HDD Not Showing

drwho · May 22, 2011, 10:40 PM

I have a OCZ Vertex 2 SSD (60 GBs) which I just installed Windows 7 Ultimate on. Installation went fine, but one of the two extra hard drives I keep in my computer was not found. Is there a way to force windows to show or find the hard drive?

**kris23** · May 22, 2011, 11:07 PM

are you able to see all the drives in the Computer Management service under Administrative Tools?

***Veridian3*** · May 22, 2011, 11:57 PM

Or in the BIOS?

Tyrsonswood · May 23, 2011, 12:17 AM

Did you maybe disturb the cable when installing the new drive?

drwho · May 23, 2011, 01:02 AM

Well, the Bios sees the HDDs. I know the cables are OK because I'm using one of those removable hard drive drawers for swapping out drives.

I just tried a bit ago to boot up on the vertex2 HDD and I get an error message that says "Reboot and select the proper boot device" I've checked twice in the Bios and the Vertex2 is set as first boot drive. So I guess not seeing the other hard drive in windows is a moot point until I can boo up on the SSD. Not quite sure how to accomplish this at the moment, however.

**kris23** · May 23, 2011, 01:45 AM

check that you can properly format the SSD in question, have both hooked to the system and format it within windows.

usually when you receive the "Reboot and select the proper boot device" notification, it means there is no OS on the disk OR the OS on the disk is broken somehow.

That is, when there is no issues with the hardware.

drwho · May 23, 2011, 02:02 AM

Quote:

That is, when there is no issues with the hardware.

I'm beginning to think that might be the problem. The SSD seems to have gone bad.

Tyrsonswood · May 23, 2011, 02:47 AM

Was there another copy of windows on one of those other drives?

drwho · May 23, 2011, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrsonswood

Was there another copy of windows on one of those other drives?

No, there was not.

Tipstaff · May 23, 2011, 12:44 PM

Which drive is in the drive cage? Any of the ones that cannot be seen? Regardless, the first thing you should do is remove this cage from the equation, and directly hook up the drives to the motherboard. Hook up just the SSD first then add each drive back without using the cage. BTW, you didn't mention what connections you are using for the drives. Are they all SATA, or a mix of SATA/PATA (IDE)?

On a side note, which computer are you using to post in the forums? Is it possible for you to hook up the SSD to that machine to see if there is data on it? If not, one possibility is to grab Ubuntu 11.04, burn the CD, and boot directly from that CD on the original machine (no need to install Ubuntu BTW). The idea is to rule out Windows as the problem. Once Ubuntu is up and running you can then try to access each drive, and if you can access each one then the issue you are having is with Windows, and not a hardware issue. If you cannot, then it's a hardware issue.

drwho · May 24, 2011, 10:28 PM

Quote:

BTW, you didn't mention what connections you are using for the drives. Are they all SATA, or a mix of SATA/PATA (IDE)?

Boy, my bad.... All drives in my computer are SATA including the optical.

Quote:

On a side note, which computer are you using to post in the forums?

I'm using my own computer to post of these questions (although I'm using my computer at work right now for this post). Last week when I swapped out motherboards to put the new Asus Rampage III Formula board in and tried to reinstall Win 7 on the Vertex 2 it was acting funning. I took it out and used my old Hitachi Deskstar 500 gig HHD that I had sitting in my dest drawer. Installing window on that drive eliminated all the problems I was having with the memory not reading correctly and so on. I decided to give the Vertex2 another try and windows installed fine but one of my HDDs was not showing up, hence the question in my first post in this thread. Then after I swapped drawers with the Hitachi drive and put the Vertex2 drive back in the drawer is when I got the message I mentioned later in the post. Just for the sake of conversation, the Vertex2 was set as first boot but I'm still getting the error message.

3 hours later..... OK, I think I just realized why this SSD I have is misbehaving. Before I reinstalled windows I reformatted the drive. It just occurred to me having read somewhere that reformatting an SSD is not a good idea. Am I right on this?

caqde · May 25, 2011, 01:37 AM

What is the first drive in the Sata chain, try booting to that device Windows 7 likes to MOVE the boot loader to the first device in the chain (not boot order actual hardware chain). So it is a possibility that the SSD doesn't have the boot loader on it although you installed to the device.

My girlfriends system has two Hard drives and although windows is installed on the smaller faster drive the bootloader was placed on the larger storage drive.

Although this likely won't answer the other problems you are having with the drive it could possibly answer the boot issue.

