Sata Hard drive not being detected at all.. Help?

[Adam_Done]

Hi,
A while ago i set my dad up with a new computer. the motherboard i chose was an Asus P5KPL SE.
he has been using a Maxtor IDE HDD but now wants more storage space. i got him a sata drive and it is just not being recognised - not even by the bios. i know the drive works because i'v tested it on another system and it worked a treat. i know it's getting power in his computer because i can feel it spin up and it gets a a little warmer after it's been on. but it just isn't being detected. he has a fresh installation of windows 7. i have updated the bios, still not recognised. there don't seem to be any conflicts that i am aware of. could it be that all 4 on board sata ports don't work? or is there something i'm missing?
i have been looking for possible solutions in these forums and just can't find anything..
Any help would be appreciated.
if any more info is needed to try diagnose a problem i can provide it.
Thanks!

 

[o1die]

If your bios allows it, disable any raid settings and use "ide" for the sata drive. You should also use Maxblast 5.0 to prep the drive. It's a free download, or a bootable cd comes in retail box drives. You use the utilities to set up the new drive. As long as the sata and power supply cables are connected properly, maxblast will recognize the drive when windows and the board won't. Use the sata number one port for the hardrive. You can also make a drive to drive copy if you're not changing motherboards. Maxblast will load any sata drivers required for the board. The system shuts down after preping the drive. It should boot up to your old drive with windows and begin the copying process. It take about 15 minutes for most files.

 

[Adam_Done]

Thanks, i'm gonna try that out now. will come back later with the results.

 

[Adam_Done]

If your bios allows it, disable any raid settings and use "ide" for the sata drive. You should also use Maxblast 5.0 to prep the drive. It's a free download, or a bootable cd comes in retail box drives. You use the utilities to set up the new drive. As long as the sata and power supply cables are connected properly, maxblast will recognize the drive when windows and the board won't. Use the sata number one port for the hardrive. You can also make a drive to drive copy if you're not changing motherboards. Maxblast will load any sata drivers required for the board. The system shuts down after preping the drive. It should boot up to your old drive with windows and begin the copying process. It take about 15 minutes for most files.

Maxblast can't find the second drive either. it says i only have one drive even though both are connected. sata was in port 1.
could it be an issue with the mobo?

 

[nocheese]

Maxblast can't find the second drive either. it says i only have one drive even though both are connected. sata was in port 1.
could it be an issue with the mobo?

It's either the ports are bad, your cable is bad or there is a BIOS setting you are not seeing for turning on the SATA ports/configure their operational mode.

 

[Adam_Done]

It's either the ports are bad, your cable is bad or there is a BIOS setting you are not seeing for turning on the SATA ports/configure their operational mode.

i'v tried many cables. all the same.
and i have gone through every setting in the bios. is there any way to test a sata port to see if thats the cause?

 

[nocheese]

i'v tried many cables. all the same.
and i have gone through every setting in the bios. is there any way to test a sata port to see if thats the cause?

Well if you know the drive works and you know the cable works and you know there are no settings you missed in BIOS (have you reset back to factory?) then there isn't really much left but to declare it the motherboard. I've never seen a SATA port tester.

 

[Adam_Done]

Well if you know the drive works and you know the cable works and you know there are no settings you missed in BIOS (have you reset back to factory?) then there isn't really much left but to declare it the motherboard. I've never seen a SATA port tester.

a bit of an update...
i took the motherboard back to the shop where they tested it and the sata drive wasn't recognised there either. they swapped the board there and then.
i get back home set up the new board and the sata drive is STILL not being detected.
so either i have had the worst luck and got 2 bad boards, or else something else is the problem.
does anyone else here have this motherboard? does sata work on it?
2 different boards, different hardware configurations and neither works... i'm losing my mind...