PATA HDD question

Stew1972

Honorable
Dec 6, 2013
9
0
10,520
I'm trying to get data off of an old PATA HDD. My new computer's MOBO has 6 SATA ports and one IDE port so I plugged in the old HDD into the IDE port. When I boot up the computer, I can see the drive but I can't access it because the system thinks it's a 3.5 floppy and keeps asking me to insert a disk. What am I missing? Thanks in advance for helping out a rookie.
 
Solution
You guys are going to kill me. The problem was the fact that there wasn't any power on the connector that I plugged into the drive. I'll figure that part out later. I swapped power connectors and it cam right up. Thanks for all the help, though, I still learned a few things.

OhSnapWord

Honorable
Dec 6, 2013
13
0
10,520
What is the make and model of the board? I've never seen this one before, but if you're on Windows, you can go into Disk Management and assign the hard drive a different drive letter. That might be your answer.
 
It probably isn't an IDE port.....

I bet you plugged your hard drive into the 40-pin floppy connector port. If it is a header without an enclosure and your cable is not keyed, this is more easy to mistakenly do than most people think....... so I hear =)
 

Stew1972

Honorable
Dec 6, 2013
9
0
10,520
That's exactly what I did, Skit. Where else should I plug it in? The connection on the HDD is 40 pin. The mother board is an ASUS P6T. I will see if I can fix it in the Disk Management. Thanks again for all the help.
 
Make sure IDE is enabled in your BIOS. It POST's in a different spot because it is handled by a different controller chip then the rest of your SATA drives.
If you turn the Asus splash page off, you can see the first screen POST which will show any SATA drive in Ports 2-8 (Red ports) side mounted and straight from motherboard. The second POST screen will show any SATA devices in ports 0 or 1(which are Orange in color) and PATA devices when enabled in BIOS(handled by J-Micron controller).

J-Micron controller = SATA Ports 0 & 1 as well as the PATA port
Intel ICH10R southbridge chipset = SATA ports 2-8
 

Stew1972

Honorable
Dec 6, 2013
9
0
10,520
The J-Micron controller is enabled and set to IDE. I can see the drive in Windows so that means the MOBO is recognizing it but it just thinks it's a floppy. Right now it's plugged into the 40-pin IDE port, is there a different port on the MOBO it should be plugged into?
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
I am sceptical when you say the system thinks your old IDE HDD is a floppy. It appears you think that because the machine boots and says you should insert a disk.

A message to insert a boot disk in the drive comes up when the system tries to boot from a particular device and cannot find a bootable OS on it. MAYBE what is happening is this: now that your machine has an IDE unit installed, the BIOS has defaulted to booting from the IDE drive, rather than the SATA unit it used to boot from.

Try going into BIOS Setup and checking a few things:
1. Does the BIOS detect the IDE HDD properly?
2. Look where you set the Boot Priority Sequence. It should be set the way it was before - probably try the optical drive first, then a particular SATA unit. It should NOT have any reference to the IDE HDD you just added. If you change any things here, remember to SAVE and Exit
 

Stew1972

Honorable
Dec 6, 2013
9
0
10,520
Paperdoc, I wasn't clear on that point, my apologies. My computer isn't trying to boot from the IDE HDD. However, I don't see that it recognizes the PATA HDD in the BIOS. The only place I see the drive is in windows under "computer". Additionally, it's not anywhere to be seen in the Disk Manager.

Popatim, I will check for the drivers you mentioned.
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
If Windows can show you something of the old HDD in My Computer, then it MUST be detected by BIOS, AND it MUST show up in Disk Management.

So, first let's check the IDE installation. You have one IDE port on your mobo, and one IDE HDD plugged into it. Any IDE port MUST have a Master device if it is to operate, and this is set by a jumper on the back edge of the HDD. Use the diagram on the HDD unit itself to tell you how to set the jumper to Master or, if it exists, Master with No Slave. Now plug into the HDD the END (Black) connector of the 80-conductor ribbon cable. (Yes, 80 wires in it, but only 40 pins on the connector.) The other end of the cable with the Blue connector plugs into the mobo IDE port.

Next, check BIOS Setup for where the IDE port is configured. Are you sure the drive is not there? If it is not, perhaps the detection process is wrong. Many BIOS's have a separate screen where you can force it to do a more thorough HDD detection if it failed the automatic process. Look for that.

Next, check the BIOS for where you configure the floppy drive port. Since it appears you actually do not have one, DISable it. MAYBE it is trying hard to get a response from a non-existent drive. If you make any changes in BIOS Setup, don't forget to SAVE and Exit.

In Disk Management on the right there are two panes, and EACH of them SCROLLS so you can see all they contain. The upper right one shows you all the devices Windows understands and can use, and your IDE unit ought to be there if it can be "seen" in My Computer. But look closely at the LOWER RIGHT pane. The IDE HDD ought to be there for sure if BIOS has detected it. Check whether its size is correct and whether it has a any Partitions on it. Each Partition should have a letter name assigned to it already. If it does not, you can RIGHT-click on a Partition and choose a letter name for it. If you do that, back out of Disk Management and reboot so Windows can update its Registry.
 

Stew1972

Honorable
Dec 6, 2013
9
0
10,520
Thank you for the detailed assistance. The cable and the jumper settings on the HDD are correct. It is the only drive attached to the IDE port and the HDD is set as the Master. I went into the BIOS and disabled the Legacy Floppy and now it doesn't even show me the old HDD as a floppy under My Computer.

The J-Micron eSATA/PATA Controller is enabled and the Controller Mode is set to IDE.

I looked for the page that sets the detection process and the only thing I came up with was a setting to either disable or enable Quick Boot. Could that be it? And I also found a setting to enable PnP. I really appreciate the continued help.
 

Stew1972

Honorable
Dec 6, 2013
9
0
10,520
You guys are going to kill me. The problem was the fact that there wasn't any power on the connector that I plugged into the drive. I'll figure that part out later. I swapped power connectors and it cam right up. Thanks for all the help, though, I still learned a few things.
 
Solution