I have a SATA SSD that is currently stuck on the Windows recovery menu. Initially, I installed Windows on a secondary hard drive and was able to access and retrieve all the data from the SSD, but instead of saving it to an external drive, I copied everything to that secondary drive. After swapping out the faulty SSD for a new one, I'm now unable to access that data on the secondary hard drive. The hard drive isn't showing up in the bootable options in the BIOS either. I decided to reconnect the old SSD, format the hard drive, and reinstall Windows. Now the hard drive has a fresh installation of Windows, but the SSD is visible in the BIOS yet not accessible in Windows or even in the disk management menu. The IDE ATA/ATAPI drivers are installed and AHCI is enabled in the BIOS. I'm stumped and need help!
2 Answers
It sounds like you're struggling with an SSD that's locked and missing some accessibility due to your Windows recovery menu problem. Just to clarify, when you say 'locked', do you mean it’s not readable because it’s in a recovery mode? If so, you could try using data recovery software from another bootable USB. Sometimes that can help get around the recovery menu issues and access your data. Just make sure to take it slow and not overwrite anything unintentionally!
Definitely sounds like the SSD is still working but not responding to Windows. Have you tried checking if it shows up in Disk Management when you boot using a recovery environment? If it's showing there, you might be able to assign a drive letter or perform a recovery. If it’s showing as unallocated, use a recovery tool that can help recover data from that partition directly.
I haven't tried that yet! I'll boot from a recovery USB and check Disk Management again. Thanks for the tip!
That's a good point! Sometimes booting from a Linux live USB can also help you access the files without going through Windows, which might work better for you.