WD 1TB not connecting :( HELP PLEASE...

[liquidmonkey]

hey!
just bought a WD1001FALS 1TB (caviar black) drive and after plugging in the SATA connector and power, the computer is not making it past the part where it asks you if you want to enter SATAraid utility which is even before the BIOS screen comes up

this is how it looks...
-------------------------------------------------
SiI 3112A SATARaid BIOS Version 4.2.27
Press (ctrl s) or F4 to enter the RAID Utility

WDC WD1001FALS-00J7B _ (the cursor is just here blinking waiting for something, but what?)
-------------------------------------------------

i can't get into BIOS or even to the WINDOWS screen.
there are NO JUMPERS in the drive and it is connected to an earlier SATA connector that had a 200 gig drive.

the only thing i could think of if this drive somehow is requiring a whole bunch of power that is not on my power supply but that really can't be it can it???
OR did i get a brick right off the bat???

 

[Atomic Rooster]

I'm thinking your old A7N8X-E is having a hard time dealing with such a large drive. A BIOS update may be in order if one is available.

SATA drives are hot swappable. Try booting the computer first, then while it's up and running, plug the new drive in.

 

[Tommy Boy]

Try a different SATA connector, try a different cable as well. Unhook it and check your bios, maybe you have to change a setting. It looks like for some reason it thinks you have a RAID setup.

 

[liquidmonkey]

i only have 2 SATA connectors, both red. will try to switch them now.
i am able to get into BIOS. said that wrong before.

the BIOS update seems very probable as i have NEVER done an update and this computer is going on its 5th birthday (yes, i know, time to get a new one).

 

[Remeniz]

Mmmm.

There's no SATA ports on that motherboard.

The 2 red connectors your refering to are the Firewire connectors.

I don't know how your trying to connect a SATA drive to these but I suggest you disconnect before you damage something.

EDIT: There is SATA ports on your motherboard. They're on the bottom of the board and they're black not red.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

The A7N8X-E does have SATA ports Remeniz. I used to own the Deluxe version of that board. I don't remember them being red though, but black.

Serial ATA Technology
Serial ATA is the next generation ATA specification that provides scalable performance for today and tomorrow. With up to 150MB/s data transfer rate, Serial ATA is faster than current Parallel ATA, while providing 100% software compatibility.

In that pic on the site, the two SATA ports are located along the left edge of the motherboard.



Here's another thought. The A7N8X-E only supports 1.5 Gb/s. Try setting the jumper on the drive to the 1.5Gb/s position if it has one.

 

[Remeniz]

In that pic on the site, the two SATA ports are located along the right edge of the motherboard.

Left edge of the motherboard in the link...



It's an old thread but it might be helpful or even be a fix... #13

It's helped a few people.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Oops, you're right. Sometimes I don't know my left from my right. Fixed.

 

[liquidmonkey]

yes, the SATA connectors are at the bottom mid-right and are black....thanks!
i've been able to hot swap the 1TB drive 'in' and get it to format which is awesome!!
the instructions you got me ---Remeniz--- are AWESOME!!! but it involves flashing my BIOS which i've never done before

can any1 offer advice as to what i should do BEFORE i try and flash my BIOS??

 

[liquidmonkey]

ok, after literally 3 hours of googling and trying different things i cannot get my PC to boot from my USB stick and load DOS i feel like a total retard

was directed to this thread to help with the 1TB drive problem...

http://www.technutopia.com/forum/showthread.php?p=85624

i'm using a KINGSTON TRAVELLER 1gig USB drive to try and get into DOS so i can flash the BIOS.

have followed the instructions on making a USB stick bootable (hp format tool) and have confirmed in dos that the 'command.com' and other 2 files are present.
tried formatting the USB as FAT and as FAT32 but no luck.

the computer goes through the motions of loading BIOS, the the RAID text comes up, then the VERIFYING DMI POOL DATA comes up and stops at DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT YOUR ASS INTO THE CD-ROM AND PRESS ENTER!!!

have gone into BIOS to set the boot order as USB-FDD, USB-HDD, USB-ZIP and even tried USB-CDROM but still no DOS

do i need to take out the hard drive(s) from BIOS?
does OS/2 onboard memory need to be enabled?
any ideas as to what the problem is?