Member Avatar for pranavv

I have installed XP SP3 on my SATA HDD-320 Seagate Baracuda- and have downloaded a lot of stuff- movies- games etc. . all was fine
and i was able to use all the functions properly. then i thought of updating the system online from Microsoft updates
now the HDD is not getting recognised- XP is not booting - SATA HDD is not recognised even in the bios.
i have 2 SATA HDDs, 80 GB and 320 GB wanted to use both together but am in trouble now. as primary and secondary slave dont work. am presently booting frmo 80 GB SATA but th3 320 is not recognised in system nor in bios
my Motherboard- Intel Pentium 845GNTL- supports 4 SATA connections
-1 GB RAM DIMM2- 512 2 peices
i am giving all info which may be essential for diagnosing- hope it helps.
looking forward to reply soon.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by nanosani

Dani AI

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Short expert summary tied to the thread: 's 320GB Seagate worked after the XP SP3 install but stopped appearing in the motherboard BIOS after running Windows Update, while the 80GB drive still boots. Because the 320GB is missing from BIOS entirely, the problem is almost certainly at the hardware/firmware level rather than an OS driver issue—Windows driver changes cannot make a physical disk disappear from BIOS. The suggestions from (cables/ports) and (driver rollback only helps if the OS sees the disk) are the right priorities.

Practical, high‑yield diagnostic checklist (do these in order):

  1. Power down, unplug mains, and reseat the SATA data and SATA power connectors on the 320GB and on the motherboard.
  2. Swap the 320GB onto the same SATA port and cable currently used by the working 80GB; swap the 80GB into the 320's port. This distinguishes a bad port/cable from a dead drive.
  3. Boot with only the 320GB attached (remove the 80GB) so BIOS enumerates a single drive.
  4. Listen for drive spin/awful clicking on power-up. No spin or repetitive clicks usually indicates power or mechanical failure—try a different SATA power connector or a known‑good PSU.
  5. If possible, connect the 320GB to another machine or a USB‑SATA adapter and run a SMART/diagnostic scan (read‑only mode) to check health and try imaging if data is needed.

BIOS and configuration notes:

  • Confirm the Intel SATA controller is enabled in BIOS. Changing SATA mode (IDE/AHCI/RAID) can break Windows boot, so avoid flipping it unless troubleshooting requires it.
  • Clearing CMOS can restore a flaky BIOS state; a BIOS update is higher risk and should only follow hardware testing and reading the motherboard vendor guidance (as ’s system-info check confirmed the D945GNT board).

Data caution: if the disk contains important files, avoid initializing/formatting or repeated write attempts. If the drive fails to spin or SMART reports severe errors, consider professional recovery.

Recommended Answers

All 8 Replies

Member Avatar for hungry_for_info

what system bios(brand) is your computer using?

Member Avatar for pranavv

what system bios(brand) is your computer using?

- my system bios is intel-( i hope i am right on that) where can i check it ???
in case i am wrong.
i have all the drivers updated

Member Avatar for FlamingClaw

Is there user manual for your motherboard,cause the technical data are into it.

Member Avatar for hughv

Did you update the SATA driver from windows update? Sometimes these drivers are bad. In Devcie manager you'll see an option to "Roll back" the driver, which may help.
System restore may help.
Is this a RAID setup?
Is the SATA controller enabled in the BIOS?

\There's no "slave" designation with SATA.

Member Avatar for caperjack

download this safe program ,run it and on the motherboard tab it will show you bios /name ,version and date .
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

Member Avatar for pranavv

download this safe program ,run it and on the motherboard tab it will show you bios /name ,version and date .
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

thanks for that help.
And my drivers are all updated from windows update.
..
Mainboard Vendor Intel Corporation
Mainboard Model D945GNT
BIOS Vendor Intel Corp.
BIOS Version NT94510J.86A.3996.2006.0908.1329
BIOS Date 09/08/2006

Member Avatar for caperjack

thanks for that help.
And my drivers are all updated from windows update.

that good ,but my choice and the choice of many is not windows updates for drivers ,best to get them from the manufactures website

Member Avatar for nanosani

pranavv, the biggest issue is that your hard drive is not getting recognized in BIOS. You should try changing the data cable and the power cable and also try different SATA ports until it is recognized. When it is recognized, you can easily select it as boot device from BIOS. The bottom line is that it should be recognized in BIOS otherwise it's a hardware failure.

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