Molko
asked on
Installing a MAXTOR 80gb Drive - SATA. Got a few problems
Hi
I do hope someone can help.
Ok i am building a PC for a mate, the spec is ASUS p4p800-x, PIII3.0ghz, 1gb ram, Radion 9800Se and Maxtor 80GB Diamond 9. The h/d is SATA !. I built the machine, installed WinXP, now when installin WinXP it asked if i wished to installed some drivers, by pressing F6. rightly or wrongly i ignored it and let WinXP complete the installation process.
Shortly after installing WinXP, it became apparent that the VGA was faulity, so i replaced it this morning and hoped to continue with the installation.
NOW, here is the problem, for some reason when i boot the machine up is hanging during the boot process 'Auto Detecting 3rd master',it will stay like this for 15mins. If i leave the SATA h/d connected, the machine will NOT boot from floppy. SO i have no way of fdisking it and starting again.....or do i ? I can also not get into the BIOS, unless i reset the jumpers on the CMOS and at the next time of booting i can access the BIOS, the h/d is recgonised as Maxtor 80gb etc... but then when i exit the BIOS, its still the same problem....'Auto Detecting 3rd master'.
What have i done/doing wrong...?
How do i resolve this problem... ?
I do hope someone can help.
Ok i am building a PC for a mate, the spec is ASUS p4p800-x, PIII3.0ghz, 1gb ram, Radion 9800Se and Maxtor 80GB Diamond 9. The h/d is SATA !. I built the machine, installed WinXP, now when installin WinXP it asked if i wished to installed some drivers, by pressing F6. rightly or wrongly i ignored it and let WinXP complete the installation process.
Shortly after installing WinXP, it became apparent that the VGA was faulity, so i replaced it this morning and hoped to continue with the installation.
NOW, here is the problem, for some reason when i boot the machine up is hanging during the boot process 'Auto Detecting 3rd master',it will stay like this for 15mins. If i leave the SATA h/d connected, the machine will NOT boot from floppy. SO i have no way of fdisking it and starting again.....or do i ? I can also not get into the BIOS, unless i reset the jumpers on the CMOS and at the next time of booting i can access the BIOS, the h/d is recgonised as Maxtor 80gb etc... but then when i exit the BIOS, its still the same problem....'Auto Detecting 3rd master'.
What have i done/doing wrong...?
How do i resolve this problem... ?
ASKER
Hi
Thanks for the reply. I have just managed to Flash the BIOS to the latest version 1005, and since then booted from a floppy and fdisk'd the disk. But its still the same situation, the only way i can get to the BIOS is after a CMOS reset, if dont reset the CMOS then i get the 'Auto Detecting 3rd master', and it just stays there for ever.
Now if i do reset the CMOS then it boots, detects both the CD-ROM and then h/d, states that both are ok, h/d has SMART etc, and says that the CMOS has been reset and do i wish to change the BIOS setting or load the default. If i change the BIOS settings then i am back with 'Auto Detecting 3rd master' etc...if i load defaults then it will boot from floppy, but what does that give me, i have already fdisk'd the drive.
I just seem to be stuck in a circle.....
I can see how i can disalble the drive, because after i change any setting in the BIOS it then gives me 'Auto Detecting 3rd master', but i will try....
any more help/advice would be appreciated
Thanks for the reply. I have just managed to Flash the BIOS to the latest version 1005, and since then booted from a floppy and fdisk'd the disk. But its still the same situation, the only way i can get to the BIOS is after a CMOS reset, if dont reset the CMOS then i get the 'Auto Detecting 3rd master', and it just stays there for ever.
Now if i do reset the CMOS then it boots, detects both the CD-ROM and then h/d, states that both are ok, h/d has SMART etc, and says that the CMOS has been reset and do i wish to change the BIOS setting or load the default. If i change the BIOS settings then i am back with 'Auto Detecting 3rd master' etc...if i load defaults then it will boot from floppy, but what does that give me, i have already fdisk'd the drive.
I just seem to be stuck in a circle.....
I can see how i can disalble the drive, because after i change any setting in the BIOS it then gives me 'Auto Detecting 3rd master', but i will try....
any more help/advice would be appreciated
ASKER
Forgot to mention, the SATA is standalone, on SATA1.
Set the HDD on SATA0. On most board, SATA1 is the second drive! If nothing is connected to the SATA0, the BIOS assumes that the Master is IDE controller 1, second Master is IDE secondary controller 2 - - your HDD is set as 3d Master! Doesn't work.
