My PC has worked reliably since 2021 and normally handles video editing and games such as NBA 2K, FIFA, and Hitman without trouble. Recently, after returning from a two-week trip, it would no longer boot properly. While diagnosing it, I noticed at least one bent CPU socket pin, but I left it in place because I did not want to make the damage worse. The computer eventually started working after I disconnected the SATA cable from one of my internal SSDs. However, it then loaded an older Windows desktop containing apps and documents from before I rebuilt the system in 2021.
Now Minecraft runs extremely poorly even on its default settings, with movement freezing for roughly half a second at a time. NovaBench did not show anything obviously abnormal, and HWMonitor reported a CPU peak temperature of about 77°C while Minecraft was running.
My hardware is an NZXT N7 Z590 motherboard, Intel Core i7-10700K, RTX 3060 Ti, 32 GB of G.Skill Trident RAM, a 1 TB Samsung 870 EVO SATA SSD, and a 500 GB Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe SSD.
Both drives are detected in the firmware, and I can still save files to either one. I tried changing the boot priority to start from the other drive, but the system stays on the loading screen indefinitely. Could the computer be booting from the wrong Windows installation or using incorrect/old drivers? What tests or repairs should I try, and which component is most likely responsible for the stuttering?
1 Answer
The symptoms strongly suggest that the system is now booting from the older Windows installation on the other SSD. That would explain the old desktop, missing newer settings, and possibly outdated or generic chipset and graphics drivers. Reconnect the drive that contains your current installation, then check the firmware boot menu and select the correct Windows Boot Manager entry rather than choosing only the drive name. Once you are in the correct installation, reinstall the motherboard chipset drivers and the latest NVIDIA driver. You can also run System File Checker and the deployment image repair tool from an administrator Command Prompt, then check both SSDs for errors and review their health data.
Both SSDs still appear in the firmware and Windows lets me use either one for storage, but selecting the other installation causes the computer to remain on the loading screen. I’ll try repairing the installation with the file-checking tools and verify which Windows Boot Manager entry is being used.