Enable Sata Drive on Asus A7V8X-LA (KELUT) motherboard.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Grandpa Ed
  • Start date Start date
G

Grandpa Ed

There are connectors on the Motherboard for 2 SATA drives. I connected,
booted, sighed, cried, moaned, and groaned as I looked in the bios for some
indication that there was some way to turn on or enable the sata drives. I
right clicked and looked at the hardware area of the information and it is
not there either. When you right click and ask the system to "manage"
nothing shows up as far as any thing SATA. Maxtor and it's max blast did not
work at all, as far as formatting or identifying the drive.

If the connectors are there, why can I not make the drives work?

Grandpa Ed
 
Grandpa Ed said:
There are connectors on the Motherboard for 2 SATA drives. I connected,
booted, sighed, cried, moaned, and groaned as I looked in the bios for
some indication that there was some way to turn on or enable the sata
drives. I right clicked and looked at the hardware area of the information
and it is not there either. When you right click and ask the system to
"manage" nothing shows up as far as any thing SATA. Maxtor and it's max
blast did not work at all, as far as formatting or identifying the drive.

If the connectors are there, why can I not make the drives work?

Grandpa Ed
Click to expand...


Grandpa Ed:
I assume that your machine has been working with one or more PATA HDDs
connected, i.e., you had not previously installed one or more SATA HDDs. In
other words, these are the first SATA HDDs you've installed (or are trying
to install) in your PC. Is all that right?

Unfortunately, in too many cases installing a SATA HDD it's not always the
cut & dried proposition we've been used to when installing PATA HDDs where
all that is necessary is a simple connection of the PATA HDD to an IDE
connector. With SATA HDDs there can be a driver issue involved and before
the XP OS can recognize the SATA HDD a SATA controller driver must be
installed.

In many cases where a SATA HDD is being installed in a non-RAID
configuration, no separate SATA controller driver need be installed by the
user since the driver will be integrated in the motherboard's
chipset-controller component. It all depends upon the particular
motherboard.

Since you indicate you're installing two SATA HDDs, I don't know if that
means you intend to set up a RAID configuration. If that's the case then it
will be necessary to install the RAID driver (presumably available through
your motherboard's installation CD).

Hopefully, you have your motherboard's User Guide available as well as the
motherboard's installation CD that will presumably include the SATA driver
should it be necessary in your case. Read the Guide carefully as it applies
to the installation of SATA drives. Particularly so if you intend setting up
a RAID configuration.

One thing more...

My advice is not to use any third-party partitioning-formatting program
available from the manufacturer of the HDD (such as the MaxBlast program).
The XP OS is entirely capable to effectively undertake this process whether
you're installing the OS onto the HDD or using the HDD as a secondary drive.
Anna
 
Go to the ASUS website and download the manual for your motherboard. It's
not as easy as it seems...


MD
 
Anna said:
Grandpa Ed:
I assume that your machine has been working with one or more PATA HDDs
connected, i.e., you had not previously installed one or more SATA HDDs.
In other words, these are the first SATA HDDs you've installed (or are
trying to install) in your PC. Is all that right?
Click to expand...
======
That is correct. The computer is a 2 year old compaq 1300nx and has been
doing just fine.
Best Buy had a sale and the extra speed seemed like an effort worth the
time.
======
Unfortunately, in too many cases installing a SATA HDD it's not always the
cut & dried proposition we've been used to when installing PATA HDDs where
all that is necessary is a simple connection of the PATA HDD to an IDE
connector. With SATA HDDs there can be a driver issue involved and before
the XP OS can recognize the SATA HDD a SATA controller driver must be
installed.
========
Click to expand...
I have not been able to root out a SATA driver for the board yet. I have the
6 disc
set of compaq recovery discs and I will try and see If I can locate a driver
amoung
them. I had begun to suspect something like you are referring to was what
was happening to me.
===========
In many cases where a SATA HDD is being installed in a non-RAID
configuration, no separate SATA controller driver need be installed by the
user since the driver will be integrated in the motherboard's
chipset-controller component. It all depends upon the particular
motherboard.

