BIG PROBLEM: Bios Recognizes HDD, but no Windows

Hey everyone, I havent posted here in a while so I'll just say hi, and begin with my problem. Hopefully someone like clocker will come around and post a reply to this thread! Here is the problem.

One day my computer would not boot past the bios load screen, I thought the hard-drive might have died, but when I checked the SATA port in the BIOS, it was recognizing the capacity and serial number of the drive and everything. So I figured I might have to re-format or repair the windows installation. I booted up the XP cd, but uh oh, Windows cannot detect any installed hard drives! Agh! What the hell? So after multiple reboots, and some tinkering with the SATA settings, windows finally booted up and has been workin for the past few weeks until a day or so ago....

The same thing happened, the BIOS load screen would come up, but then instead of a Windows boot screen, the screen just remains black. I then repeated the same things I did before, except no boot, ever. It is a dell, and has insurance on it until 2008, so I called them, and after an hour or so of useless tech help, they decided to send me a new hdd for free because of the insurance. My current hd is 160 GB, but today the new HD came and it is 250 GB!! That is one nice accident! Anywho, today I tried installing the hdd, but get the same damn problems that I had with the other HDD. The Bios recognies the 250 GB drive, but the windows install disk wont! I tried all the SATA ports, and they all work, BIOS recognizes it in all ports, but not windows!! CAn anyone telll me what is going on? I can provide pictures if need-be, please! I need help!!

Did you check the even viewer in XP for errors?

Event Viewer - XP
Start
Control Panel
Administrative Tools
Event Viewer
system

Look for error in red and google the results or post the error codes here.

If the system is stable under linux, the motherboard, power supply, peripherals are OK, so try the next step and it will not change data on your hard drive (unless you want to). Run off of a linux live CD, but do not install.

Get hold of a Linux live cd - such as pclinuxos, boot off of that, browse the files on the hard drives, and if everything seems ok, it is a software problem.

Pclinuxos and most other Linux live cd's will do the job. You could also use DSL - damn small linux.

There are many ways to skin a cat, but this is what has worked for me and my friends countless times.

Let us know what happens!

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Originally Posted by superfuzzy

There are many ways to skin a cat, but this is what has worked for me and my friends countless times.

Let us know what happens!

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Ummm...what?
First, he can't get Windows to recognize the drive so how is he to access the Event Log in Windows?
Secondly, with the brand new HDD in place there are no files/directories, etc. for Linux to browse.

@orcutt,
Are you using the Dell supplied restore software and if so, is it an image or a regular install?
Is it possible you need to F6 SATA drivers in?

Thank you clocker for reading my thread. The previous person missed the part where I said windows wouldnt load. Yes I am using the Dell XP disk, I dont think using any other would help. It isnt a real XP disk, its a disk with the Delll logo and the extra crap all over it, but its what I use to reformat, etc. Excuse my questioning, but I am wondering how SATA drivers would be an issue since it just randomly did this a couple weeks ago when I had done absolutely nothing to the hardware? Are you saying maybe the drivers just randomly failed? In that case, I wouldnt know what to do, as I have no experience with what you have mentioned. If you can expand upon that, I might be able to provide more answers. I tried hitting F6, but nothing happens, the computer just continues to attempt to boot. Thanks for all your help so far, hope it continues. **Oh and is it normal for the computer go into some sort of rebooting-loop when you install a new hdd with nothing on it? Becasue if I dont boot from the CD, the computer just keeps loading the BIOS load screen over and over again while rebooting. Weird or no?

I did miss that eventually you were unable to boot with the original drive, but I stand by the suggestion to boot with the Linux Live CD to see if the hardware is OK - mother board and power supply, etc. Windows will sometimes run with faulty hardware. Even if you can't browse the hard drive there is a good chance that you'll get an idea of what is going on.

Also, a Linux live CD is an indispensable tool to have on hand.

Well it sounds like a good suggestion, but I have never used linux, and I dont have any computer with a working CD Drive, I am on my school-issued tablet pc right now. I appreciate your help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by orcutt989

Yes I am using the Dell XP disk, I dont think using any other would help. It isnt a real XP disk, its a disk with the Delll logo and the extra crap all over it, but its what I use to reformat, etc.