ASKER
Things have got really odd now.
I disabled the sata drive, booted from CD, winXp said there was no fixed drive, as expected. So i resest the CMOS, and rebooted, booted from CD, installed WinXP, drive it detected, pressed f6 and installed the specific SATA driver, the WinXP installion, detected my sata drive, formatted NTFS, copied all the installation files across and then rebooted - i thought great its worked..............BUT NO....upon rebootig were are back to the 'Auto Detecting 3rd master'...problem !!!.
WHAT IS GOING ON ?, i cant understand it the, the pyhsical drive must be ok, the sata cable must be ok, the sata power must be ok, i have the lastest BIOS, so what is wrong.....? ?
PLEASE HELP
I disabled the sata drive, booted from CD, winXp said there was no fixed drive, as expected. So i resest the CMOS, and rebooted, booted from CD, installed WinXP, drive it detected, pressed f6 and installed the specific SATA driver, the WinXP installion, detected my sata drive, formatted NTFS, copied all the installation files across and then rebooted - i thought great its worked..............BUT NO....upon rebootig were are back to the 'Auto Detecting 3rd master'...problem !!!.
WHAT IS GOING ON ?, i cant understand it the, the pyhsical drive must be ok, the sata cable must be ok, the sata power must be ok, i have the lastest BIOS, so what is wrong.....? ?
PLEASE HELP
ASKER
huntersvcs, i'm not sure i understand what you mean. On the motherboard the two SATA connections are marked at SATA1 and SATA2, my cable is plugged into SATA1
or is that not what you meant ?
or is that not what you meant ?
ASKER
The latest is
The machine will boot into WindowsXP provided i reset the CMOS beforehand........very strange, so i have installed WINXP, then SP1, after SP1 the machine reboots, it then hangs with the 'Auto Detecting 3rd master' problem, so i clear the CMOS, it then says that the CMOS has been reset and do i wish to change the BIOS setting or load the default. Upoad loading the default BIOS, the machine boots into WINXP.....so what do you make of that ????
After the CMOS reset i can see :
-----------------
Auto Dectecting Primary Master....ATAPI CDROM
Auto Dectecting 3rd Master....IDE HARD DISK
Pri Master NEC DVD RW Ultra DMA Mode 2
3rd Master MAxtor 6Y080M0 YAR51HW0 Ultra DMA Mode 5 S.M.A.R.T Capable and Status OK
-----------------
The only things that concerns me about the above is it thinks 3rd Master is IDE ?...
I am now gonna try and find some specific drivers for the hard drive, not came with it (OEM) and none are supplies on tthe motherboard disk, the ones that have installed are Microsoft from 01/07/2001
any help/advice is greatly appreciated.
thanks
m
The machine will boot into WindowsXP provided i reset the CMOS beforehand........very strange, so i have installed WINXP, then SP1, after SP1 the machine reboots, it then hangs with the 'Auto Detecting 3rd master' problem, so i clear the CMOS, it then says that the CMOS has been reset and do i wish to change the BIOS setting or load the default. Upoad loading the default BIOS, the machine boots into WINXP.....so what do you make of that ????
After the CMOS reset i can see :
-----------------
Auto Dectecting Primary Master....ATAPI CDROM
Auto Dectecting 3rd Master....IDE HARD DISK
Pri Master NEC DVD RW Ultra DMA Mode 2
3rd Master MAxtor 6Y080M0 YAR51HW0 Ultra DMA Mode 5 S.M.A.R.T Capable and Status OK
-----------------
The only things that concerns me about the above is it thinks 3rd Master is IDE ?...
I am now gonna try and find some specific drivers for the hard drive, not came with it (OEM) and none are supplies on tthe motherboard disk, the ones that have installed are Microsoft from 01/07/2001
any help/advice is greatly appreciated.
thanks
m
ASKER
Ive just found this on the maxtor webste
https://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/maxtor.cfg/php/enduser/olh_adp.php?p_faqid=427&&p_sid=ZdCWeZmh&p_lva=
not sure what to do now ?
https://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/maxtor.cfg/php/enduser/olh_adp.php?p_faqid=427&&p_sid=ZdCWeZmh&p_lva=
not sure what to do now ?
The SATA being listed as IDE Master is OK - I've had that almost every time. My comment about SATA0/SATA1 is motherboard dependent (sometimes they number them 0-1, sometimes 1-2). Drivers for the HDD should not be necessary, only the controller/MOBO. What confuses me is the "3d Master" bit. I can only assume the BIOS for this MOBO has been written to recognize: Primary = 1st Master; Secondary = 2d Master; SATA = 3d Master.
