Windows 7 freezes with other hard drive connected

One of my pc's failed to post or even power on any fans after a house move.
So i've taken the hard drive out of it and connected it to another pc with a view toward copying data off.

I've got 3 other hard drives in this pc and they all work fine.
When i connect the hard drive concerned, via SATA (all the hard drives are SATA), Windows freezes at the Windows is Starting screen.

When I disconnect the suspect hard drive, all is fine.
Tried swapping the sata cables but it's the same..

Bad hard drive?

Since it's sata, you can plug and unplug while switched on.

With the pc off, connect the drive power but not the sata cable, boot in to safe mode and then plug in the sata cable on the suspect drive. You should then be able to run a chkdsk on it or copy data off it.

I would run a chkdsk on it first though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wh666-666

Since it's sata, you can plug and unplug while switched on.

With the pc off, connect the drive power but not the sata cable, boot in to safe mode and then plug in the sata cable on the suspect drive. You should then be able to run a chkdsk on it or copy data off it.

I would run a chkdsk on it first though.

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A quick note: SATA hotplug only works if AHCI is enabled in the BIOS. If it is running in IDE or legacy mode, hotswap is not supported at all.

Have you considered doing a quick and extended test of the drive using the manufacturers diagnostic software? If you haven't then you might want to consider that option.

It might also be a good idea to go out and get a replacement drive if you need it.