# Win8 x64 Hard Drive Locked



## Deletham_Tomala (Sep 19, 2010)

Several days ago I installed a fresh copy of OEM Windows 8 onto a fresh hard drive. Yesterday morning after booting after a shutdown, I got "Disk Read Error" during Bios. 

Booting with my Windows 8 disk, I troubleshooted the problem. When I attempted to use the "Refresh" option, I was informed that my Hard Drive was locked. I have been unable to access the hard drive for system restore and the like.

I have found similar problems with Windows 8 as they pertain to Upgrades, but nothing about a full, clean install. The results of these problems seem promising but murky. Link below:

Can't boot into windows 8,hard drive locked, can't refresh

*System Specs:*
Processor: Intel Core i7 920
OS: Windows 8 (64x)
HDD: Toshiba 2TB HDKPC09

Thank you for your assistance.


----------



## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Try this: Windows 8 Boot Issues? Try Fixing the Master Boot Record (MBR) or Boot Configuration Data (BCD) - TechSpot


----------



## Deletham_Tomala (Sep 19, 2010)

I have returned and tried the actions proscribed in the linked article.

Automatic troubleshooting did not work.

"bootrec /fixmbr" and "bootrec /fixboot" returned "The system cannot find the path specified". While "bootrec /scanos" was successful, it returned "Total identified Windows installations: 0". Because of that "bootrec /rebuildbcd" worked but was unsuccessful (nothing to work on). Using the entire "bootrec.exe" and capitalization of the operations (i.e. "/ScanOs") did not make any changes.

"bcdedit" returned no list of items and instead displayed "The boot configuration data store could not be opened. The requested system device cannot be found." The commands in the article following "bcdedit" returned the same.

I was unable to access "x:\sourcesrecovery" or "x:\sources\recovery" for the manual starting of the other repair utility.

All in all none of the proscribed methods worked. Is this problem something else? Do I have a dead hard drive?


----------



## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

check the cables on the HDD, make sure the data cable is plugged in tight to the drive and the motherboard. make sure the power plug is plugged in. Use a different power plug, try a different SATA cable into a different SATA port on the motherboard. 
Boot into Setup (Bios) Is the HDD listed?


----------



## Deletham_Tomala (Sep 19, 2010)

Upon plugging in a new SATA cable (into the same slot). I was prompted by a windows screen titled "Recovery" saying that "Your PC needs to be repaired" and that the "The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is missing or contains errors." It asked me to use the recovery tools on my installation media. After this it would hang for a while while the CD drive activity light would flash, and then restart.

Playing around with the boot options, it appeared that my HDD was now showing up as a boot option. Selecting to boot from CD, I was brought back to the Windows Installation folder shortly after plugging back in the mouse. After that I went through the prompts in the above linked article. The first option, Automatic Repair, appeared to work, bringing me back to my desktop, where I appear to have full functionality.

So, in the end I'm grateful for your assistance, spunk.funk. Was this just a case of a loose SATA cable? If not and it was (in part) an error in Windows 8, is there anything I can do to prevent it from happening again? 

Either way, thank you and your community for your prompt and practical advice.


----------



## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

> Upon plugging in a new SATA cable


According to your own post, you changed the SATA cable and it started working. I would say that was the original problem.


----------

