Computer will Recognize HD in Bios but not in Windows

[NiklasK]

I just finished building my new PC. Everything was working great up the the point where the Comp wouldn't boot into the Bios so after a lot of trial and error I figured out the Mobo was broken. So I RMA'ed the mobo and a week later a brand new one was sitting on my door step.

So I punch it in and SWEET it boots into Bios. So I set the correct voltages and speed for the memory and checked that everything was right. I then go ahead and install Windows XP (Home Ed) and works without a hitch. Had a weird problem where it incorrectly labeled the #'s of the SATA ports on the manual but since I had already installed Windows on a drive that was *supposadly* in SATA #5 I didn't know if Windows would still boot if I switched it into the SATA #1 (sata0) since I didn't know if it stored where the drive was located, and haven't really tested further.

So it didn't really matter that the drive wasn't in the Sata 1 spot as long as it was booting right? Right. So after I get all the updates and stuff for Windows and install some of my programs I noticed that it recognized my main drive (SeaGate barracuda 320 Gig) that I boot from but not my secondary drive (Western Digital Caviar 80 Gig). I reboot to bios and sure enough it says its there and says it has 80 Gig storage capacity, boot up windows, and nope it doesn't show up as a drive in "My Computer". So I got to Device Manager under "Disk Drives" and it shows both of my HD's. So why can it only recognize one?

Please help guys this is my first time building a PC and I was so happy that I didn't have "many" common technical problems people usualy have up until now.

Thanks, Nick

 

[pscowboy]

What's the state of the 80g?
Is it blank?

If so, you go to Control Panel - Admin Tools - Comp Mngmt - Disk Mngmnt, format it.

 

[cisco]

Since you have it in SATA #5 I would just leave it, all SATAs are masters. If formatting doesn't help with the 80gig you might check the jumper on the back of the HD and make sure it is set to the proper setting. Is it a SATA drive as well?

 

[Dade_0182]

It probably doesn't have a partition yet. Right-click on my computer, select manage. Go to Disk management in the left pane. You should see your 80Gb on the right hand side now. Format and create a new partition. Either that or you can use something like partition magic.

Did you notice when you installed windows that it formats it first? Basically for the new partition. Do that (format) with all new drives before doing anything else with them.

It's all made easy with windows XP. I remember using Fdisk alot in my day...

 

[Dr_G]

I have (had) a similar problem. I was using a highpoint raid controller, plugged in a WD caviar 160 gig, and the drive showed up in the raid card's bios. Once I got into Windows, the channel showed up empty (this was on highpoint's raid management software). I turned the computer off, changed the channel the drive was on, and the card's bios showed the drive in the correct spot. In windows, still no drive. I tried the drive on a different controller (Intel south bridge) and the drive prevented the computer from posting. I already RMA'd the drive with NewEgg.

BTW, did your drive have the Apple logo covered up by a white sticker? :lol:

 

[4Ryan6]

SATA5 may have you on a secondary controller, load the controller drivers.

 

[RicoSuave]

This might be trivial, but make sure your Windows version is at least patched to SP1a.

Service Pack 1a contained a fix to what sounds like you're experiencing. It now supports drives over 80GB and software-based RAID monitoring. That's what fixed my problem. Then once it is installed, you should be able to set up your RAID configuration, access your large drives, etc.

I also suggest you take a look at a program called Partition Magic if you wanted to partition your RAIDs.

 

[Dr_G]

SATA5 may have you on a secondary controller, load the controller drivers.

@Niklask: Do you have any other controllers that you can try the drive on? What motherboard/controller are you using? It's not quite normal to have more than 4 ports.

Is the drive spinning up?

 

[NiklasK]

Well I reset it completely and made a new partition (even though I had already partitioned it previously which I forgot to mention) and now it works for some reason so the only explanation I can think of is the partition I made was somehow corrupted.

Thanks for your help guys, and I'm glad it didn't turn out into something more complicated or annoying like sending it back.