Windows 7: Where's my hard drive?

I am having difficulties with a Maxtor DiamondMax 17 160GB ATA drive and Windows 7. I have been scouring forums for weeks and this is the one that seems most likely to be helpful. Lets start at the beginning. Old home built desktop (FOXCONN MB / AMD 64 processor 2GB RAM) previously using XP with no problems. Upgraded to Windows 7 with a clean install. Lots of problems - most of them solved except that the Maxtor drive is undetectable. The system is currently working fine with two other IDE drives (IBM master and Maxtor DiamondMax20 slave) so I know the system works. I want to replace the IBM with the larger DiamondMax17 but I cannot get Windows 7 to see it. I know the disk is OK since my other XP PC and Vista Laptop (with IDE/USB enclosure) can both see it. I have used Ubuntu to partition it, unpartition it, format it, clean it but as soon as I put it in my Windows7 PC it cannot be seen, either as a master or a slave. I should add that the BIOS sees it fine. Disk Management cannot find it. I have also tried the "diskpart/list disk" solution but it is not there. Even in the IDE/USB enclosure the system cannot see it. Any ideas anyone?

Update on above. I repartitioned the drive using ubuntu - one partition no file system. Loaded the HD into the IDE/USB caddie and it now appears as a USB device on my Windows 7 pc. I can now diskpart/clean/format fs=ntfs through the .cmd prompt DOS window. Removed the drive from the caddie and connected it to the IDE ribbon as a slave - shows up in BIOS but still invisible to explorer, computer management, and now invisible again in diskpart. This is driving me crazy....

If you are jumpering it as Master or Slave, try Cable Select.

Where are you connecting it since you say you already have two other IDE drivers connected?

Why and how are you connecting a SATA drive via IDE ribbon using jumpers?

Plug your SATA drive into a SATA port on the mobo, preferably SATA1.

What is the SATA controller setting in BIOS setup? Try AHCI first, then IDE mode.

Is there a new BIOS version update? If not, reset the CMOS: Clear CMOS - 3 Ways to Clear the CMOS - Reset BIOS

Unplug all other HD's and peripherals before trying install.

If DISKPART from Windows 7 DVD Command Line cannot see the HD to Clean All, then boot free Partition Wizard bootable CD to wipe the HD and partition NTFS primary. Rightclick on Windows 7 target partition to Modify>Set to Active. Free Download Magic Partition Manager Software - Partition Wizard Online
SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

Now boot the Windows 7 DVD to Custom install, see if HD is seen. If not, try as a last resort inserting mobo SATA controller driver at Load Drivers link on Where do you want to Install Windows screen.

The K8M890M2MB has two IDE controllers, supporting as many as 4 devices total.

I wonder whether Windows 7 has full driver support for this board, out of the box? It may be desireable to download the latest Hyperion driver package:

http://www.viaarena.com/Driver/VIA_H...nPro_V524A.zip

It doesn't list Windows 7 support, but it supports Vista, so it may be possible to get it to work in 7.

Thanks for all your responses.

Ztruker - I've tried it in all combinations. I have a working IBM as master and a working Maxtor DiamondMax20 as slave. I want to upgrade the IBM with a larger DiamondMax 17 so I have been swapping drives but the 17 isn't recognised.

gregrocker - All my devices are IDE. I managed to clean and set an active partition with the drive in my IDE/USB caddie but as soon as I reconnected it to the IDE ribbon I couldn't see it.

bobkn - Spot-on. I originally bought this mb for its IDE support although it is a bit dated now and only supports up to 2GB. I have a trunk full of IDE drives and tried to save a bit of cash at the last upgrade a few years ago. I may now have to face reality and bite the bullet with a new mb and keep the single IDE controller it will have for my optical drives. Add on controller cards are not the most reliable alternative. The Windows 7 upgrade was a logical step but has caused considerable grief. The microsoft website did confirm support for all my hardware and this is borne out by the fact that it is currently working with the smaller IBM drive - although I do have problems with the onboard USB controllers. I'll give the driver package a go anyway.

THanks again everyone.

bobkn - tried the update you suggested but couldn't install. It's not the right package. Received the message

"...cannot find the proper component for the current platform"

who on earth writes these things. Does Bill Gates employ cryptic clue writers or just people with a weird sense of humour. I think it means this is not the correct package for your system. I'll have a hunt around.

Sorry, the Maxtor drive you referenced googles as a SATA drive.

Try plugging in the HD alone as master to each available port. Does it show in installer then? How about BIOS setup?

Tried that. Even tried using it as a single clean drive to install Win 7 on but no luck. Installer says "no HD detected". Shows up correctly in BIOS.

It shouldn't be the driver needed if other IDE drives are showing there, but you can try unzipping the chipset drivers to a stick or CD and inserting the IDE controller driver at the Load Drivers link on same page where the HD doesn't show up during install.

Otherwise update your BIOS, or reset the CMOS, or try one of the other steps I gave earlier. Need some feedback before giving any more.