Need Help - HDD Not Detected in BIOS

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  1. Posts : 8
    Windows 7
       #1

    Need Help - HDD Not Detected in BIOS


    Hi All,

    I'm new here and have dug around a bit but can't find anything that helps with my problem.

    First the HW details:

    PC is 5-6 years old
    It was built by a local, well known computer shop that's been around for years
    MOBO is an Asus K8VSE Deluxe
    BIOS is AMI version 08.00.09, Build date 09/08/05, ID A0058002

    Next a little back story:

    The PC was running WinXP Pro until one day it wouldn't boot, saying that a critical file was missing. I played around with it and *thought* the HDD had failed. So I parked the PC for a while and just used my laptop, until this week, when I decided to get this pig working again.

    While troubleshooting the issue (months ago) I noticed that my one and only SATA HD was not plugged into the standard SATA port on the Mobo, but on the SATA port on the on-board RAID controller. Why this was done is beyond me, but it was done when this machine was built.

    Now the current situation:

    I decided to go with a new WD Caviar Black, 1.0TB drive, and Windows 7 Pro. Plugged everything in, set the BIOS to boot to the Windows CD, and fired it up.

    First thing is that the BIOS does not see a HDD, hit F1 to continue. So I did.

    Windows 7 started loading files, and I thought I was in good shape. But alas, 7 could also not see the HDD but asked if I wanted to load drivers.

    Now I am confused; drivers should not help if the BIOS can't even see the HDD, right?

    So I futzed around with the BIOS, and can't see a whole lot of anything mentioning SATA. I thought that if you set the IDE type to auto detect, the BIOS would figure out there was a SATA drive, but apparently not in my case.

    All cables are from HDD to mobo are plugged in firmly, the drive spins up. I even tried a new SATA cable and got the same result.

    I reset the BIOS to factory defaults and got the same result.

    I disabled and re-enabled the on-board Promise controller and got the same result.

    At this point, I think it's either something so simple that I am overlooking it, or the MOBO is fried. But remember, when this all started all was fine save for a missing file that would not allow Win XP to boot, so . . . . .

    WHAT GIVES?

    Thanks in advance for any and all responses.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 9,606
    Win7 Enterprise, Win7 x86 (Ult 7600), Win7 x64 Ult 7600, TechNet RTM on AMD x64 (2.8Ghz)
       #2

    Can you pre-format the HD on another computer. Do you still have a MB driver disk ?

    Might need to load SATA drivers on that old of MB.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 6,285
    Windows 10 Pro X64
       #3

    Where is the new drive plugged in? The mother board or the Raid controller? Try moving it to which ever one it's not plugged into. If not help, check BIOS and select the non-RAID settings.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 2,606
    Windows 7 Pro X64 SP1
       #4

    Is the new drive plugged into the primary SATA controller (not the "RAID" controller)? That may be required for the BIOS to detect the drive. (Was the old drive visible to the BIOS before, or only in the sub-BIOS for the third-party RAID controller?)

    If the drive isn't defective, there's a chance that the mainboard's SATA controller does not like a 300MB/s drive. (The controller is a 150MB/s one.) The drive can be set to 150MB/s with a jumper. That may be worth a try.

    This isn't relevant to whether the drive is detected, but you may need to install drivers for the Via chipset. Via doesn't list any for Win7, but the Vista ones will probably work:

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

    Old (Socket 754) system. Good luck.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 8
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Thanks for the responses thus far, everyone.

    The new drive is currently plugged into the regular, non-RAID SATA1 port on the motherboard.

    The old drive was plugged into the RAID controller (which is built in to this mobo). Bob, your 150 vs. 300 Mb/s comment is interesting and may very well explain why my single drive was plugged into the RAID controller instead of the normal SATA port in the first place.

    I'll now try to plug things into the RAID controller and see if anything works. I'll report back once I've had a chance to play around some more.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 3,187
    Main - Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-Bit; 2nd - Windows Server 2008 R2
       #6

    If the computer is that old it predates the availability of 1TB drives. A simple BIOS update might fix you right up. :)

    (Keep in mind that there is no such thing as "A simple BIOS update" - should you go this route be very careful and follow the MB manufacturers instructions to a "T".)

    I would read the Release Notes for any newer BIOS's which might be available and see if they address detection of larger hard drives.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 8
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #7

    OK - progress, but not much.

    I plugged the new drive into the RAID controller. BIOS now sees the drive, but Windows 7 does not.

    This is a fresh, new drive and I am doing a clean install of Win 7.

    Someone suggested that I chuck the mobo cd into the drive and let the drivers load.
    The problem is, I was not given that CD when I had this computer built.

    I went to the Asus support web site and all I see for available downloads are several different BIOS versions.

    I went to WD's site to look for help and didn't find anything there.

    Where do I go next?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #8
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 8
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #9


    How do I take a screen shot when the PC has no OS? This is a brand new, clean drive, and I am trying to install Win 7 on it. BIOS sees the drive but Windows 7 does not.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 151
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit
       #10

    Do we assume you have initiated the HDD already. If it is brand spanking new, you have to setup the drive first. And you may need to install a 3rd party driver for it, as Win7 may not have the driver pre-loaded for that drive.
      My Computer


 
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