EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

[Fadehawk]

I've tried to install each of the following OS's on a SATA 160GB hdd and have yet to get anything more than an error stating no boot devices could be found:
Windows XP Pro x86 sp3 (slipstreamed)
Windows XP Pro x64 sp2 (slipstreamed)
Windows XP Pro x86 original install + driver floppy

Hardware: EP45-UD3R mobo (tried with both f6 and f7a bios to no avail), E8500 C2D proc (stock hs until the one I ordered arrives), 2x2gb Patriot DDR2 1066 RAM, 9800GT, and an IDE cdd.

I've got an IDE hdd with xp pro x86 sp3 installed and running with few problems other than the SATA drive being virtually non-existent. I've tested 3 different cables and every one of the 6 orange slots plus both purple slots. I've got the SATA plugged into SATA0 in the orange set and Bios are set to Native rather than Legacy. I don't plan to RAID this drive, simply use it as the boot disk for this comp.

When booted onto the IDE hdd the SATA doesn't show up in Disk Management and if I enable AHCI or RAID in the BIOS the utility starts to look for any SATA hdd's attached and never finds any despite the drive defnitely being connected/powered on.

Is there something obvious I'm missing here? I've built at least a half-dozen computers in the last few years for myself and roommates and I consider myself above average in the tech department but this has got me completely stumped. Short of RMA'ing the drive, is there anything I can try? I just moved and gave my last rig to a friend because I was planning to build this one as soon as I moved in so I'm stuck with a laptop and no computer to test the SATA drive in either.

Thoughts? Any help is greatly appreciated as this problem is one that needs to be solved asap!

[Nickel020]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

Is the HDD shown in the "Standard CMOS features" menu in the BIOS?
No way you can try it on antoher PC? Time to get friendly with the new neighbours^^
Are you sure the power connector you connected it is OK?

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

What Drive exactly is this? Some Drives do get shipped out NON Active and need to be setup for first use with the manufacturer's tools or they will never been seen by the BIOS or OS

Was it a new Drive or used? DOA Happens, if it was used was it used previously by you or someone else and you just bought it?

And as said above, can you test it in another setup just to be sure.

I doubt that both your controllers are bad on your board and this is more then likely a DOA drive or needs to be setup for first use with the correct tools.

[Amd_Lover2004]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

It sounds like it could possibly be a hard drive failure, only way to find out for sure is to test it in another computer... or an external enclosure(they can be found pretty cheap if you know where to look.) If the drive does not work you have found your issue. If it does not work I would lean towards a motherboard issue, but as stated in another post, it is unlikely that both controllers are gone.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

So Fadehawk, did you ever get around to checking this drive in another PC?

If you need the tools to setup a disk for first use, let me know the manufacturer of this disk and I will find you the tools you need

[gl�bner]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

hi,
i have experienced almost the same problem with EP45-UD3 (bios version F3, almost default bios settings, no OC) while setting up my backup strategy. it turns out that my SATA HDDs are sometimes detected, sometimes not, sometimes even the boot order changes (making my non-OS disk the first choice). in the latter case, after having restored the OS, neither OS (located in separate primary partitions) boots up. i noticed that it may be connected to the HDD handling features of the bios (auto-detection, etc), so i'm still playing with bios settings, hoping to find the right combination to get rid of this issue.
i should state that mostly both partitions are accessible and both OS boot.
any recommendation would be appreciated.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

When you load optimized defaults, or fail safe (Not advised), your boot order and disk priority would be reset. I would imagine this is likely the issue you are seeing

As for the disks sometimes being seen and sometimes not? I would update to the latest BIOS, please do read this guide if you feel like flashing to a newer BIOS >>>

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/bios-flashing-how-qflash-guide-27576/

If you do need help with your Disks and settings, ect please let me know how many disks you have, what ports (Color and #) you are trying to use and if you are running AHCI/RAID or normal IDE/SATA Mode and I can tell you which ports you should plug the drives into and what settings should be set.

[gl�bner]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

i updated the bios to F5, set 'optimized defaults', and the situation slightly improved. HD detection appears to be more stable, however, when restoring a partition, the problem reappears: HD with OS is not recognized, thus the other HD is moved to boot priority #1. when rebooting, the OS-HD was detected but just added to the boot priority, ie it got prio #2. if this is an acceptable behavior, i actually wonder why #2 is not used for booting up.
my OS-HD is (master) on SATA_0, the other (master) on SATA_1 (both on the orange ICHR10 connectors). i'm using MaxBlast 5 (branded acronis) for system backup/restore.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

Just go into Advanced BIOS page, then into Hard Disk Boot Priority and move your disk you want to boot from to the top after you reboot back to the BIOS. Then save and apply

[gl�bner]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

thanks, i was able to figure that out before. i hoped to make clear that after each restoration, the boot priority changes back to the invalid sequence. do you actually suggest to make this manual procedure a standard one?

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

If you mean loading optimized defaults and going thru the "Set settings/reboot/set settings/reboot" dance YES. You must load optimized defaults after a flash or new hardware install and then due to that you must go thru the set/reboot/set/reboot dance before loading windows each time you flash/load optimized otherwise you will corrupt your array

[gl�bner]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

nope, i meant the other part: changing boot priority manually to the original/correct order.
in the desparate hope to blame maxblast for being involved in this issue, i plan to switch to other backup software. still weird, though, as the current situation with BIOS version F5 does not much differ from F3 except that the second boot requirement has gone.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

Ahh, ok! Ya, normally you do have to reset the boot order as well, especially if you have RAID or more then one disk setup. RAID + A storage drive I know for sure you do as I often do it 10 times a week or more

Second Boot Requirement? What do you mean there?

[gl�bner]

Re: EP45-UD3R refuses to recognize SATA hdd

ok, this problem appeared even after just a cold reset of the pc! this would only be acceptable in a RAID env where the boot prio is less important. since my system does not use a RAID, resetting the boot prio every day is untolerable for me, so i consider this issue being a serious problem of the board.
btw: the "second boot requirement" was just a metaphore ...