Since you indicate you're installing two SATA HDDs, I don't know if that
means you intend to set up a RAID configuration. If that's the case then
it will be necessary to install the RAID driver (presumably available
through your motherboard's installation CD).
Click to expand...
=======
No, one drive (so far), there are two connectors on the motherboard, and
that
is what the 2 refers to. I don't know what you mean by setting up an RAID
configuration.
All I hoped was to put in the new drive (sata) and take advantage of the
size
(200 gb) and speed.
=======
Hopefully, you have your motherboard's User Guide available as well as the
motherboard's installation CD that will presumably include the SATA driver
should it be necessary in your case. Read the Guide carefully as it
applies to the installation of SATA drives. Particularly so if you intend
setting up a RAID configuration.
Click to expand...
========
I have downloaded some manuals from HP(compaq) but have yet to find how to
load any drivers.
===========
One thing more...

My advice is not to use any third-party partitioning-formatting program
available from the manufacturer of the HDD (such as the MaxBlast program).
The XP OS is entirely capable to effectively undertake this process
whether you're installing the OS onto the HDD or using the HDD as a
secondary drive.
Click to expand...
=========
yes, I have used the XP OS features to format and set up a 200 GB eide drive
that I was going to use as my new system disc instead of the 60 gb that came
with the computer. That project got pushed back while I was trying to make
this
sata drive work.
============
Anna
Click to expand...
=========
Thank you for the help and I will do some reading and studying before I go
any
further.
Ed
========
 
The asus website has something called web assist and I have not been able to
get at the goodies. I just can't seem to get in to download anything.

Grandpa Ed
 
Grandpa Ed said:
======
That is correct. The computer is a 2 year old compaq 1300nx and has been
doing just fine.
Best Buy had a sale and the extra speed seemed like an effort worth the
time.
======
I have not been able to root out a SATA driver for the board yet. I have
the 6 disc
set of compaq recovery discs and I will try and see If I can locate a
driver amoung
them. I had begun to suspect something like you are referring to was what
was happening to me.
===========
=======
No, one drive (so far), there are two connectors on the motherboard, and
that
is what the 2 refers to. I don't know what you mean by setting up an RAID
configuration.
All I hoped was to put in the new drive (sata) and take advantage of the
size
(200 gb) and speed.
=======
========
I have downloaded some manuals from HP(compaq) but have yet to find how to
load any drivers.
===========
=========
yes, I have used the XP OS features to format and set up a 200 GB eide
drive
that I was going to use as my new system disc instead of the 60 gb that
came
with the computer. That project got pushed back while I was trying to make
this
sata drive work.
============
=========
Thank you for the help and I will do some reading and studying before I go
any
further.
Ed
========
Click to expand...


Ed:
A few things more...

I hadn't realized you were working with a Compaq (OEM) machine, although I
should have noted that from the motherboard's designation you indicated (the
"KELUT" following the motherboard's model name). So that means you probably
don't have the ASUS User Guide in your possession.

It probably would be worthwhile to download the manual from the ASUS site.
Try http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us
and in the left-hand Download column enter A7V8X as the model to be searched
and select Manual from the Category drop-down box. You may have to "putter
about" for awhile. The ASUS site can be hard to navigate at times.

(While the OEM-supplied motherboard can be different from the "retail"
model, the differences are usually inconsequential in most cases).

Since you mentioned "2 SATA drives" in your original post, I mistakenly
thought you intended to install two SATA HDDs. But I see now you were
actually referring to the two SATA connectors on the motherboard. So I
assume you'll be using only one SATA HDD (at least initially) as a secondary
drive for storage/backup purposes. So forget about the RAID business.

It's likely that *if this is* a SATA controller driver issue (and please
understand this is only a possibility - there may be some other issue
involved that's preventing the system from recognizing the drive), the
Compaq setup disks you refer to will contain the necessary driver. Hopefully
Compaq's documentation will reveal this. You could, of course, try
HP/Compaq's tech support but in all candor I wouldn't be sanguine about
getting any definitive information from that source. Still, it's probably
worth a try.

Also, I believe your motherboard supports the older SATA data interface of
1.5Gb/sec and not the newer SATA-II data interface of 3.0Gb/sec. I assume
the SATA HDD you purchased is a SATA-II model. While the SATA-II is
"backwards compatible" with the older data interface, it sometimes is
necessary to set the jumper on the drive (assuming it contains this jumper)
for 1.5 Gb/sec operation in order for the system to recognize the drive. So
check that out.
Anna
 
Finally got a copy (PDF) of the A7V8X manual. and it did not take to much
reading to find out that there are several things "optional" and the SATA
is one of them. Since there is no reference in the BIOS to the SATA, this
option obviously is not on my computer.

