Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

[binsonk]

Here we go again. Sorry this issue is similar to a previous problem, but I believe the difficulty here is different. I am installing two identical Hitachi Cinema Star SATA 500 GB hard drives, and things are not going smoothly. These two hard drives were formerly server drives, so I'm told. There was an identical operating system on both drives before I used GParted to delete, restructure partitions and follow up with ext3 format. Several months ago this computer (Dell Dimension 3100, 2.8 GHz P4 w/HT, 1.0 GB DDR ram) was running a 1TB hdd on drive SATA-0 and 500GB hdd on drive SATA-2. [You may recall that I played around with BIOS quite a bit when I was trying (unsuccessfully) to install two identical Seagate 2TB hdd's. Those two large hdd's were installed to another faster computer, leaving this computer without hdd(s).] I ran a live CD of Linux to prepare the computer for a new OS. GParted detected the two drives with no problem, and there were desktop icons representing the partitions. After partitioning with GParted, those icons had changed to represent the new partition structure. I then installed Linux (Slacko 5.5 non-PAE) and legacy GRUB, and rebooted. The computer would not boot, giving the same error that occurred before partitioning. "Error auto-sensing secondary hard disk drive0. Press F1 to retry boot. No boot device available." As far as I know, there is no secondary hard disk drive0 (PATA-0??), and furthermore, this drive is turned OFF in Setup. When I looked at the boot order, whadya know, onboard SATA hard disk not present. I look at drive SATA-0 drive in Drives, the drive is described as "unknown" with no Drive ID. I removed the second SATA hdd at Drive 2, and got the same result when I rebooted with a single hdd at SATA-0, that there was an error auto-sensing secondary hard disk drive0, and also, no boot device present. Any idea what the trouble is?

Possibilities:
1. The used SATA drive(s) is defective.
2. Need to update BIOS
3. GRUB has misnamed hdd devices

I reread my post above, and realize that I have discussed three different situations or circumstances, so take care to read carefully to distinguish between them, and the current problem.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

I'd bet the hard drives themselves are okay. You either have a BIOS issue with the machine failing to recognize the hard drives for whatever reason, or the Southbridge chip of that mainboard has gone flakey.

If it's the SB, it's not worth fixing unless you have access to a BGA rework station and have the skills to use it.

I'd try a smaller SATA drive like a 250 gig to see what gives.

[stj]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

if these are RAID drives you need to get info on any jumper options relating to spinup and timouts.

[goontron]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

my MOBO wont boot off of PATA drives but a card fixed that, so i say you should push back with something like this: http://www.microcenter.com/product/3...h_RAID_Support

[stj]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

my MOBO wont boot off of PATA drives but a card fixed that, so i say you should push back with something like this: http://www.microcenter.com/product/3...h_RAID_Support

SATA 1.0 ?
you must be joking, most modern drives wont drop below SATA 2.0

[goontron]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

SATA 1.0 ?
you must be joking, most modern drives wont drop below SATA 2.0

notice how most sata ii/iii are pci-e? i doubt his PC even has pci-e with the age he gave in the other threads. OTOH that could be why the modern drives don't work on the mobo headers, no sata ii/iii.

if he does have a pci-e port than i suggest this:http://www.microcenter.com/product/4...ontroller_Card

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

SATA drives are fully backwards compatible. Only exception would be if the motherboard is using a VIA VT8237 southbridge in which case it only works with SATAI, due to an internal bug in the chipset.

[stj]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

not 100% true, some have to be set "down" with a jumper.
and some sata3 drives cant drop under sata2

[binsonk]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

- mobo has a PCIe slot, 36-pin connector
- supports RAID 1 (mirroring)
- Intel 915GV chipset
- no jumpers present on hdd's
I would be inclined to say the BIOS needs upgrading, except for the fact that this mobo was running 1 TB and 500 GB drives for several years. I would rather avoid a RAID setup, if only to be consistent with my other computers, which have almost identical partitioning, drive numbers.