Tyrsonswood · May 25, 2011, 01:42 AM

You should install the OS on the SSD with it as the ONLY drive in the system...... add the other drive(s) after the fact.

drwho · May 30, 2011, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrsonswood

You should install the OS on the SSD with it as the ONLY drive in the system...... add the other drive(s) after the fact.

Thanks for the suggestion, Tyronswood. Got any other helpful hints I might be able to use when I try this again?

ada1984 · Aug 25, 2011, 04:25 PM

check cables

**MIG-31** · Aug 25, 2011, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ada1984

check cables

Can we say something far more costructive towards these threads,Instead of making 20 pointless posts in a row.

May 22, 2011, 10:40 PM	#1
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	HDD Not Showing I have a OCZ Vertex 2 SSD (60 GBs) which I just installed Windows 7 Ultimate on. Installation went fine, but one of the two extra hard drives I keep in my computer was not found. Is there a way to force windows to show or find the hard drive? __________________

May 22, 2011, 11:07 PM	#2
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,019 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	re: HDD Not Showing are you able to see all the drives in the Computer Management service under Administrative Tools? __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

May 22, 2011, 11:57 PM	#3
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 5,028 Rep Power: 182	re: HDD Not Showing Or in the BIOS?

May 23, 2011, 01:02 AM	Thread Starter #5
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	re: HDD Not Showing Well, the Bios sees the HDDs. I know the cables are OK because I'm using one of those removable hard drive drawers for swapping out drives. I just tried a bit ago to boot up on the vertex2 HDD and I get an error message that says "Reboot and select the proper boot device" I've checked twice in the Bios and the Vertex2 is set as first boot drive. So I guess not seeing the other hard drive in windows is a moot point until I can boo up on the SSD. Not quite sure how to accomplish this at the moment, however. __________________

May 23, 2011, 01:45 AM	#6
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,019 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	re: HDD Not Showing check that you can properly format the SSD in question, have both hooked to the system and format it within windows. usually when you receive the "Reboot and select the proper boot device" notification, it means there is no OS on the disk OR the OS on the disk is broken somehow. That is, when there is no issues with the hardware. __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

May 23, 2011, 12:44 PM	#10
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 191 System Specs	re: HDD Not Showing Which drive is in the drive cage? Any of the ones that cannot be seen? Regardless, the first thing you should do is remove this cage from the equation, and directly hook up the drives to the motherboard. Hook up just the SSD first then add each drive back without using the cage. BTW, you didn't mention what connections you are using for the drives. Are they all SATA, or a mix of SATA/PATA (IDE)? On a side note, which computer are you using to post in the forums? Is it possible for you to hook up the SSD to that machine to see if there is data on it? If not, one possibility is to grab Ubuntu 11.04, burn the CD, and boot directly from that CD on the original machine (no need to install Ubuntu BTW). The idea is to rule out Windows as the problem. Once Ubuntu is up and running you can then try to access each drive, and if you can access each one then the issue you are having is with Windows, and not a hardware issue. If you cannot, then it's a hardware issue. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick. Last edited by Tipstaff; May 23, 2011 at 04:42 PM.

May 25, 2011, 01:37 AM	#12
caqde HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: US, IL Posts: 505 Rep Power: 66 System Specs	re: HDD Not Showing What is the first drive in the Sata chain, try booting to that device Windows 7 likes to MOVE the boot loader to the first device in the chain (not boot order actual hardware chain). So it is a possibility that the SSD doesn't have the boot loader on it although you installed to the device. My girlfriends system has two Hard drives and although windows is installed on the smaller faster drive the bootloader was placed on the larger storage drive. Although this likely won't answer the other problems you are having with the drive it could possibly answer the boot issue. __________________ AMD Phenom II X4 925 AM3/ Giga-byte MA790XT-UD4P XFX HD5770 1GB / 2x8GB of Geil DDR3 12800 10-10-10-28 Samsung SH-S182D DVD-RW drive / Sony Optiarc BD-5300S BD-RW drive Western Digital WD1501FASS(Primary)/Western Digital 15EADS(Secondary)/Western Digital 7500AACS(Secondary)/Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320gb(Secondary) Antec TP-550 / CoolerMaster CMStacker Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium Fatal1ty Professional / Creative Inspire 6600 6.1 speakers Samsugn T200HD 20" LCD Monitor / Logitech Internet 350 Black Keyboard Logitech MX510 Mouse

Aug 25, 2011, 04:25 PM	#15
ada1984 HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 20 Rep Power: 0	re: HDD Not Showing check cables