I have ordered a PCI 2 port from Tiger Direct. And 2 enclosure cases.
(external). So I will put my internal drives in the enclosures and hook them
to the pci ports.

Thank you Anna and Maddog for the help.

Grandpa Ed
 
Grandpa Ed said:
Finally got a copy (PDF) of the A7V8X manual. and it did not take to much
SATA is one of them. Since there is no reference in the BIOS to the SATA,
this option obviously is not on my computer.

I have ordered a PCI 2 port from Tiger Direct. And 2 enclosure cases.
(external). So I will put my internal drives in the enclosures and hook
them to the pci ports.

Thank you Anna and Maddog for the help.

Grandpa Ed
Click to expand...


Ed:
With all due respect, I find your latest post above quite puzzling...

In your original posting you stated that your motherboard was equipped with
two SATA connectors. Is that not true? If there are SATA connectors
available is that not definitive evidence that the motherboard supports the
SATA protocol?

Re your reference to the "PCI 2 port" you ordered. Is this a SATA controller
card that is designed to be installed in an available PCI slot on your
motherboard? Is that what you ordered?

As to the "2 enclosure cases (external)" you also ordered. What do you mean
when you say "I will put my internal drives in the enclosures and hook them
to the pci ports." You previously explained (or so I was led to believe)
that you have two HDDs, your boot drive (PATA) and a new SATA HDD. Is that
not so?

Are you planning to somehow install each of your HDDs in a separate external
enclosure and somehow operate in that fashion?

I hope you've thought this through. On the face of it (if I understand what
you're proposing to do) this configuration (if one could call it that!)
makes little or no sense. I can only conclude that I really haven't grasped
what you're intending to do.

I would respectfully suggest that before you go this route you seek
competent technical help.
Anna
 
Grandpa said:
There are connectors on the Motherboard for 2 SATA drives. I
connected, booted, sighed, cried, moaned, and groaned as I looked in
the bios for some indication that there was some way to turn on or
enable the sata drives. I right clicked and looked at the hardware
area of the information and it is not there either. When you right
click and ask the system to "manage" nothing shows up as far as any
thing SATA. Maxtor and it's max blast did not work at all, as far as
formatting or identifying the drive.
If the connectors are there, why can I not make the drives work?

Grandpa Ed
Click to expand...

Many times, the SATA drives aren't assigned a drive letter automatically.
Do you know if that's the case here?
Start; Programs; Aministrative Tools; Computer Management; Disk Management
should show you ALL drives on your computer, including the SATA drives.
Check to see if they have letters assigned to the SATA drives. If not,
assign a letter to each one, and things should begin to work. So if you
already for instance have drives C and D, make the next one E or whatever
you wish.

If you don't see the SATA drives in Disk Management, then it's possible
that, even though the connectors are there, that they aren't active or don't
have a driver that's needed. You'd have to check with the manufacturer on
that one to get the details of what you needed. With a computer that new, I
doubt this would be a problem, but one never knows.

Let us know how you make out, OK?

Pop`
 
I have an Intel Corporation D865PERL AAC40926-202 motherboard and
while it has SATA connectors I had to install the drive maker's driver
before the MB could/would see the disc. It's been a while but as I
recall when installing the OS (Win XP) the installationg asked for the
disc driver.

Harry
 
I have found a driver from the VIA website for the VIA VT8237 chip that sits
next to the SATA connectors, which if I read the installation instructions
correctly, is the one for the connectors to make them active. I have not yet
been brave enough to try it though. It will change the BIOS (has to because
the SATA are not listed in the BIOS yet) and anything that changes the BIOS
makes me very nervous. You can kill the computer dead dead dead when you
mess around in the BIOS)

/Thanks for the info, makes me think I am on the right track.

Ed
 
" " I can only conclude that I really haven't grasped what you're intending
to do." "

Anna,

I am so sorry that I am not better than I am at letting you know what is
going on and what I would like to do.

Let me back up and try to explain again.

