Windows won't recognize my harddrives, working yesterday

[xanthamn]

Last night I turned my computer off. It recognized all 6 hard drives. Today when I started it the BIOS and controller card recognized all my 6 hard drives but when Windows loaded it only showed 2, the ones connected to my motherboard. It didn't show the 4 connected to my controller card. What is wrong? thanks.

[DMR]

Sounds like a possible driver issue.

- What version of Windows are you running, and what is the make/model of the controller card?

- Is the controller card reported to be working properly in Device Manager.

[xanthamn]

Windows Version: Windows XP Pro
Controller Card: Promise Technology Ultra133 TX2

The controller card is working properly in the device manager. It's a really strange problem.

Thanks for the response.

[DMR]

OK- that's a pretty common card, and I don't think XP has any known issues with it under normal circumstances.

Some things you can try:

1. You said "when Windows loaded it only showed 2"; I'm assuming you meant that only two drives appeared in My Computer and/or Windows Explorer. If you haven't already: Right-click on your My Computer icon, choose "Manage" from the context menu, and then click "Disk Management" in the resulting window.

Do any of the "missing" disks appear there, and if so, what info is reported about them (File System, Status, etc.)?

2. Uninstall the Promise card through Device Manager, reboot, and let Windows redetect the card and reinstall its drivers.

3. Try connecting only 1 drive at a time to the controller card (do this for each of two IDE channels on the card). That will help you determine if you've got a faulty drive or channel that's bringing the rest of the card down. Also check your ribbon cable connections and make sure the card is firmly seated in its PCI slot.

4. Put each of the drives on the motherboard's regular IDE channels and see if their all recognized when connected there.