Member Avatar for ohyeah

Hello all!
I'm trying to add a WD 750G HDD to my system. I have a Silicon Image SiL3114 PCI SATA card, and I'm still booting from my IDE HDD. I initialized and formatted the new 750 while it was in an external case, and started moving some files onto it, but I got a strange hardware-or-network-connection error message, so I decided to put it in the computer in case the problem was the (also new) external case. I only have one SATA data cable right now, so I unplugged my 320G SATA drive and plugged in the 750. Ordinarily, when I boot it up I see a screen at one point that says:

Press F4 or Ctrl+S for Raid or SCSI (or something like that)
0 WD3200 305XXX (whatever the actual HDD space is)

But when I plug in the 750 it says:

Press F4 or Ctrl+S for Raid or SCSI (or something like that)
0 WD7500AAKS

and that's it. No actual HDD space figure, and it just sticks right there.

Am I missing something? My driver's okay, and I've never had a problem with the 320. I'm wondering if the drive is bad, but I don't want to send it back for replacement if I'm just doing something dumb (especially since the first 750 I got was DOA; I don't want to send two back unless I really have to). If I plug the 750 back into the external case, it works.

I did search the forums before posing this, and I didn't see any problems like mine. I apologize if this has been covered elsewhere, and thank you for taking the time to help me out. I'm stumped, and more than a little frustrated! :confused:

-Jenn

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Generated

Brief summary for context: ’s new WD7500AAKS is fine in the USB enclosure but when connected directly to the SiL3114 PCI SATA card the system stalls at the controller’s POST (model shown but no capacity). Earlier replies suggested BIOS detection () and a master/slave issue () — note that SATA is point‑to‑point (no master/slave jumpers), and that detail doesn't apply.

Most likely causes and focused checks

  • SATA speed mismatch: many SATA‑II (3.0 Gb/s) WD drives include a tiny compatibility jumper to force 1.5 Gb/s for older controllers. Check the drive label/manual and try the jumper if present — external USB bridges often auto‑negotiate and hide the issue, which explains why the drive works in the enclosure.
  • Controller/Motherboard BIOS/firmware mismatch: the SiL3114 card’s BIOS or firmware may not fully negotiate the drive. Look for a firmware/BIOS update for the exact PCI card model (note: flashing carries risk). Also check whether the card’s RAID BIOS can be disabled or set so it doesn’t block POST.
  • Power/cable/slot and isolation tests: swap the SATA cable, use a different SATA power connector (or Molex adapter), reseat the card in another PCI slot, and confirm the drive spins up audibly. Because reported a card blocking boot even without a drive, test booting with the card installed but no drives attached to see if the POST hangs.

Recommended quick checklist (in order)

  1. Inspect drive for a SATA compatibility jumper and enable 1.5 Gb/s if available.
  2. Test the 750 inside another PC’s native SATA port (not via USB) to confirm native SATA behavior.
  3. Swap cables/power connectors and try a different PCI slot.
  4. Check card BIOS options (disable POST/RAID) and update card firmware/drivers only after noting current versions.
  5. If the drive works on other native SATA ports but not the card, the card is suspect; if it fails elsewhere, pursue WD diagnostics or RMA.

Concrete isolation is the key: if the 750 is fine on another machine’s SATA, the SiL3114/card settings or compatibility are the culprit.

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for johnny80

We need more answers. Do you have both the OS HDD (hard drive) and the external hard drive connected at the same time or are you trying to connect the external HDD by itself? If you have tried both at the same time then, the computer might not support having 2 hard drives of different brands. At work I was trying to do this, with 2 HDD's of same type of computer, but both HDD's are different brand and the computer would not boot because of the different type of brand. I was using a Maxtor and a Western Digital.

Another thing, you might have to put the external drive as Slave, maybe the computer is trying to use both as master.

Member Avatar for sittas87

Go into BIOS and run the SATA detection for the 750

Member Avatar for ohyeah

Thanks for getting back to me.

Johnny: Maybe I wasn't clear enough, the 750 works when it's connected as an external. I would like to plug it into my PCI SATA card inside the case. The OS HDD is a Samsung, the 750 is a WD, but the 320 that works plugged into the PCI card is also a WD, and it works just fine.

sittas87: There doesn't appear to be any SATA detection option in my BIOS screen. Maybe because I don't have SATA on my motherboard, just through the PCI card? I did try to look at it through the SATA/RAID screen (by pressing F4 after the BIOS has loaded but before Windows loads), but I can't get into that screen with the 750 plugged in. I can get in with the 320 plugged in.

To clarify (my original post is kinda muddled)--

*My 320 WD HDD works fine plugged into my PCI SATA card.
*When I plug my brand-new (formatted and initialized) 750 WD HDD into the same card the computer won't boot.
*The 750 works if it's plugged into an external case and hooked up through the USB.
*I can't currently plug them both into the PCI card at the same time (cable shortage).
*Both of these drives are for storage only, I have no intention of ever putting an OS on them.

I'm completely lost with this one, but I really need the extra space! I appreciate any help you guys can give, I don't want to send this back to Newegg if I'm just missing something. I just don't understand what the problem could be! The drive works, the SATA card works, they just won't work together. I feel like I must be missing something obvious, but I'm drawing a blank.

Thanks,
Jenn

Member Avatar for sittas87

what you can do is sata the drive in someone else's system and see if it comes it does than your drivers sure isnt rite.but if that doesnt work backup format and try to no avail send back to company cos than its not working when in sata.

Member Avatar for flattery

I have the same problem with one of my computers and when I try to install it into another computer the computer wouldn't even boot with the SATA card in the computer.

So to clarify: One computer would boot with the SATA card in but once the HDD was hooked up it wouldn't boot anymore, not even to a CD drive or anything. The other computer wouldn't even boot with the Card in the computer... didn't even need the HDD hooked up.

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