Two SATA won't work together? different? Stuck, please help!

[geohill]

Hey gang. this is my first time posting on a thread in this place because ive never really had to, but i have a feeling ill be coming back for more info. If you can help, it would be awesome.

So heres the deal. I have an HP dv9000 laptop with win7, 4gb ram. for the past year ive had two SATA hdd's (internal) and theyve worked great. They are each 120gb (C: and D

D: was getting full, so i wanted to buy a new one. I bought a 640gb SATA and my plan was just to swap out my D: (since i back up D: all the time)

i took out D: (drive spot #2) and put in my new Drive. when i booted, i was getting serious lag, and errors. i figured it just needed formatting.

I brought it over to my mac, plugged it in with an external connector, formatted to fat32 - (just so i could later NTFS it). Brought it back to my HP, popped it in... HP logo came up, but hung for about 45 seconds!! Normally just takes 10 seconds. then the windows 7 logo comes up "Starting windows" and hangs. literally takes 10-12 minutes to get the windows flag showing up, then just sits there. nothing.

i took out C: and D:, swapped the D: (640gb) to Spot 1 just to see if it would work (the new one) it worked, but didnt have an OS. so just for kicks and giggles and further testing i installed a previous Win7 image i backed up. it works great! the new HDD works perfect by itself.

So if youre not getting the jyst, or im not making sense. My original C: and my new D: (640gb) dont work together, but individually they both work great. did tests on both and are fine. Even my old D: (120gb) works great with the C:, but my new one doesnt.

ugh. i hope this makes sense. ive been researching so much lately. i sound like such a child. if you can help that would be awesome. thanks!

OH! forgot to tell you - it works great plugged into my external USB connector, just not internal!!

 

[Lemur]

Have you check your bios for correct configuration?

 

[geohill]

Have you check your bios for correct configuration?

Well. thats a good question. I went into my BIOS and there really is no option to change the SATA1 or SATA2, or anything. the only real good my BIOS is, is changing the boot order and System Time. ha! as far as the boot order, its only "notebook harddrive" nothing more specific.

 

[whs]

Have you check your bios for correct configuration?

I agree, that looks very much like a BIOS problem.

 

[geohill]

Have you check your bios for correct configuration?

I agree, that looks very much like a BIOS problem.

ok. so, ill reboot with both the harddrives in, go to BIOS. then what should i look for? what kind of options should i change. im pretty familiar with BIOS- but this specific problem is just absolutely foreign to me.

 

[geohill]

Have you check your bios for correct configuration?

ok. so i put in the harddrive (its in right now) and went into bios. my bios must be REALLY simple, because there is nothing to check in the bios. do you mean i need to update them?

thanks for your help, both of you.

the Hdd is in now. im afraid to do anything that requires scanning of my disks, it might lock up on me.

i have never updated bios in my life. let me know what to do! thanks!

 

[Lemur]

if you wanted to pursue this further, what is the name and model # of your mobo?

 

[geohill]

if you wanted to pursue this further, what is the name and model # of your mobo?

Manufacturer: Quanta
Model: 30B9 65.2C
Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce6150 Rev.A2
SB: NVIDIA nForce 410/430 MCP

BIOS: Brand Hewlett-Packard
Version: F.42
Date 03/09/2009

 

[DeaconFrost]

Just to be clear, this laptop has two internal hard drive bays?

 

[geohill]

Just to be clear, this laptop has two internal hard drive bays?

Yes it does. Before i bought my new harddrive i had both filled. each having a SATA 120gb. I used one (C for, well. C: stuff. and bay 2 was D:.

both worked great together.

the new one is a SATA 640gb.

works great by itself and external USB. but with my C:, doesnt recognize and windows takes FOREVER to load.

 

[geohill]

if you wanted to pursue this further, what is the name and model # of your mobo?

Also, the BIOS are Phoenix Tech... what should i do?

 

[geohill]

i believe you all, but its hard to believe its a BIOS problem. My bios are up to date (latest, 2009) and Ive had two SATA hard drives in here for a long time. is it something to do with SATA1 SATA2? My friend was telling me about the different "speeds" of SATA drives. could this be an issue?

 

[DeaconFrost]

There shouldn't ever be an issue with using differing SATA drives of differing speeds. SATA ports or their own channels, so there's no confliction. Have you checked if the laptop supports a drive that large, or if that new drive has an increased power draw that the laptop can't handle?

 

[geohill]

now that's something... as far as the size of the drive, my friend has a 750gb internal, and have found nothing after searching regarding size limitations. as far as power goes... the new one is 0.85A and my old one(s) are 0.48A.

its a pretty beastly laptop, though - and im using it on the external USB connection. think that could be the issue??

 

[DeaconFrost]

Now you're confusing me even more. Do you mean the 640 GB drive works fine when connected externally, but not when connected internally?

 

[geohill]

Now you're confusing me even more. Do you mean the 640 GB drive works fine when connected externally, but not when connected internally?

sorry bud. i know it was confusing, but like in the original post, i tried to say the 640gb works FINE when connected externally. but here is the setup.

options:

a) 640 internal + 120 internal = no workie
b) 640 external + 120 internal = success.
c) 640 by itself internally = success

see what i mean? the 640 works great right now as an external hdd, but when i put it in the bay, no go.

but the weird thing is, for the past however many months ive had two hdd's, one in each bay (both 120gb) and its worked fine...

 

[DeaconFrost]

My guess then is, given the power draw of the new drive...having two internally may be more than it can handle. I know it doesn't seem like much, but laptops are meant to have precise power draws to save on battery power. However, that is just a guess.

If it was me, I'd probably just stick to using the 640 by itself then.

 

[geohill]

that sounds like the most practical and reasonable response. im just going to make an image of my OS now and plop it over to the 640. thanks so much everyone for your help

 

[geohill]

found the solution and forgot to post the answer.

i needed a simple jumper on the sata HDD. to drop the speed down works like a charm now, no lag or anything.