This may be dumb, but I'll ask anyway. I am putting together a PC with a combination of new and used parts, and try as I might, it will NOT recognize SATA hard drives. I've tried two different drives, both tested out fine in other systems, cable tested fine as well. So I've narrowed it down to either the SATA controller on the mobo being bad, or the drive isn't getting any power. Is it even possible for a PSU to malfunction in such a way that it would only not deliver power across the wires that contain the SATA connectors, and if possible, is this one of those extremely remote possibilities, or could this be a likely case?

I know I could test it by putting another PSU in there, but that would require me to find one, plus it'd be a pain in the ass. So I figured I'd ask here first. Hoping it's the PSU, since that's one of the new parts that should be udner warranty...the board is not...

Thanks.

1/10/2008 5:16:01 PM

they have 4-pin molex to sata power adapters, i'd try that first, it is possible that the sata connectors are on a different rails than the regular 4-pin molex

1/10/2008 5:46:38 PM

The MB seems more likely IMO. Get a multimeter and check the power supply to be sure.

1/10/2008 6:06:47 PM

ok, so after re-reading the OP, i now understand the problem

go to your BIOS and turn your SATA to IDE emulation, then load XP, then you can switch it back, try it

[Edited on January 10, 2008 at 7:27 PM. Reason : .]

1/10/2008 7:26:45 PM

^I'll check that out, but would that cause the BIOS to simply not see the SATA device plugged into it? B/C that's the main issue--I can't install the OS (Vista Business) because the BIOS does not realize the HDD is there.

1/10/2008 11:59:10 PM

^It will make Windows see your SATA drive as an IDE drive. That way you can load it without worrying about feeding the OS installer the correct disk controller when you are installing it.

When you are loading XP toward the very beginning of the installation you'll see it prompt you to press F6 to load additional disk controller. If you do at some point during the installation it will prompt you to insert a floppy disk (on the A: drive only) that has your SATA disk controller.

I've only installed Vista once. I can't remember if the opportunity to install a 3rd party controller passes you by as quickly as it does for XP or if it prompts you and forces you to click next. At the very least the A: drive only limitation is removed.

If you do not have the disk controller the Windows installation will not recognize your hard drive. It will claim that you do not have one. Either provide the disk controller or do what ^^ said. Dumb your drive down to IDE emulation long enough to load Windows, then switch it back.

Oops. BIOS doesn't even see it?
I've seen a few resolutions via google - don't want to do too much searching:
1) Check your jumpers on the drive
2) Test on a cable you know is good. Isolate the drive on that cable.
3) Update the BIOS with the latest version

[Edited on January 11, 2008 at 8:11 AM. Reason : -]

1/11/2008 8:01:28 AM

1)Done
2)Done
3)I'll try updating the BIOS...worth a shot.

1/11/2008 11:24:20 AM

is it a maxtor hdd on an nforce4 board?

you can try this too, take the battery out off the motherboard for a couple minutes, put it back in, reset the BIOS and see if it recognizes it with all the defaults. if it doens't recognized it by default, you either have a bad sata power connection, or a bad sata port on your motherboard.

if the sata controller is bad you can buy a sata pci controller card for <$15 instead of replacing the entire motherboard, or if it's under warranty, just RMA the motherboard

1/11/2008 11:44:37 AM

I think it's a Seagate, but I'll check when I get home, not sure if it's an nForce4 board or not? I think it is, will check that as well. Unfortunately the board is one of the parts that's not under warranty.

1/11/2008 1:55:41 PM