Brand new PC that runs windows XP SP3 wont recognize SATA2 hdd, which is recognized in BIOS though

dolke · Mar 4, 2014

Hi,

I purchased new brand new PC and installed Windows XP SP3 on it instead of Windows 7 or 8 because of some compatibility issues with some specific software that we use...

PC came with the SATA hdd on which XP is installed. I attached another SATA2 hdd WD10EALS 1TB which is recognized in BIOS but is not visible in the XP.

When I say it is not visible in the XP i mean it is not recognized in disk management.

That second drive that I attached was earlier used in another PC as backup storage driver.

Mobo is ASUS P8H61-M LX3 R2.0
BIOS is most recent version.

Any suggestions?

chris987 · Mar 4, 2014

a brand new pc needs windows 7 64 bit. you can try this instead. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-xp-mode-windows-7-win7,10213.html. also have you tried running your software in xp compatability mode?

CraigN · Mar 4, 2014

Everything after XP SP1 is required to recognize disks over 137 GB in size, so, he should be able to use it fine.

Is it recognized when you boot up from your Windows XP install disk? If it doesn't show up in Disk Management, try seeing if it shows up there. You can just create a partition on it in setup (don't hit next to install windows) and exit setup, when you start up again you should be able to see it properly.

dolke · Mar 4, 2014

Hi chris987,

Ty for the answer. We need XP for numerous reasons, windows 7 or 8 is not an option unfortunately.
So we are stuck with the new PC running windows XP SP3 which is installed on a SATA3 I think hdd that came with the it.

Now we need to make this attached hdd to work on this PC as well.

dolke · Mar 4, 2014

CraigN :

Although this looks like a fairly easy and straight forward solution we cant partition the disk. Data that is on the disk are the backup files so we cant format it or re-partition it.

dolke · Mar 4, 2014

CraigN :

Although this looks like a fairly easy and straight forward solution we cant partition the disk. Data that is on the disk are the backup files so we cant format it or re-partition it.

chris987 · Mar 4, 2014

ok, i see. is the hdd's shown on bios? an sp3 windows xp should recognize it. is the hdd connected on the mobo chipset controller or on a third party one. are mobo drivers installed?

dolke · Mar 4, 2014

Yes, UEFI BIOS recognizes both drives.
It is on the mobo controller not the 3rd party...

All drivers are installed from what I can see in the device manager in XP... no yellow triangles and similar stuff.

chris987 · Mar 4, 2014

well is drive option set on ide in bios. also what format is the hdd fat32 or ntfs? is there a chance the drive is recognized in disk management but as raw files format?it is a rare think for a drive to exist in bios but not on disk management

http://www.squidoo.com/change-raw-to-ntfs-without-any-data-loss

Chicano · Mar 5, 2014

1. Try switching the HDD settings in the BIOS to a different mode (IDE mode, AHCI or SATA).
2. Try assigning the HDD a different drive letter from the command prompt:
Start/Run/type: CMD and press Enter > type DISKPART and Enter > LIST VOLUME and Enter > all drives in the computer should be listed... identify the 1TB HDD by number, and type; SELECT VOLUME # and Enter > ASSIGN LETTER X... where X is the letter you pick. If the HDD already shows a letter assigned to it, change it to another one, and type EXIT. Check if the HDD is now visible in Explorer or Disk Manager.

dolke · Mar 10, 2014

Hi sorry for the late repay...

I tried all those modes, IDE, ASCI and SATA and non of them worked.
Drive is formated in NTFS.
Diskpart is not showing the second 1TB hdd.

chris987 · Mar 10, 2014

try another sata and power cable and finaly try the disk on another pc first with windows 7 and if it recognises it then on another pc with xp if possible. cant think of anything else!

cheapo gamer · Mar 10, 2014

have it powered on the system and on windows xp , click my computer then unplug the sata data cable and plug it back in while the system is turned on , 4 times plug and unplug was the sweetun for my 500Gb wd till it was recognised , not had a problem ever since it was recognised , boots with the rest of my system now

dolke · Mar 10, 2014

Thanks for the suggestions with the cable. I will check it asap.

I tried the hdd on other PC, its recognized.

dolke · Mar 10, 2014

I tried switching the cables and it was the same.

I also plugged/unplugged the SATA cable from the hdd few times while Windows XP was up and running but hdd was not detected in the MyComputer.

dolke · Mar 10, 2014

Is it possible that SATA drivers are not recognized for that hdd?

cheapo gamer · Mar 10, 2014

have only the hdd with the os installed and plug both data cables in at the same time on the 1 tb hdds, please ensure you dont do this with any power cables though

dolke · Mar 10, 2014

Also I tried SATA port 3 and 4 on the mobo and it was the same... so cable is not the problem, sata port on mobo also not, BIOS see the drive on both ports 3 and 4 where ever I put it...

dolke · Mar 10, 2014

@cheapo gamer

Im not sure how do you mean to unplugg/plug both hdd in the same time?
On one I have my system... dont you think it will freeze or something?

dolke · Mar 10, 2014

Do you mean to plug in both ends of the SATA cable for 1TB drive in the same time?

cheapo gamer · Mar 10, 2014

sorry i was under the impression you had a single hdd for your os and then 2 1tb drives, a quicker solution would be a usb hdd enclosure , sorry i cant help more

dolke · Mar 10, 2014

I have one SATA HDD which came with the new PC. I installed windows XP SP3 on it and it is working fine.
Other HDD is WD SATA HDD with 1 TB capacity. It was previously working in old PC as a storage and it is formatted in NTFS, and it contains some backup files. Previous PC was also running Windows XP SP3.

I tried:

1. Changeing mobo port. It always recognises drive in BIOS
2. Changed SATA cable, still same problem
3. Tried all modes in bios IDE, SATA, ACHI... in non of these modes 1tb is recognised by Windows XP

cheapo gamer · Mar 10, 2014

look at the hdd does it have any jumpers on it? little blue square things you can pull off ?

dolke · Mar 10, 2014

I think there is no jumper... Please take a look at the image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0yy9wy0fpzs1654/20140310_153158.jpg

dolke · Mar 10, 2014

Btw, I have some jumpers from older ATA drives if I need to use any as a solution to this problem...

Brand new PC that runs windows XP SP3 wont recognize SATA2 hdd, which is recognized in BIOS though

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