In some BIOS versions there is a setting called "Reset Configuration Data" under PNP/PCI configuration. If you have this option, this should be set to DISABLED. If you reset the CMOS, change this one time to enabled, save the changes, reboot a second time and make sure it has disabled itself or do it manually.
In some BIOS versions there is a setting called "Reset Configuration Data" under PNP/PCI configuration. If you have this option, this should be set to DISABLED. If you reset the CMOS, change this one time to enabled, save the changes, reboot a second time and make sure it has disabled itself or do it manually.
ASKER
Hi huntersvcs, i have just tried what you suggested, but there is no 'Reset Configuration Data' under the PNP/PCI menu, or anywhere else infact.
Even if there was i would not be able to check it after i had set it and rebooted, as the machine would say 'Auto Detecting 3rd master'....
Its a very strange problem this,i have built loads of PC'sin the past,i nearly always use ASUS motherboard, but this is the first time i have used a MAXTOR h/d
Even if there was i would not be able to check it after i had set it and rebooted, as the machine would say 'Auto Detecting 3rd master'....
Its a very strange problem this,i have built loads of PC'sin the past,i nearly always use ASUS motherboard, but this is the first time i have used a MAXTOR h/d
ASKER
I think i have exhausted all avenues, unless anyone has any other ideas !
So I have emailed ASUS and described the problem, hopefully they will get back to me with a solution, if not both the motherboard and the h/d are going back to where i bought it from........
So I have emailed ASUS and described the problem, hopefully they will get back to me with a solution, if not both the motherboard and the h/d are going back to where i bought it from........
ASKER
OK...the latest is..i exchanged the motherboard for a new one.......and guess what, exactly the same problem !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
i cant beleive it
i cant beleive it
OK, let's go for broke! If I under the situation correctly, you can only boot past 3d Master after you do a CMOS reset - right? And even after BIOS updates, MOBO exchange, etc., still the same problem - right?
It seems like the MOBO (after reset - FRESH) is reading something from the SATA, resetting the configuration, saving it, and then on reboot the HDD can't answer back with "HERE I AM" because he doesn't agree with what the MOBO is claiming as the configuration settings to be TRUE. With me so far?
Two possibilities come to mind. (1) For some reason the HDD is defective (how this could happen I don't know). (2) Have you tried using both DEFAULT and PERFORMANCE settings in the BIOS? Dumb question, I know - you've tried almost everything else! But I have found very often that the BIOS settings after a CMOS reset are different from those settings seen ON DELIVERY. You can't break anything, so give it a try.
The next chance I can think of is to exchange the HDD for another one, maybe a bit smaller. Could it be that the extra large HDD is giving the SATA problems when the MOBO first reads the specs?
It seems like the MOBO (after reset - FRESH) is reading something from the SATA, resetting the configuration, saving it, and then on reboot the HDD can't answer back with "HERE I AM" because he doesn't agree with what the MOBO is claiming as the configuration settings to be TRUE. With me so far?
Two possibilities come to mind. (1) For some reason the HDD is defective (how this could happen I don't know). (2) Have you tried using both DEFAULT and PERFORMANCE settings in the BIOS? Dumb question, I know - you've tried almost everything else! But I have found very often that the BIOS settings after a CMOS reset are different from those settings seen ON DELIVERY. You can't break anything, so give it a try.
The next chance I can think of is to exchange the HDD for another one, maybe a bit smaller. Could it be that the extra large HDD is giving the SATA problems when the MOBO first reads the specs?
ASKER
Thanks for you answer, but i have only this minute sussed it out.....I replaced both the motherboard and the sata hdd, swapped memory in and out etc, still got the same problem, so finally i swapped the vga card with another (fx700) one that i had....and you know what, it damn well worked !!!!!!, unbelievable, i swapped the cards back again, and yep got the 'Auto Detecting 3rd master' message again.....weird !!!
So it appears to be the graphics card, i dunno why, but thats what it is.
Do you think its worth installin the specific drivers for the graphics card that i am not using, and after they have installed, putting the card back in ?....not sure if that would make a difference ?
I have had no reply back from Asus
thanks for all the help guys
So it appears to be the graphics card, i dunno why, but thats what it is.
Do you think its worth installin the specific drivers for the graphics card that i am not using, and after they have installed, putting the card back in ?....not sure if that would make a difference ?
I have had no reply back from Asus
thanks for all the help guys
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Steve