[SOLVED] Hard Drive not detecetd by Bios

gimegames · 11-21-2008, 12:48 PM

OK - Here Goes
System = Dell Dimension 3000
Ram = kingston kvr400 1gr
Hard Drive = WD Caviar 40GB

Friend brought over this PC and wanted me to fix it.
I noticed that hard drive only had 30MB of space left, so I suggested we get another hard drive and Ghost it to an new bigger drive. So we bought a WD Caviar 250GB drive ran the Ghosting software (Symantec). When it was complete I placed the new drive in and it would not boot and the bios would not detect the drive (and it does not even spin up). I switched out the drive with old one, same thing, not detected (no spin).
1. OK I tested drives on another system - they both were detected and I could FDISK the new drive without any issues.
2. I tried testing the drives on IDE1 & IDE2 connectors still not detected (the CD drive was detected though)
3. I tried different power connectors for the drives, same thing
4. Jumper settings are correct
5. I tried with only the hard drive connected, same thing
So where does that leave me?
I'm sure it's not the drives, because they work on my other PC.
Any suggestions, before I rip my hair out?

Tumbleweed36 · 11-21-2008, 04:08 PM

Since it is a Western Digital drive, then take off all the jumpers (master without slave setting), put it ALONE on the end of the ribbon cable and see if it will work that way. Put your CD drives on the secondary channel.

Then, be sure in your bios you have the boot sequence set to:

CDRom - 1st
Floppy - 2nd
Hard Drive - 3rd (the boot drive)

gimegames · 11-24-2008, 12:43 PM

WOW!!!
THANKS - That did it.
But my question now is "why?"

Tumbleweed36 · 11-24-2008, 05:36 PM

Well, my friend. WD drives are set a little different if they are alone on a ribbon cable. Other drives are set to master with the jumpers and WD is also if there is another drive on the cable. However, if they are alone, you must remove those jumpers....and that is called Master without slave. Odd, but that is the way it is. Glad you got it up and running. Now, don't be a stranger on here, stick around and lend a hand if you see someone with your same problem.

11-21-2008, 12:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
gimegames Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2 OS: Windows XP	[SOLVED] Hard Drive not detecetd by Bios OK - Here Goes System = Dell Dimension 3000 Ram = kingston kvr400 1gr Hard Drive = WD Caviar 40GB Friend brought over this PC and wanted me to fix it. I noticed that hard drive only had 30MB of space left, so I suggested we get another hard drive and Ghost it to an new bigger drive. So we bought a WD Caviar 250GB drive ran the Ghosting software (Symantec). When it was complete I placed the new drive in and it would not boot and the bios would not detect the drive (and it does not even spin up). I switched out the drive with old one, same thing, not detected (no spin). 1. OK I tested drives on another system - they both were detected and I could FDISK the new drive without any issues. 2. I tried testing the drives on IDE1 & IDE2 connectors still not detected (the CD drive was detected though) 3. I tried different power connectors for the drives, same thing 4. Jumper settings are correct 5. I tried with only the hard drive connected, same thing So where does that leave me? I'm sure it's not the drives, because they work on my other PC. Any suggestions, before I rip my hair out?

11-21-2008, 04:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 18,068 OS: XP Professional	Re: Hard Drive not detecetd by Bios Since it is a Western Digital drive, then take off all the jumpers (master without slave setting), put it ALONE on the end of the ribbon cable and see if it will work that way. Put your CD drives on the secondary channel. Then, be sure in your bios you have the boot sequence set to: CDRom - 1st Floppy - 2nd Hard Drive - 3rd (the boot drive) __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread.

11-24-2008, 12:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
gimegames Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2 OS: Windows XP	Re: Hard Drive not detecetd by Bios WOW!!! THANKS - That did it. But my question now is "why?"

11-24-2008, 05:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 18,068 OS: XP Professional	Re: Hard Drive not detecetd by Bios Well, my friend. WD drives are set a little different if they are alone on a ribbon cable. Other drives are set to master with the jumpers and WD is also if there is another drive on the cable. However, if they are alone, you must remove those jumpers....and that is called Master without slave. Odd, but that is the way it is. Glad you got it up and running. Now, don't be a stranger on here, stick around and lend a hand if you see someone with your same problem. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread.