|
This document lists troubleshooting tips if you experience problems with the hard disk drive in your system.
General information
Symptoms
Additional Resources
General information
Enabling support for 2 terabyte drives
If you are using a hard drive 2 terabytes or greater in capacity, you must enable UEFI (Unified Extended Firmware Interface) in order for your system to recognize the drive.
To enable UEFI:
- During boot, enter the BIOS setup by pressing F2.
- Go to the Boot menu
- Set UEFI Boot to Enable.
- Press F10 to Save and Exit.
back to top 
Serial ATA and Microsoft Windows
Microsofts paper, Serial ATA in the Microsoft Operating System Environment, provides additional information about Serial ATA support for the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems.
back to top
Serial ATA DVD/CD drives
Currently, SATA speeds are not significantly that much faster than the older PATA interface (150 MB per second as opposed to PATA's up to 133 MBps), it promises to eventually attain speeds of up to 600 Mbps.
However, these speeds are relevant only to hard drives. These numbers aren't meaningful to optical drives. Optical drives generally top out at about 22 MBps for reads and 16.5 MBps for writes, far below the level of PATA'S current capabilities.
SATA has some advantages that apply to DVD drives:
- It uses slimmer cables, which improve circulation within the PC and keep the insides cooler.
- You connect only one device per cable, which eliminates the need for master/slave/cable select jumper settings and simplifies drive installation.
- It allows up to 3.3-foot cable lengths as opposed to PATA's 1.5-foot limitation.
back to top
Mixing SATA and PATA (IDE) devices
SATA and PATA devices can work together in a single system. Typically, the SATA connectors would be used for hard drives and the PATA connector would be used for DVD or CD (optical) drives, although hard drives can be installed on both connector types.
Intels RAID configuration software offers the ability to create RAID volumes manually. This option should be used if you are using a third bootable device such as an IDE or SCSI hard drive in addition to using two SATA hard drives. To create a RAID volume manually, see the section titled "Create Volume Manually" in the Users Manual.
One benefit of using a third bootable device and creating a RAID volume manually is that the operating system is not located on the RAID volume. Should something happen to the RAID volume, the operating system should not be impacted.
back to top
SATA modes (IDE, AHCI, RAID)
The SATA controller has three modes of operation:
- IDE mode - no AHCI, no RAID
- SATA mode (sometimes called AHCI mode) - AHCI enabled, no RAID
- RAID mode - AHCI enabled, RAID enabled
AHCI mode also allows for Hot Swapping drives.
Switching SATA modes in the BIOS after installing the operating system is not recommended when a SATA drive is the boot drive. Switching modes may cause an immediate blue screen with an 0x0000007b error code, followed by a reboot.
For complete information on the SATA Mode, refer to How to configure the BIOS for RAID or AHCI on an Intel® motherboard.
back to top
SATA port hot plug capability
Intel® 6 Series chipsets natively support hot plug capabilities of SATA devices. This support is built in at the hardware level. An operating system may add capabilities to support recognition and mounting of SATA devices that are hot plugged (plugged in while a system is running).
One effect of the support built into the operating system is that SATA devices plugged into a hot plug-enabled SATA port are often seen as removable devices that may be safely ejected. This may be viewed as an undesirable feature by some customers since SATA devices are physically integrated in the computer case.
There are two solutions to this problem:
Install the latest Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (iRST) driver
This driver updates the behavior of the operating system to NOT set SATA drives as removable devices, but as fixed devices that can be plugged or unplugged.
Disable hot plug capability in BIOS
Some Intel® Desktop Boards include a setting in BIOS that allows you to enable or disable the hot plug capability for each SATA port. Disabling hot plug for a drive in BIOS allows the operating system to see it as a fixed device with no additional driver needed. BIOS defaults for hot plugging are defined as follows:
- All fixed 3 and 6 Gb/s SATA ports (black and blue internal headers) are disabled by default.
- All mSATA ports (internal PCIe slots) are disabled by default.
- All external SATA (eSATA) headers and back panel ports (red) are enabled by default.
Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.)
S.M.A.R.T. is a monitoring system for hard disk drives to detect and report possible drive failures. You can enable or disable support for S.M.A.R.T. in the BIOS Setup.
You should enable it if you want to use S.M.A.R.T.-aware utilities to monitor the hard disk's condition. Refer to Diagnostic and performance tools for a list of S.M.A.R.T.-aware utilities.
Symptoms
back to top
Drive does not spin up (no drive lights)
If the hard drive does not spin up and the drive light doesn't illuminate during power-up, check the following:
- Make sure the hard drive power connector and ribbon cable are connected.
- Swap the hard drive.
back to top
Drive spins but the computer will not boot
If the drive spins and drive lights are illuminated, but the computer will not boot from the hard drive, check the following:
- Make sure that the hard drive power connector and ribbon cable are connected.
- Run the BIOS setup program
- Make sure the drive and the controller are enabled.
- Make sure the drive has the correct parameters (it is recommended to use the Auto Detect setting).
For IDE drives, check the jumper settings of all of the IDE devices (master, slave).
For SCSI drives:
- Check the jumper settings of all SCSI devices.
- Make sure the primary hard disk is set to SCSI ID 0.
- Check during POST to see if the SCSI BIOS is loading and finding any SCSI devices. If not, check the host adapter installation including IRQ, DMA and I/O settings.
Make sure all device drivers have been installed correctly.
Swap the controller card, cable and hard drive, one at a time.
back to top
Drive spins but the system does not recognize the drive
A drive that is not recognized by the system may exhibit any number of symptoms, including the following error messages:
- No Fixed Disk Present
- Error reading fixed disk
- Non-System disk or disk error, Replace and strike any key when ready
- No ROM Basic
- Disk Boot Error, Replace and Strike Key to Retry
- DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER
- BOOT: Couldn't find NTLDR, Please insert another disk
Check the following:
- If you are trying to boot from the hard drive, make sure there is no disk in drive A.
- If you are trying to boot from the floppy disk drive, try to boot from the hard drive and then access the floppy disk. Then try to make sure that the disk has the necessary boot files and that the necessary boot files are not corrupt.
- If you are trying to boot from the floppy disk drive, try to boot from another bootable floppy disk.
- Make sure the hard drive power connector and ribbon cable are connected.
- For hard drives, verify the primary partition is active.
- In BIOS setup, make sure the correct settings are chosen for the drive and make sure the hard drive and floppy controllers are enabled. (it is recommended to use the Auto Detect setting).
- In BIOS setup, check the boot order.
- If you have two drives on the same IDE cable, try swapping the master/slave.
- For IDE drives, check the jumper settings of all of the IDE devices (master, slave).
- For SCSI drives:
- Check the jumper settings of all SCSI devices.
- Make sure the primary hard disk is set to SCSI ID 0.
- Check during POST to see if the SCSI BIOS is loading and finding any SCSI devices. If not, check the host adapter installation including IRQ, DMA and I/O settings.
If using a removable/mobile IDE rack for the hard drive, verify the drive tray has been locked.
Make sure all device drivers have been installed correctly.
Swap the controller card, cable and hard drive, one at a time.
back to top
Hard disk controller failure message
Any of the following error messages indicate the computer cannot communicate with the hard drive:
- Hard Disk Failure
- Hard Disk Controller Failure
- HDD Controller Failure
Check the following:
- Make sure the hard drive power connector and ribbon cable are connected.
- In BIOS setup, make sure the correct settings are chosen for the drive and make sure the hard drive and floppy controllers are enabled. (it is recommended to use the Auto Detect setting).
- In BIOS setup, check the boot order.
- For IDE drives, check the jumper settings of all of the IDE devices (master, slave).
- For SCSI drives:
- Check the jumper settings of all SCSI devices.
- Make sure the primary hard disk is set to SCSI ID 0.
- Check during POST to see if the SCSI BIOS is loading and finding any SCSI devices. If not, check the host adapter installation including IRQ, DMA and I/O settings.
Swap the controller card, cable and hard drive, one at a time.
back to top
"Error reading drive C:" message
Check the following:
- Make sure the hard drive power connector and ribbon cable are connected.
- In BIOS setup, make sure the correct settings are chosen for the drive and make sure the hard drive and floppy controllers are enabled. (it is recommended to use the Auto Detect setting).
- Check for viruses.
- Run ScanDisk or some other similar utility.
- Swap the controller card, cable and hard drive, one at a time.
- Try to reformat the drive and make the drive bootable again.
- Try a low-level format. Then partition, format and add the system files to the hard drive.
back to top
Drive works as primary drive but not as secondary (or vice-versa)
Check the following:
- Make sure the hard drive power connector and ribbon cable are connected.
- In BIOS setup, make sure the correct settings are chosen for the drive and make sure the hard drive and floppy controllers are enabled. (it is recommended to use the Auto Detect setting).
- In BIOS setup, check the boot order.
- Verify the primary partition is active.
- For IDE drives, check the jumper settings of all of the IDE devices (master, slave).
- Swap the controller card, cable and hard drive, one at a time.
back to top
Hard drive runs slow
If the hard drive seems to be running slow, check the following:
- Check for viruses.
- Defrag the hard drive.
- Check to see if you have a slow device on the cable.
- For IDE drives, in BIOS setup, check to see if it is set to Ultra DMA or PIO mode. Ultra DMA is faster, as long as the drive supports it.
- For SCSI drives:
- Check the jumper settings of all SCSI devices.
- Make sure the primary hard disk is set to SCSI ID 0.
- Enter the SCSI BIOS and check the settings
Check if anyone did a low-level format on the drive. If they don't use the proper low-level format program, essential tracking information could have been erased.
back to top
Frequent drive failures
If you experience frequent drive failures, check the following:
- Make sure all chassis fans are working properly. The system may be overheating.
- Make sure you are using the proper screws in mounting the drives in the case.
- Check for low-level vibrations.
- Check for power fluctuations. Make sure you have a reliable surge protector.
- Use a voltmeter to verify that each output from the power supply is correct. If any output is very low (especially the +5 volt output), replace the power supply.
- Check other environment factors such as smoke, heavy dust, high humidity and anything that may generate a strong electromagnetic field such as heavy machinery and motors.
back to top
Serial ATA drive not recognized
There are several reasons why a serial ATA drive may not be recognized at bootup or by the operating system.
No power to the drive
Check that the power cable is connected from the power supply to the SATA drive. If your power supply does not include a SATA power connector, you will need an adapter.
SATA data cable is not connected
Check that the SATA data cable is firmly connected from the SATA drive to the SATA header on the desktop board.
SATA drive is not formatted
Like all drives, serial ATA drives must be formatted before use.
BIOS issues
Random BIOS problems may interfere with the detection of SATA drives.
- Make sure you have the latest BIOS version for your desktop board.
- Try a BIOS recovery.
back to top
137 GB drive size limitation
The original Microsoft Windows XP or 2000* CDs can only support a maximum hard drive capacity of 137 GB. To install a hard drive larger than 137 gigabytes on your computer you need Microsoft Windows 2000* Service Pack 3 or later or Microsoft Windows XP* Service Pack 1 or later.
back to top
SATA controller not running at 150MB per second
Intel® Desktop Utilities may report that Serial ATA drives are running at ATA speeds (ATA/100 or ATA/133). This is because the Serial ATA controller is running in Emulating Parallel ATA mode and is using Microsoft Windows* parallel ATA drivers (i.e. atapi.sys). While the Serial ATA controller may be operating at a higher transfer speed, it may claim to be operating in a slower parallel ATA transfer mode. All versions of Microsoft Windows prior to Microsoft Windows Server 2003* have support for Emulating Parallel ATA mode. For additional information refer to Serial ATA in the Microsoft Operating System Environment.
back to top
Serial ATA port numbers do not match
On Intel® Desktop Boards based on the Intel® 965 Express chipset, the serial ATA port number listed in the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology option ROM and the user interface does not match the port number listed in the system BIOS and on the desktop board itself. As an example, a drive reported as connected to Port 2 in the user interface will be identified by the BIOS as being connected to Port 4.
Use the table below to map the port number shown in the Intel Rapid Storage Technology option ROM and Intel Matrix Storage Console to the port number shown by the BIOS and board markings. This will be necessary in the event of a drive failure in order to ensure the replacement of the correct drive.
Caution |
When replacing a failed drive within a RAID array, refer to the drive number as shown in the Intel® Matrix Storage Console. Do not replace a failed drive according the board silkscreen markings. | |
|
Desktop Board Silkscreen markings and System BIOS1 |
Intel® Rapid Storage Technology option ROM and User Interface |
| Intel® Desktop Boards DG965PZ, DQ965WC |
|
|
| Intel® Desktop Boards DG965WH, DG965OT, DQ965GF |
|
|
| Intel® Desktop Boards DG965MQ, DQ965CO |
|
| |
1 When RAID is enabled, you cannot check which port a drive is connected to in the BIOS. The BIOS will show the individual SATA ports, but all of them will show "Not Connected" even if there are drives connected. You can only check it from the option ROM, the Intel® Matrix Storage Console and the board silkscreen.
back to top
Optical drives connected to blue SATA ports do not work
With the Intel® Desktop Board D975XBX2 or DX38BT, CD or DVD drives connected to the blue SATA ports may not be recognized by Microsoft Windows*. This can result in failures when trying to write to CDs or DVDs in the drive. To resolve this, connect the optical drive it to a black SATA port.
back to top
Related topics
Troubleshooting RAID issues
Serial ATA (SATA) troubleshooter*
Computer hard disk drive help*
How to troubleshoot hard disk drive problems*
Troubleshooting hard disk drives*
This applies to:
| 
