# Error 9c on boot



## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

Recently, whenever I boot my PC up in a morning it sticks with 9c showing in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. It get through but can take up to 30 or 40 seconds to get through. Everything after that is fine.

Looking on Google, 9c seems to refer to a USB device. Can I ask if that will be something plugged in externally or is it possibly something inside the PC?

As an add on, someone in my camera club mentioned that MSI boards may do this if a USB drive has priority in the boot order, and it isn't bootable or present and to try setting my internal hard drive to be the first boot device and see if that cures it.

Further to the above, I closed down my PC and disconnected the external USB drive that stores my Acronis backups. On the next boot the PC went through to the main screen almost instantly. Closed down the PC again and reconnected the external USB and the 9c error was back. So I guess the 9c error has something to do with that drive.


Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.4
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro, 64 bit
Processor: AMD A8-7650K Radeon R7, 10 Compute Cores 4C+6G, AMD64 Family 21 Model 48 Stepping 1
Processor Count: 4
RAM: 15319 Mb
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon(TM) R7 Graphics, 1024 Mb
Hard Drives: C: 237 GB (108 GB Free); E: 931 GB (513 GB Free); G: 931 GB (535 GB Free);
Motherboard: MSI, A78M-E35 V2 (MS-7721)
Antivirus: Windows Defender, Disabled


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

There are a very few things inside a case that can be pw by usb however it is very rare to have something like that installed [some water cooling systems]
As a very simple test, just disconnect all usb devices and attempt a pw ON. See if you still have the problem.


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

Thanks for the reply, really appreciated. As a simple test, I closed down the PC, disconnected the external USB drive that stores my Acronis backups and booted up again. The PC went through to the main screen almost instantly. I then reconnected the external USB and booted again. The 9c error was back so I guess it's something to do with the external USB.

As a bit of info, last week a local company did an Acronis restore for me so I'm wondering if they may have changed something in the boot order.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

I just checked the support page for your motherboard. There are numerous bios updates that address usb issues and compatibility issues. If you are not running the latest bios, you might consider updating. If you do decide to update, be sure you read and fully understand the flashing procedure. While a bios update is not difficult, an incorrect flash can render your board unbootable ie junk.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

FWIW external usb type drives should not remain pw ON all of the time. They should be ON to make a backup then OFF. The only exception to this is a usb drive with a fan for the enclosure. If there is no fan, the drive gets too hot when running constantly.

I still have a very old external drive [at least 12yr old] that works fine. It is OFF unless actually being used.
Very modern usb type drives will actually pw themselves down if not used for a while. If you have one of these, it is ok to leave it ON.


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

crjdriver said:


> FWIW external usb type drives should not remain pw ON all of the time. They should be ON to make a backup then OFF. The only exception to this is a usb drive with a fan for the enclosure. If there is no fan, the drive gets too hot when running constantly.
> 
> I still have a very old external drive [at least 12yr old] that works fine. It is OFF unless actually being used.
> Very modern usb type drives will actually pw themselves down if not used for a while. If you have one of these, it is ok to leave it ON.


I've also recently read that it's not a good idea to leave back up drives plugged in in case of power surges. I doubt if my USB switches itself off as there is a small indicator light that always seems to be on. Would it be a better idea if I only plugged the USB in when I know a back up is due (Mon, Wed, Fri and Sunday evenings)? Also, if I did that, would I need to power the PC down before unplugging the USB?


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

USB stuff is designed to be hot plug ie you can plug it in when the system is ON. You should however eject the drive prior to disconnecting.
I use acronis to make backups however I do all backups, restores, cloning, etc from the boot usb. I do not even "Install" acronis.


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

crjdriver said:


> USB stuff is designed to be hot plug ie you can plug it in when the system is ON. You should however eject the drive prior to disconnecting.
> I use acronis to make backups however I do all backups, restores, cloning, etc from the boot usb. I do not even "Install" acronis.


Just looked on the taskbar and on the Safely Remove Hardware, there are three USB devices but the drive that does my backups is the only one that is "greyed out".


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## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

its possible the boot sequence was changed, check your boot settings to see if USB is higher than HDD


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

Thanks for the reply Couriant. I took a screen shot of the disk management area if that helps at all.


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## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

The boot sequence is in the BIOS. Something similar to this (different brands will have different menu)


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

Thanks for the help Couriant. I'll try and get into the BIOS to have a look what the order is and get back to you.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

I just took a look at your manual. You have a uefi type bios. It _should_ use windows boot mgr as the first boot device however it does not hurt to check. Your bios will not look anything like the above pic; it will look more like this pic.


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

Apologies for the delay, could upload an image. Hope this helps:


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Boot order is correct. It is using uefi and windows boot mgr.
If you are running the latest bios, then just leave the drive OFF until the system boots. If you are not running the latest bios, then I would update. *Again be sure you read and fully understand the flashing procedure. *
While a bios update is not difficult, an incorrect flash can render your motherboard unbootable ie junk. I never use msi boards so I am not sure however [I think] msi has a bios flash tool built into the bios called Mflash. All high end boards ie asus, gigabyte, asrock, etc have this option [although by different names]
Using this option is the ONLY way I ever update a bios. Using a windows based bios update program adds an extra layer of complexity to the task AND [IMO] increases the chance of a corrupted flash.


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

Thank you for all the help and patience. When you mention "just leave the drive OFF until system boots" do you mean unplugged from the PC?


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Either unplug or have the pw switch for the drive OFF until the system boots. I would really leave the switch OFF until you actually need the drive.


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

Thanks again for the help and apologies for being a slow on the uptake, but I'm not sure what you mean by leaving the PW switch OFF? The drive (G) plugs into my tower with a USB connection and I can't see anywhere to turn it off apart from unplugging.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

OK, then it does not have a switch. My external WD drive has an ON/OFF switch. Just leave it unplugged until windows loads.


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

Thanks for all the help. I wasn't aware you could get drives with a power switch. in my case a simple on/off switch would be a big help.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Just had a thought; does your drive use a splitter like the one pictured below or a single usb?


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

No, it's just a single lead from the disk to the USB plug.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Po...d_r=RE22MDNRA8M2H2PWRPXS&psc=1&qid=1569338142


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Then your problem might be the disk not spinning up quick enough. Most higher quality usb only drives use the dual connectors so it supplies enough pw. You can try picking up a dual connector or just leave the drive unplugged. If you want to "Fix" the issue, try the dual connector however it may or may not fix your problem.


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

Thanks again for all the help. If it helps at all, the 9c error only started after I had a new drive fitted (like for like) It never used to come up with the 9c error before.

I think I'll go with the unplugging route at the minute and set myself some reminders to make sure it's plugged back in when I know there's a backup due.

Do you know if I would need to power down the PC before plugging the drive back in? I guess it's probably a safer option.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

No, usb stuff is designed to be hot plugged.


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

Thank you


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

If you look carefully at the usb plug you will see one connector longer than the rest. That is the ground SO the ground is the last connection to break and the first one made.


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## CuttingCrew (May 24, 2003)

That's what I love about the Tech Guy pages, I keep learning every day.


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