Western Digital External HD Is Causing Windows Startup Problems
Western Digital makes a number of external hard drives that can be used with any number of desktop or laptop computers. While the device is meant to be portable and easily removed from a computer, some people leave them plugged in during shutdown, which can cause problems when trying to reboot the computer. This is an issue that Microsoft has acknowledged, but fixing the problem is essentially up to you.
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Workaround
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If you're having trouble with bootup, the first thing to try in order to get your computer working is to boot up without the hard drive connected. While this is not an ideal solution for the long term, it may allow you to get your computer to boot up so you can get on with your work.
Another USB
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Another troubleshooting step is to use a different USB port on your computer. In some cases, the computer may have problems booting a particular port, causing it to hang on the external hard drive instead of booting as it should. Safely remove your hard drive from one port and plug it into another, and then try to restart your computer.
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Update Firmware
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In some cases you may need to update the drivers -- which allow your computer and outside hardware to "talk" -- to get your compute to boot properly. To do this, navigate to Western Digital Support's Downloads page and locate your exact model of hard drive. Look for any updates to the firmware and download them; in some cases, this may solve your problem.
Boot Order
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In some cases, your computer may be trying to boot your external hard drive before it boots the internal hard drive, which may cause your computer to get stuck before completing the process. To troubleshoot this, you can check your BIOS -- or basic input/output system -- to see the exact order in which your system components are being booted. To do this, boot up your computer and as it boots, look for the dialogue that indicates which key to press -- possibly F2 or Delete -- to get to the Setup screen. Press that button, which will take you to the BIOS setup. Click on the "Boot" or "Boot Order" tab, which will display a list that shows the order in which your hardware is booted. Each BIOS setup is different, but from that screen you should see instructions on how to move the items up or down on the list. Move the external hard drive to the bottom of the list, and then click the "Save" or "Save & Exit" selection.
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