ciaranfarrell
asked on
bios tells me atapi drive incompatible
My primary master hard drive cannot be recognised by BIOS.
On boot, no drive whatsoever is recognised. I go to BIOS.
In BIOS there is an option to autoconfigure the Hard drive parameters. I try this, but the answer I get is "Primary Master - not installed".
I try to configure all drives automatically, which is another BIOS feature. Again "not installed" is the answer.
I check the jumper settings on the harddrive. It is set to the default correct settings for a single drive master.
It is probably irrelevant, but the OS is XP Pro (but not for much longer!)
Appreciate any help
Ciaran
On boot, no drive whatsoever is recognised. I go to BIOS.
In BIOS there is an option to autoconfigure the Hard drive parameters. I try this, but the answer I get is "Primary Master - not installed".
I try to configure all drives automatically, which is another BIOS feature. Again "not installed" is the answer.
I check the jumper settings on the harddrive. It is set to the default correct settings for a single drive master.
It is probably irrelevant, but the OS is XP Pro (but not for much longer!)
Appreciate any help
Ciaran
Starting right at the beginning: Is the drive actually getting power?
Once you confirm that the drive is receiving power, try a new cable, and make sure you have pin 1 lined up correctly.
Next up, confirm that the "default" setting doesn't assume that you are using it in a two drive system. Try the single drive jumper options. For example, set it as a slave and see if it works. Even if the drive boots as a primary slave, you will still be able to boot off of it.
Lastly, try the drive in another computer.
Once you confirm that the drive is receiving power, try a new cable, and make sure you have pin 1 lined up correctly.
Next up, confirm that the "default" setting doesn't assume that you are using it in a two drive system. Try the single drive jumper options. For example, set it as a slave and see if it works. Even if the drive boots as a primary slave, you will still be able to boot off of it.
Lastly, try the drive in another computer.
I'll go along with what Polarhound said, but would like to add the following.
The drive will also not be recognized if it is not spinning up. This occurs frequently with aging drives.
To check this do the following:
Place the blade of a screwdriver against the casing of the hard drive.
Place your ear against the handle. You should hear a whirring noise if the drive is spinning.
This is not a joke!
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Changed the IDE cables? Checked the IDE cable connection on the mobo to be ok?
Tried different jumper configs and let it be theonly drive on the cable?