WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD not recognized in BIOS

[bamanec]

Hello guys, after I fixed my problem with my new system not posting at all, I ran into another small problem. My HDD is not recognized in BIOS. And since this is a brand new system I have no way of doing anything but trying to play around in BIOS to see if I can figure out anything. I am using a ASUS M4N98TD EVO motherboard. My DVD player works but it is not SATA.


I have tried different powerplugs and different Sata ports. Now at the beginning I had my Hard drive plugged into the SATA Port 5 but my BIOS doesnt even show me that option. So I unplugged it and left it empty. This is my first time with using SATA HD and I am at a stop here.

 

[Ubrales]

Is the SATA port into which the HDD is plugged in, enabled? I am assuming that the HDD is formatted NTFS.

 

[bamanec]

Everything is enabled in the BIOS. As if its NTFS I am not sure, I suppose it is

 

[Ubrales]

Let's start from scratch. Every SATA HDD (or device) needs a power cable and a data cable. The power is obtained from the PSU and the data Cable (SATA) is plugged into the HDD and the metal clip end is plugged into the motherboard SATA port, and that SATA port is enabled in the BIOS.

After doing this, if the HDD does not show up in the BIOS, then a) the HDD is bad, b) the SATA cable is bad, c) the SATA power plug is bad, d) the SATA port is not enabled, e) the motherboard is bad.

Make sure that the SATA cable is plugged in and the fit is correct (not loose).

 

[bamanec]

I tried all those things, and I pretty much come to the conclusion of it being a bad HDD. I am using my old HD that isnt SATA right now and Windows and everything else works just fine. I will try multiple cables in the morning. And I will update you on the status. I do however appreciate your help

 

[Ubrales]

Yes, please try a different HDD. Never assume that any component is good or bad - test it.

I looked at a pic of the board. Looks like SATA 5 is on a different controller. I am not sure on this.

However, SATA 1 thru 4 must be on the same controller.

On which SATA port is the HDD with the OS? You can try that HDD in different SATA ports just to 'test' the ports. I must caution you that the life of SATA cables and ports is 25 to 50 plug-in cycles. And if the manufacturers say 25 to 50, realistacally it will be more like 20 to 30 cycles.

 

[bamanec]

The other hard drive is not a SATA Hard Drive, so I am unable to actually test the ports.

 

[Ubrales]

You can switch around the SATA ports for the OS HDD. And turn ON all SATA ports.

 

[Ubrales]

Let me know tomorrow. You and I are both on CDT, and I am going to bed!

 

[bamanec]

Okay so I believe that the HDD is dead, I plugged in every single power SATA Cable that my Power Supply has to offer and it is not coming on. And I don't have a COAX to SATA powerplug... Damn it

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

If the hard drive is not spinning up (vibrating) then that is the immediate issue. If you want to try an adapter, a power adapter should be about $5 at a local mom/pop PC shop.

You can also get a SATA to USB docking station at just about any technical place, even Best Buy. This will allow you to access your data should the drive itself not be bad.

 

[bamanec]

So I found out, it was my PSU all along. The Sata power plug does not work. Out of all 8plugs not one works. So I had to get a power to SATA power adapter.

 

[Ubrales]

Glad to hear that the HDD is fine.