IDE hard drive not recognized

[TyMyShew]

I was posting in another thread and realized I shouldn't hijack his/her thread. I also tried looking around the forums for a resolution to my problem and either 1) can't find it or 2) probably didn't look hard enough.

Before I get into the problem, here's my HD configuration:

1 x 500GB SATA HD (2 partitions) -- Master Drive -- Windows 7 Pro 64-bit installed in one of the partitions (150GB partition)
1 x 250GB IDE HD (no partitions) -- Slave Drive -- just for file dump.

Here's my problem:

I installed Windows 7 Pro 64-bit on one of the partitions of the SATA HD. It works great and recognizes both partitions of this drive. However, I cannot "see" my IDE HD. I went through to disk management and I can see the drive there with no drive letter. I tried to assign it a drive letter via right clicking, but all options were grayed out (meaning, not clickable). I read other posts but they either have the same solution (assigning drive letter) or the problem is slightly different from mine. I've had this HD configuration before and had Windows XP Pro 64-bit on it too.

Anyways, I'm not sure what to do and I don't want to delete the files on that HD. Anyone have a solution to this problem? Thanks!

 

[TyMyShew]

I should also add that the two partitions have drive letters of C: and D: (Windows installed on C: ). Also, I'm not dual-booting (as I see that question being asked in other threads).

 

[Jonathan_King]

Wait... you say that your IDE drive has no partitions? If so, that would explain everything. You cannot give a drive a letter; you can give a volume a letter. If you really have no partitions on it, the first step is to create a volume on it.

Assuming you were correct in saying that the drive has no partitions, it means that somehow any previous partitions were deleted. You can try using Diskdigger to recover any data.

 

[TyMyShew]

Wait... you say that your IDE drive has no partitions? If so, that would explain everything. You cannot give a drive a letter; you can give a volume a letter. If you really have no partitions on it, the first step is to create a volume on it.

To be honest, I'm not sure if it has a partition or not. It worked in Windows XP Pro as a slave drive. I didn't change anything to the IDE HD when I was installing Windows 7. Should I have?

 

[Jonathan_King]

To be honest, I'm not sure if it has a partition or not. It worked in Windows XP Pro as a slave drive. I didn't change anything to the IDE HD when I was installing Windows 7. Should I have?

Okay, let's try this

open diskpart (press Win+R and type diskpart)
once it has opened, type "list disk" without quotes
find the IDE disk
type "select disk [n]" n is whatever number your drive is, do not type the brackets
type "list partition" no quotes

See what the results are.

And no, you did not need to change the disk any when you installed Windows.

 

[TyMyShew]

Jonathan King: I did the diskpart thing and the drive does show up. After typing the "list partition" this is what I see:
http://www.sevenforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33498&stc=1&d=1256711983


I'm not sure what to do after that. I actually see the IDE drive in disk drive (right-click Computer > properties > Device Manager > Disk Drives.)

I've also attached two pictures of disk management window (where I described, earlier, about seeing the drive but unable to assign a drive letter, or do anything, to the drive).






(Disk 0 is the IDE one).

I'm at a lost of what to do now

 

[Jonathan_King]

try right clicking on the volume, not the drive. Just an idea.

 

[whest]

Firstly try this, and do the below if this doesnt work or check in any case -
right clicked the drive, go to properties, go to security then change the owner to you.

2nd hard drive issue, how do u take ownership???

Go into your bios and see what you have enabled under sata configuration - choices are IDE , Raid or AHCI. If you have AHCI enabled or Raid even (but less likely though - if this is enabled AHCI is also enabled, and you have the option to use a Raid configuration if you ever decide to you want to set it up) W7 will load the driver for it during installation, but for it to function correctly you need to download the Intel Matrix Storage Manager from the intel site.

You will find it at the intel site - http://downloadcenter.intel.com/default.aspx
Select chipsets - chipset software - intel(R) matrix storage manager - Select Operating System - select W7RC1 (64bit OR 32 bit) - select drivers - select intel(R) matrix storage manager 8.9.0.1023 - download and install.
(make sure you don't download the floppy configuration utility by mistake) - it will show up if you select utilities.

 

[TyMyShew]

Firstly try this, and do the below if this doesnt work or check in any case -
right clicked the drive, go to properties, go to security then change the owner to you.

2nd hard drive issue, how do u take ownership???

Sorry, where am I right-clicking (I know you said drive...but in Disk Management? Disk Drive section? Because I can't "see" the drive in Computer.)

I went to the site and looks like the intel matrix storage manager supports SATA...but doesn't mention anything about IDE. Does it support IDE? (I haven't checked my bios yet because I'm away from the computer at the moment but thought I might ask about the driver you're asking me to download).

 

[whest]

If its enabled in the bios yes you should install it - as the driver will aready be installed by W7 during installation - the matrix software updates that driver if there is a later version, and adds the extra functionality.

