New build problem. Please help!

[razmundo]

Hi, I've recently built my first computer and have yet to install an operating system. I have an SSD and a HDD but when I go into the bios it is only recognising my optical drive and SSD. At first I thought it might be dead but it sounds like it's spinning so is there anything I can do for the bios to recognise it?

My SATA mode is in AHCI if that helps.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Nw333]

Is it an old hard drive? If it is you may need Windows to recognize it.

 

[chugot9218]

I believe I may have had a similar issue, what is your MOBO? In the BIOS on my MOBO it shows the primary drive and only allowed me to select one drive and the optical, but I believe there is another spot to change which shows as the primary data drive and there I could toggle between my SSD and HDD, which then changed my option in the primary drive area. Just a suggestion, may not be the same issue.

 

[razmundo]

I believe I may have had a similar issue, what is your MOBO? In the BIOS on my MOBO it shows the primary drive and only allowed me to select one drive and the optical, but I believe there is another spot to change which shows as the primary data drive and there I could toggle between my SSD and HDD, which then changed my option in the primary drive area. Just a suggestion, may not be the same issue.

I have an ASUS P8Z77-V pro and I think it actually is working now but it isn't showing in the main BIOS page under the boot priority, it's just showing my optical and ssd. However, under advanced settings it shows it under the SATA 3Gb/s slot.

I don't think it's an old HDD, it's a western digital caviar black 1.0 TB SATA II

 

[Nw333]

When I said old I meant if it was being re-used from an old computer build. You may need to format it and you need to install Windows for that.

And, I dont know why you need to see your HDD in BIOS before installing Windows since you dont want Windows being installed onto the HDD anyways.

 

[chugot9218]

I have the same board, there should be a selector (in BIOS) to switch between the SSD and the HDD, then under the main boot priority you will see the one you switched to.

But, NW333 is right, when installing your OS simply unplug either the SATA cable or the HDD power, it prevents any files from being spread to the HDD which will result in a slower boot time.

P.S.S. make sure the PC is off when you do this lol, I figured I should mention that just in case.

 

[razmundo]

Best answer selected by razmundo.