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[Confusion] Hard drive won't boot. Caused by video card?

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Hey there,

So I was troubleshooting a friends computer, and I borrowed my videocard from my system to his.

When I put it back into my computer for the first time. It said something along the lines of "error reading C:\Windows\System32\winload.exe" on a blue screen.

I've since removed all my other hard drives from the equation, now it gives.
Error code: 0xc000000f

I've tried bootrec /fixboot & /rebuildbcd with no luck. The drive also doesn't pick up in a Ubuntu Live disk bootup.

Any suggestions? I really don't want to reformat.
 
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Hey there,

So I was troubleshooting a friends computer, and I borrowed my videocard from my system to his.

When I put it back into my computer for the first time. It said something along the lines of "error reading C:\Windows\System32\winload.exe" on a blue screen.

I've since removed all my other hard drives from the equation, now it gives.
Error code: 0xc000000f

I've tried bootrec /fixboot & /rebuildbcd with no luck.

Any suggestions? I really don't want to reformat.

Did you install Windows with all your other hard drives plugged in? If you did, removing them when you boot Windows will fail, because Windows dumps boot flags on every drive when its first installed. That's why people always recommend disconnecting every single hard drive besides your C:\ drive when doing a fresh install.

As for your initial problem, the GPU being reinstalled and suddenly Windows won't boot - tried safe mode? (Spam F9 when your computer is loading)
 
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
213 (0.04/day)
System Name Shark's Build
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte B450 I AORUS PRO
Cooling Noctua NH-C14 heatsink core with swapped Phanteks PH-F140HP PWM
Memory G.SKILL Aegis (2 * 8GB) DDR4-3000
Video Card(s) GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
Display(s) Tri-Monitor setup 1x144hz 2x60hz
Case Corsair Obsidian 250D Mini ITX
Audio Device(s) On-Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova NEX750B 750W ATX Power Supply 80+ Bronze
Did you install Windows with all your other hard drives plugged in? If you did, removing them when you boot Windows will fail, because Windows dumps boot flags on every drive when its first installed. That's why people always recommend disconnecting every single hard drive besides you C:\ drive when doing a fresh install.
Shoot, good thinking, I forgot about that. I installed with all drives plugged in :(

Does that mean I'm screwed?
 
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Does that mean I'm screwed?

Not entirely. Plug them all back in and try booting in safe mode. Might also be worth resetting your CMOS just for kicks.
 
Joined
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Messages
213 (0.04/day)
System Name Shark's Build
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte B450 I AORUS PRO
Cooling Noctua NH-C14 heatsink core with swapped Phanteks PH-F140HP PWM
Memory G.SKILL Aegis (2 * 8GB) DDR4-3000
Video Card(s) GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
Display(s) Tri-Monitor setup 1x144hz 2x60hz
Case Corsair Obsidian 250D Mini ITX
Audio Device(s) On-Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova NEX750B 750W ATX Power Supply 80+ Bronze
Not entirely. Plug them all back in and try booting in safe mode. Might also be worth resetting your CMOS just for kicks.
Ok this might take awhile. Running in a miniITX build lol I'll report back thanks for the info. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get to safe mode, I haven't achieved that yet since this all happened.
 
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
213 (0.04/day)
System Name Shark's Build
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte B450 I AORUS PRO
Cooling Noctua NH-C14 heatsink core with swapped Phanteks PH-F140HP PWM
Memory G.SKILL Aegis (2 * 8GB) DDR4-3000
Video Card(s) GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
Display(s) Tri-Monitor setup 1x144hz 2x60hz
Case Corsair Obsidian 250D Mini ITX
Audio Device(s) On-Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova NEX750B 750W ATX Power Supply 80+ Bronze
Reading the manual, can't seem to find the battery. Does the CMOS header do the same thing as the battery?
 
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
213 (0.04/day)
System Name Shark's Build
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte B450 I AORUS PRO
Cooling Noctua NH-C14 heatsink core with swapped Phanteks PH-F140HP PWM
Memory G.SKILL Aegis (2 * 8GB) DDR4-3000
Video Card(s) GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
Display(s) Tri-Monitor setup 1x144hz 2x60hz
Case Corsair Obsidian 250D Mini ITX
Audio Device(s) On-Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova NEX750B 750W ATX Power Supply 80+ Bronze
OK so. First computer I've dealt with, with a vertical CMOS battery. Anyways, I'm back with the same error.

Trying out safe mode from repair this computer menu. What happens if I successfully get into safe mode?
 
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