The same here I couldnt find anything there about IDE support, but you would think it would support the other drive - on the other hand the only other choice is to set the bios to IDE, ie if it isnt that already, however, you will have to reinstall W7 - you might find a fix on the internet but by the time you have found it you might of reinstalled the OS 3 times - because W7 wont boot up if you change it from AHCI to IDE. This would be a last resort and I cannot guarantee it would work.

 

[TyMyShew]

Jonathan King: I tried that and it gave me the same options.

whest: In BIOS, I can only find (to my knowledge) SATA AHCI. I found the IDE HD though, but didn't know how to make it "active".

NEWS: I made it work!!!

However, it wasn't through the various means that you both have provided (though I am very grateful for your help!)

I still don't really know how it worked or why it worked but this is what I did:
In the third picture in my previous post, you see that I right-clicked the "blank drive" and no options were available. However, when I right clicked the "Disk 0" (which it was assigned to) and selected "Convert to Dynamic" it suddenly went "online" or it worked. Now, I don't know what dynamic is or what basic is (which is what my SATA drive is currently at).

The problem is fixed but I'd still like to know what these "Dynamic" or "Basic" drives mean. Do you two know?

Again, thanks for all your help!

 

[whest]

Yes open help in disk management it will give you the details, and how to change back to basic, as that is what it should be set as - you will understand when you find it in help.
Disk management - help -contents - change a basic disk to a dynamic disk - read thoroughly.
I would be careful if you have data on that drive, and also be hesitant to accept that its fixed, and look for another solution - on the other hand hopefully when you change it back to basic you can assign a drive letter to it.
Read this link also http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc757696(WS.10).aspx

 

[TyMyShew]

Whest: So, I read up on Dynamic and Basic and...I'm still a bit confused at the difference (I mean, I read the differences, but the terminologies are above my head). I don't know their specific uses or "pros"/"cons" of using either. If I'm using a disk as Dynamic for pure file storage, is that bad? Will it randomly "corrupt" or "break"? I kind of don't want to go through the hassle of backing up, deleting and then re-assigning volumes or what not. If it's a must, I guess I'll do it!

Also, there is now a drive letter (ever since I converted it to Dynamic). It is now F:.

 

[whest]

Please convert it to basic,and see whether it works - the drive letter remains, and you can still access it , that way you have no problems - i know your worries - but im still learning from my experiences, and thats how Ive survived by trying things - for one you should check your bios to see what it says under sata configuration, and i'll try to find out whether the matrix driver supports IDE - you might of stumbled on a great solution but be careful.

 

[xtreampctek]

EDIT* didn't read last page and realized the problem was fixed when I posted this.

 

[TyMyShew]

EDIT* didn't read last page and realized the problem was fixed when I posted this.

It sort of is fixed...but not really. It's currently in Dynamic drive and not Basic drive. Still not sure if it's good or bad but I guess better to be safe with Basic!

 

[whest]

Put it back to basic - as that will cause you less problems, and if you check your other drive it will be basic also, you can easily return to dynamic.
Check in the disk column furthest to the left it will be basic (where it says online etc.)

 

[whest]

Does The Intel Matrix Storage Manager support both Sata and Pata drives -
I found the link on intel site, as I thought the intel storage manager supports both pata and sata drives - below is a link to the page - you will find it under General Information plus all other valuable info on the matrix manager.

Desktop Boards - Troubleshooting Serial ATA / RAID issues

 

[Darryl Licht]

Before I get into the problem, here's my HD configuration:

1 x 500GB SATA HD (2 partitions) -- Master Drive -- Windows 7 Pro 64-bit installed in one of the partitions (150GB partition)
1 x 250GB IDE HD (no partitions) -- Slave Drive -- just for file dump.

Here's my problem:

I installed Windows 7 Pro 64-bit on one of the partitions of the SATA HD. It works great and recognizes both partitions of this drive. However, I cannot "see" my IDE HD. I went through to disk management and I can see the drive there with no drive letter. I tried to assign it a drive letter via right clicking, but all options were grayed out (meaning, not clickable). I read other posts but they either have the same solution (assigning drive letter) or the problem is slightly different from mine. I've had this HD configuration before and had Windows XP Pro 64-bit on it too.

Anyways, I'm not sure what to do and I don't want to delete the files on that HD. Anyone have a solution to this problem? Thanks!

I'm sad to say by the looks of your screenshot from Disk Manager it looks like your 250GB HDD - Disk 0 is not formatted... it doesnt say NTFS or FAT32 on the image representing the HDD! But it could be an issue with Win7 and mixing PATA with SATA.

Do you have a 2nd PC you could throw the 250GB HDD in to test? That's an easy way to know if its formatted and working! Or get one of these or similar... Newegg.com - SABRENT USB-DSC5 Serial ATA (SATA) or IDE 2.5" and 3.5" to USB 2.0 Cable Converter Adapter - Adapters & Gender Changers

I swear by mine but Im a fix and repair guy and use it often!

 

[whest]

Its ok I only left that comment & link, as we were interested in whether the intel matrix storage manager supported pata drives. He solved his issues just by clicking the column with online/offline in disk management eventually, but he shouldnt of needed to do this. He is happy, so we will just have to leave it as that for the time being.