[goontron]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

^ try the card in post number 6, a RAID setup is optional and it has sata iii.

[binsonk]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

Is a PCI express card, which I don't have, better than a PCI SATA controller card, which I have? I would rather set up the drives on original equipment, on the mobo's provided SATA ports, and I don't see any great roadblock to doing so. I have accidentally set up a RAID using the PCI SATA controller card; it's possible, but not desired. As stated above, I would like to avoid a RAID setup. The two Hitachi drives are rated 3 Gb/s.

[ratdude747]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

IMHO the card is more to diagnose the fault, not as permanent solution.

[binsonk]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

I installed a 40 gig SATA hdd at drive SATA-0, and the computer booted up fine in WinXP. I then connected the same hdd at SATA-2, and after disabling SATA-0 in BIOS, the hdd booted to WinXP desktop without a hitch. So the mobo SATA ports and connectors are working good.

[Towncivilian]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

Perhaps try updating the BIOS regardless? There may be a newer AHCI option ROM in the latest BIOS that may improve compatibility. Failing that, try forcing the drives to operate at SATA 1.5gbps speeds, if possible.

[binsonk]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

I updated the BIOS from A03 to A04, but there was no improvement. It would be nice if I could get BIOS to manually detect the hdd's, but I see no way to accomplish that task with this BIOS. Most setups for IDE drives allow a manual detection, but I don't find that functionality for this SATA setup.

The error I get when both drives are connected is
Error auto-sensing secondary hard disk drive0

The error I get when I disconnect (and disable in BIOS) the first hdd at SATA-2 with OS is
Error auto-sensing secondary hard disk drive1

So BIOS is calling the hdd at SATA-0 "secondary hard disk drive0", and calling the hdd at SATA-2 "secondary hard disk drive1"

And both hdd's, installed separately, are producing the same auto-sensing error.

It's possible that these drives were taken out of a DVR.

[binsonk]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

...try forcing the drives to operate at SATA 1.5gbps speeds, if possible.

How would I do this exactly. I can't find jumper settings for this drive.

EDIT: There was only one jumper position. I jumpered it. No improvement.

[stj]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

get the datasheet / info on the drives.

raid drives otfen use different firmware similar to scsi drives.
they wont spinup without a command, and they wont retry errors constantly - just report the problem to the controller.

you see this over at WD's site, where they explaine the firmware differences between the RED and BLACK series drives.

[binsonk]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

Hitachi CinemaStar 500GB P/N 0A37097 Model HCP725050GLA380 Sata 3.0 7200 RPM

from post at AnandTech forum:
"I have a couple of hard drives that came out of DVR's that I was going to use in my computer but they either don't get recognized or windows can't be installed on the drive. I am not a advanced computer guy, I can follow basic instructions and put a computer together but most technical talk goes over my head quickly. During POST I get hard drive error or no drives found. Any help would be appreciated, are there jumpers or utilities to try and make these work?"
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2080953

IMO, it's more likely these drives came out of DVR devices. Notice the name of the hard drive: Hitachi Cinema Star. Cinema = movies = DVR. Not sure if it means anything, but the same OS (spread across 5 partitions) was on both drives, so the drives probably operated as singles (in two DVRs), rather than a RAID.

I really need to get my money back today, if these drives are not going to work.

[binsonk]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

The hdd's may be AV drives, which may not spin up during boot. This calls for the use of Linux command hdparm to change drive parameters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdparm

I might be able to edit the firmware with Hitachi disk tools. Hitachi was bought by Western Digital.

[stj]

Re: Dell Dimension does not see SATA hdd(s)

OR, if they are from security DVR's and not home settop-boxes, they may have the password set!
if you connect one to a running linux box, can you mount and browse the content?

incidentally, AV drives arent very good for data use.
they are optimised for streaming rather than long life / low error rate.

this is also explained at the WD site with differences between the GREEN, and AV-GREEN firmware.