Built a PC today with the A7N8X deluxe; it won't detect either a WD or Maxtor 60 GB 7200 ATA 133 HD. Have reset the bios memory. Have disabled serial ATA. What else to try?

Some thoughts...
Bad IDE cable, IDE cable not properly seated, drive jumper setting,inadequate or no power for drive.

What about other drives?
Does a optical drive work on that same port?

<font color=red><b>If Micro$oft is sooooo smart, how come SP1 works on my Windows XP Corporate Edition huh?</b></font color=red>

I have tried more than one cable without success, including the one that came with the maxtor drive. I have tried all jumper settings ( master, slave, cable select, and none), also without success. Since the computer detects the CD-ROM on the secondary IDE, I will try reversing.

Both the HD and the CD-ROM are detected on the secondary IDE port. Neither the HD or the CD-ROM are detected on the primary IDE port. XP is installing as we speak. Hopefully, there is simply a conflict on the primary IDE port than can be resolved once I have a functioning computer, not just a bunch of recalcitrant hardware!!!

Try using the IDE cable that came in the Asus Box. I had the same problem using an old Ata100 cable it won't see my drive. Then When I used the one that came in the Asus box it picked up my ATA133 Maxtor hd.

There other posts on the A7N8X that indicate a problem with
this board.

I am having problems with the UATA controller on the MB
recognizing devices connected to it too; I have 4, two each on the Primary and Secondary MB UATA sockets. I put a Raid controller on the pci bus and ASUS told me that it caused a conflict with the SATA controller, even if turned off. They
said that was my problem & others using a raid controller on
the pci bus. But from your note it appears, a pci bus raid controller is not involved. So there goes ASUS best guess.

Besides the above, others are having problems getting the machine to boot. I am also experianing this, unless I take
devices off the MB UATA controller.

I think getting the machine to boot and getting the MB UATA
controller to recognize devices on it, are related.

The BIOS set up for nVida chipset (I think the UATA contoller
is on the "south bridge" ), has less manual setup than several
previous ASUS MB I have setup. I never had a problem with the UATA controller they used with the VIA chipset (however it is possible to blow out the raid controller on those chipsets, I had it happen; but raid, as THG has said, is more tempormental).

I am going to try SATA to UATA adapters on my HDs ad try to drive my raid array from the SATA controller on the MB.
If that doesn't solve the problems I am experiance, I will have to contact ASUS again, and see what their lastest story is. Maybe an improved BIOS will solve the several issues.

I saw a post that a BIOS 1001G was out, I looked at the ASUS
website earlier this morning and only saw 1001D

When I originally hooked it up, it was with that cable. When the HD was detected on the secondary IDE, it was simply by moving it from primary to secondary.

Currently, XP running fine using the HD and CD-ROM on the secondary IDE. Device manager shows the IDE ports functioning properly. Have updated bios to 1001G and downloaded the latest drivers from the ASUS site without making it able to detect a drive on the primary IDE port. Any other suggestions?

I found G I think on the taiwanese site.

Was it connected by the end's (MASTER) connector or the middle's (for SLAVE)?
Or you can set drive jumpers to <b>Cable Select - CS</b>.

Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.

i was the poster saying that i could not boot off my raid on this motherboard. it turned out to be the Western Digital drives that were screwy, i had to put the drives as cable select instead of specifying. you havent said that you have tried that so id recomend it. you shouldnt have your hard drives on secondary ata, specialy with cdroms on same. says so in the manual even. gotta do what you gotta do though i guess.

<A HREF="http://www.trsclan.com" target="_new"> Clan TRS is Back </A>

Yes I tried the "master" end of the cable and tried CS without detection.

My daughter is playing Harry Potter on this, her new computer now without problems, with everything on the secondary port. I have an RMA for the board, but I might pass on that as I have a functioning computer, a happy daughter, and a ridiculous amount of time spent trying to trouble-shoot this. Is it unlikely that the port is physically broken? No bent connectors are visible.