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The question is: is this an image install (like Norton Ghost) or does it install like e regular Windows disk?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by orcutt989

Excuse my questioning, but I am wondering how SATA drivers would be an issue since it just randomly did this a couple weeks ago when I had done absolutely nothing to the hardware? Are you saying maybe the drivers just randomly failed?

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Windows is stupid and can fail in a numbing variety of ways.
In the repair business there is little incentive (at least with software issues) to find out why something happened- the pressure is just to get it fixed and move on to the next PC.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by orcutt989

In that case, I wouldnt know what to do, as I have no experience with what you have mentioned. Oh and is it normal for the computer go into some sort of rebooting-loop when you install a new hdd with nothing on it? Becasue if I dont boot from the CD, the computer just keeps loading the BIOS load screen over and over again while rebooting. Weird or no?

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Not at all weird actually.
If there is no bootable media in the optical drive and the HDD is empty then the PC has no idea what to do, so it just loops until you give it something to load.

About F6...
Prior to the NF4 chipset, Windows had to be told that the hard drives were not IDE and forcefed SATA drivers in order to install the OS. Otherwise Windows would fail to detect a drive to install itself on.
When you first boot to your Dell disk it probably says "Inspecting your computer's hardware..." on the top of the screen.
Look at the bottom and it will say "Press F6 if you need to load third party drivers" (or something like that).
Press F6 till the message disappears.
Setup will continue, apparently ignoring you, till suddenly it will stop and ask for the drivers.
These HAVE to be loaded on a floppy (I told you Windows was stupid...) and fed to the setup.

Assuming that all is correct, XP will now see the hard drive and install will proceed as normal.

Maybe.

You might also check your new drive and see if it is jumpered for SATA 2.
Could be your motherboard only supports SATA 1 and this is the problem...

The windows XP disk is like a regular XP disk in which Dell slipstreamed all their crappy software onto it. Could i Just google around for the SATA drivers? I will probaly do that now, luckily I have a floppy drive. If it only accepted SATA 1, why would have the first drive failed? Ill try the drivers for now until you respond again.

EDIT: Alright I am on the intel website about SATA drivers for my chipset, and I see something about Application Accelerator which is installed and I never exactly knew what it was, but now...

Quote:

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The Intel® Application Accelerator is a software package that replaces the ATA drivers that come with Windows* with drivers optimized for desktop PCs using select Intel® chipsets. This software package is not a requirement for your operating system to work properly.

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I am not sure which chipset I have, I can only see 1 black-square-memory chip-looking thingy with fw82801Fr on it(i dont know if it is the ICH or the MCH!!?!?), but there is more than one chipset on the intel site with that on it! And when I download application acellerator or the matrix storage manager, they are just install files which would assume you already have a working drive!!! AGhh!! And to top it all off, I dont have a usb floppy drive for my Tablet so Ican put the drivers on! I have a usb pen drive, maybe that will work? I am off to search for some drivers!!

Okay I got the F6 floppy configuratio utility from Intel, now I just have to go to a friend's house and make a floppy with the drivers on it. OR I think I am going to do this. But I dont know what kind of motherboard I have!! Argh!

EDIT: The motherboard on an 8400 is this.

EDIT: Stated HERE it says the drivers are already slipstreamed into the DELL XP cd!! AGhH!!

Alright, I just F6'd the drivers in and still getting the same problem. I dont have anything left to do now.

EDIT 2: I went to the Dell website, and the drivers they provided are the application accelerator, not the one I just did. So now I have to go over to my friend's house again and make another floppy, if this doesnt work I am just gonna have to call dell...

Well I have suceeded in having the xp cd recognize the new hdd. I suppose I will just get this one going, and then snag an extra SATA cable from a friend so I can copy everything from my old 160 gb to the accidental 250 gb! I hope i can get the computer to recognie the old hd...


JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just installed XP on the new hd, and when it restarts, it goes past the bios load screen, instead of the windows logon there is the "we apologize for the inconvenience but windows.........blah blah safe mode...blah blah" And none of the choiced will boot, when I selected any of the choice, the computer just restarts and I do the same thing all over again. WHAT THE HELL! I am calling dell..