Member Avatar for stuarj1

Was hoping would be as simple as plugging it in and then setting as a slave on the BIOS... seems I was a little too optimistic.

I have a new hard drive in on a clean install of Windows 7.
I would like to add my old hard drive, transfer existing data from it, then format it and use it for extra storage space

However, the BIOS never regognises the 2nd drive.

Motherboard is ASUS Rampage 2 Extreme
Both drives are Seagate Barracuda's 7200.11 (3tb & 1.5tb)

New drive has Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit
Old drive is on a triple boot and has Windows 7 64-bit, Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit & windows XP 32-bit installed (this may be the problem?) Only really want the data from Windows 7, don't need anything from XP or Vista.

No idea where to go from here.

Can anybody offer advice?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rch1231

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Brief, prioritized follow-up for that builds on ’s BIOS/port checks. When a second SATA disk never appears in the motherboard device list, the most important additional possibilities (beyond cabling/ports) are drive firmware/electronics failure, power/cable faults, or controller/BIOS incompatibility. The Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 family is a well‑documented example: affected firmware revisions could render drives invisible to the host and Seagate released model‑specific firmware updates and diagnostic tools. Seagate firmware updates · Atola notes on 7200.11 recovery. (seagate.com)

Practical checklist (in roughly this order): verify the drive’s SATA power connector by swapping to a known‑good PSU cable; replace the SATA data cable and try other motherboard ports; boot the system with only the suspect drive attached to isolate interactions; test the drive on another PC or with a powered USB‑to‑SATA adapter/enclosure to bypass the onboard controller; lastly, run Seagate SeaTools (desktop or SeaTools Bootable) to detect firmware faults or run vendor diagnostics. SeaTools and its bootable kit are the official diagnostic paths. SeaTools downloads and bootable docs · SeaTools Bootable troubleshooting/limitations. (seagate.com)

Cautions and next steps if the disk still won’t appear: firmware flashing and low‑level fixes can be data‑destructive — Seagate’s KB warns to follow instructions exactly and backup first when possible. If the drive spins yet remains invisible or SeaTools cannot recover it, the safest option for critical data is professional recovery or Seagate’s Data Rescue service rather than trial DIY fixes. Seagate firmware caution · Seagate Data Recovery/Rescue. (seagate.com)

If the issue looks like a controller/compatibility problem, check for a motherboard BIOS/chipset update for the Rampage II Extreme before attempting complex fixes — an updated BIOS can sometimes resolve device enumeration problems. For drives with important data that are still under warranty or affected by known firmware issues, open an RMA or contact a recovery lab (specialist tools like DiskSense/PC‑3000 are often required). ASUS Rampage II Extreme support/BIOs. (asus.com)

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Member Avatar for rch1231

The only thing I can think of is that the second SATA port is not enabled in CMOS setup. On some mother boards you have to tell the BIOS that there is now a drive conneted and then if will probe the cable. With SATA there is no primary-secondary like PATA because they are on their own cable. Just double check that you have it plugged into SATA1 (Primary should be in SATA0) and not a RAID port. If you have it in SATA2 or SATA3 make sure you have the second SATA controller enabled or move it to SATA1.

Member Avatar for stuarj1

Thanks for the reply.

All the SATA ports are enabled - ven swapped drives over to check...

Still not registering 2nd drive, regardless of what port its in.

Member Avatar for rch1231

Do you hear the drive spin up? Do you have an external housing (USB)you could put it in? If the BIOS is not seeing it then the drive may not be working. External housings are around $35-$40 depending on the retailer and brand.

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