BIOS not adding failed drive to drive table

[sathandle]

I have an older IDE hard disk that has a confirmed failure that is being recognized by the BIOS, but the BIOS fails to assign the failed drive a drive letter/allow the machine to recognize the drive/add the drive to the drive table so I can run my data recovery software.

I am running Award BIOS v 6.0 (i180) on a Asus VIA chipset MB with XP.

I receive the error message "Secondary slave drive failure - F1 Continue, Del Enter Setup".

What settings should I be using in the BIOS so the failed drive will be added to the drive table? Data has been previously recovered on another machine where the BIOS allows the addition of the drive to the drive table. I am certain I will need to do this process again and need to know how to undertake this process with my new machine.

Any thoughts on the BIOS settings to complete this task would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
SATHandle



Don't beat your head against the wall unless you know how to plaster.

 

[mainegeek]

Sathandle,
Your post is some what confussing. What position are you trying to attach the drive? ie:Master or Slave and have you set the jumper on the drive for it?

Do you have the pin 1 of the data cable orientated correctly to the drive and is the power plug connected as well?

How did you determine this drive as a failed drive.

 

[wolluf]

If the drive is 'failed' in some way, then its pot luck whether it will be recognised in the bios or not. You can just make sure its jumpered correctly and try (in all 4 available positions). Also, if available, you could try it in different machines. It sounds like you're just out of luck - drive is dead (so you'd need a professional recovery service to retrieve data).

 

[sathandle]

Words are so inadequate sometimes to fully explain a process... Here are the step by step processes completed thus far.

On computer A (550 MHz, Award BIOS, Soyo 5EHM, circa 1998):
(1) Hook up drive to secondary IDE Controller, master
(2) BIOS recognizes drive (drive's specs are listed when first POST screen appears) (Secondary Master & Model # displayed)
(3) BIOS assigns drive letter
(4) OS (XP) assigns drive letter
(5) Drive accessible, but no files listed from Explorer (drive has files)
(6) Run data recovery software, all data restored to CD

***************
On computer B (2.8 GHz, Award BIOS v 6, Asus A7V333, circa 2003): (ATTEMPT 1)
(1) Hook up drive to secondary IDE Controller, master
(2) BIOS recognizes drive (drive's specs are listed when first POST screen appears) (Secondary Master & Model # displayed)
(3) BIOS reports "Secondary master drive failure - F1 to continue, Del to Enter Setup"

F1 Option: Primary HDD loads OS (XP) drive does not exist in OS
Del Option: Option to change BIOS Settings, exit, re-boot, back to the beginning with Error message identified above in (3)

***************
On computer B (2.8 GHz, Award BIOS v 6, Asus A7V333, circa 2003): (ATTEMPT 2)
(1) Hook up drive to secondary IDE Controller, slave (added another functional drive to secondary IDE Controller, master)
(2) BIOS recognizes drive (drive's specs are listed when first POST screen appears) (Secondary Slave & Model # displayed)
(3) BIOS reports "Secondary slave drive failure - F1 to continue, Del to Enter Setup"

F1 Option: Primary HDD loads OS (XP) drive does not exist in OS
Del Option: Option to change BIOS Settings, exit, re-boot, back to the beginning with Error message identified above in (3)
***************

I need to have the OS on Computer B see the drive so I can run data recovery software. My objective is to have the capability to complete these processes on the new machine (i.e. computer B) since I plan on getting rid of the 550 MHz machine (computer A).

To alleviate any concerns, yes, all jumpers were set correctly.

I am currently testing the drive in computer B on a PCI ATA 133 MHz interface card in lieu of connecting the drive directly to the MB. Any thoughts?

SATHandle


Don't beat your head against the wall unless you know how to plaster.

 

[mainegeek]

Hello sathandle,
What is the make,model and size of the drive?

How many partitions are on it and type of file system(s)?
{You can check this with a bootdisk using fdisk)

Does it contain any drive overlay?

What device is it slaved to?

Have you tried it as primary slave with the jumper removed?

 

[wolluf]

Sorry - but I still think its pot luck how a damaged drive will behave in different machines (so the fact you can run recovery software on the older machine is no guarantee you will be able to on newer one). Having said that - using a PCI card is a good idea - any different approach to the ones which have failed...

Have you got any other IDE drives connected (CD/DVD?) - you could try disconnecting them if you have.

 

[mainegeek]

I have to agree with wolluf.