New build won't recognize HD

[kohd]

Hey guys. I finished building my new computer late last night. Everything seems to be ok...powers on fine and loads up BIOS etc. But the system doesn't recognize my new WD 640 Black SATA HD. What I find strange is that going into BIOS, I can see it shows this drive in the SATA list. So it would seem to be in working order. Yet when I let the computer load by itself I get the message:

"No hard disk is installed" and then "Reboot and Select proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key".

When I boot using the Windows 7 RC installation DVD, it does start loading the setup but stalls out before it starts copying any files.

I have set the DVD drive to boot first followed by the SATA HD (which is listed in BIOS damnit! ;P) but nothing I do seems to solve this problem. I have set my SATA drive as IDE in BIOS as well.

It's been a LONG time since I built myself a computer so this might be a very simple fix. Any help is appreciated.

(If I recall correctly, HDs used to have to be partitioned if they were large (i.e. 500GB into two 250GB drives) is this the problem?? Mine is a 640GB WD SATA Black edition.

 

[Yoosty]

Lets see if I can help you.

(If I recall correctly, HDs used to have to be partitioned if they were large (i.e. 500GB into two 250GB drives) is this the problem?? Mine is a 640GB WD SATA Black edition.

Th answer is No. You do not need to partiton drive.

This is taken from WD site.

How to initialize or write a signature to a hard drive in Windows Vista

Question
How do I initialize or write a signature to a hard drive in Windows Vista?

Answer
Note: This procedure is for adding a new blank hard drive to your computer, or a drive that you have done a Write Zero's to, using our Data LifeGuard Diagnostics software.

Occasionally, a hard drive may not be detected by a computer running Windows Vista. If that is the case, you may need to initialize (write a signature to) the drive. The drive could be a newly purchased internal drive or an internal/external drive that you have done a Write Zeros to. If your drive is not detected by Windows Vista when you check Computer or Windows Explorer, follow the steps below.

Right-click on the Computer icon on the desktop or in the Start Menu.
Left-click on Manage.
Left-click on Disk Management.
Usually, the Initialize Disk wizard will appear automatically when you open Disk Management. If you have more than one blank drive that needs to be initialized it will list them. Make sure that there is a check in the box of the drive that needs to be initialized and then left-click on the Ok button. If the wizard does show up, go to step 5. If the wizard does not show up, please see the Note and additional images directly below
Important: For the best compatibility between computers we recommend using the MBR (Master Boot Record) option and not the GPT(GUID Partition Table).

Note: If you do not see the Initialize Disk wizard. Then you will need to start the initialization on your own. The drive that needs to be initialized should have a little circle with a red arrow pointing down like in the image below.

When you find it. Right-click on the little red arrow choose Initialize Disk.

The drive is now initialized. The disk should have a black bar and say that it is Unallocated. You should now be able to create a partition and format the hard drive. For instructions on how to create and format a partition, please see the answer below.

Visual aides for the above can be found at this Link.
http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=3336&p_sid=eFUXbQEj&p_lva=&p_li=&p_redirect=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NjYsNjYmcF9wcm9kcz0yMjcsMjc5JnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0yLjI3OSZwX2N2PSZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PUluc3RhbGxpbmcgV2luZG93cyA3IG9uIG5ldyBkcml2ZQ%21%21


Download Link for Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows below.
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=613&sid=3&lang=en

Hope this helps you out some.

 

[wheely34]

like it says in yoosty's post, new HDDs always need to be formatted before being able to be used or even recognized (within the OS). Formatting the drive with the Windows installation disk should be enough to get it going though...then install ur OS right after.

Have you tried formatting the drive before installing the OS on it?? or did u jump to just installing the OS without formatting...

 

[kohd]

Thanks for the help guys! Turns out my Windows 7 disc was bad =( Got it fixed though and am up and running on my new build. (Bumping this post in case anyone else has a HD/installation issue. Seemed like a great article.)

 

[JessicaD]

Kohd,

Microsoft does have an official Windows 7 RC Support Forum located here http://tinyurl.com/9fhdl5 . It is supported by product specialists as well as engineers and support teams. You may want to check the threads there for additional installation support.

Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team