Windows, I did install it on the SSD, so hopefully, that's not the issue!