I have a compaq compter model SR1300NX, a modest off the shelf unit. There
is a 60gb Western drive that they call Presario and I refer to as the
"system" drive. I took out one of the pokey front things that had all of the
camera and audio connections and put in a floppy disk that I had kept from
an old computer. I changed the cd rom to put in a TDK dvd burner, because I
download and burn off the old movies. In a blank spot in the rack inside, I
put a 120 gb Maxtor to use as a working drive and to hold any data. I keep
the data on a different drive than the system drive. In one of the spare
positions next to the dvd burner, I added a Starteck unit, that has
removable enclosures so that you can sway data drives around. I have several
data drives around that I can swap in and out of the startech holder. Tons
and Tons of silent and black and white old time movies yet to be burned.

The motherboard has two places to plug in SATA drives. However, in the
handbook that I found at the Asus website, Not all versions of theA7V8X-LA
have all of the functions. For example the photo in the handbook shows 6 pci
slots in the lower left corner. My board has 3. The book shows 3 slots for
memory -- I have 2.
But the final thing that did it for me was the * at the right side of
several items and the footnotes refered to these items as optional. I don't
even have the IC for the SATA controller on my board. So the fact that there
two connectors for SATA --- I do not know and the people at HP where I have
sent an email and has not yet answered, but I bet they don't know either.

I have two 400 GB SATA drives (on sale at Best Buy) and since there does not
seem to be any chance to install them inside the computer, I have ordered
two enclosures to put the drives in and a pci card to accomodate the SATA
configuation.

Once again, I am sorry for the confusion, and misdirection.

I certainly appreciate any help that I can get.

Grandpa Ed
 
Grandpa Ed said:
" " I can only conclude that I really haven't grasped what you're intending
to do." "

Anna,

I am so sorry that I am not better than I am at letting you know what is
going on and what I would like to do.

Let me back up and try to explain again.

I have a compaq compter model SR1300NX, a modest off the shelf unit. There
is a 60gb Western drive that they call Presario and I refer to as the
"system" drive. I took out one of the pokey front things that had all of
the camera and audio connections and put in a floppy disk that I had kept
from an old computer. I changed the cd rom to put in a TDK dvd burner,
because I download and burn off the old movies. In a blank spot in the
rack inside, I put a 120 gb Maxtor to use as a working drive and to hold
any data. I keep the data on a different drive than the system drive. In
one of the spare positions next to the dvd burner, I added a Starteck
unit, that has removable enclosures so that you can sway data drives
around. I have several data drives around that I can swap in and out of
the startech holder. Tons and Tons of silent and black and white old time
movies yet to be burned.

The motherboard has two places to plug in SATA drives. However, in the
handbook that I found at the Asus website, Not all versions of theA7V8X-LA
have all of the functions. For example the photo in the handbook shows 6
pci slots in the lower left corner. My board has 3. The book shows 3 slots
for memory -- I have 2.
But the final thing that did it for me was the * at the right side of
several items and the footnotes refered to these items as optional. I
don't even have the IC for the SATA controller on my board. So the fact
that there two connectors for SATA --- I do not know and the people at HP
where I have sent an email and has not yet answered, but I bet they don't
know either.

I have two 400 GB SATA drives (on sale at Best Buy) and since there does
not seem to be any chance to install them inside the computer, I have
ordered two enclosures to put the drives in and a pci card to accomodate
the SATA configuation.

Once again, I am sorry for the confusion, and misdirection.

I certainly appreciate any help that I can get.

Grandpa Ed
Click to expand...


If you are installing a PCI card to control the drives it should not matter
whether the onboard SATA works or not, at least if I understand what you are
trying to do properly.

Not sure if there's be an option in the BIOS that might give you a clue, I
mean obviously if there's an option to disable or enable SATA then I would
assume it's there and just a different board layout.


Charlie
 
Grandpa Ed said:
Anna,

I am so sorry that I am not better than I am at letting you know what is
going on and what I would like to do.

Let me back up and try to explain again.

I have a compaq compter model SR1300NX, a modest off the shelf unit. There
is a 60gb Western drive that they call Presario and I refer to as the
"system" drive. I took out one of the pokey front things that had all of
the camera and audio connections and put in a floppy disk that I had kept
from an old computer. I changed the cd rom to put in a TDK dvd burner,
because I download and burn off the old movies. In a blank spot in the
rack inside, I put a 120 gb Maxtor to use as a working drive and to hold
any data. I keep the data on a different drive than the system drive. In
one of the spare positions next to the dvd burner, I added a Starteck
unit, that has removable enclosures so that you can sway data drives
around. I have several data drives around that I can swap in and out of
the startech holder. Tons and Tons of silent and black and white old time
movies yet to be burned.

The motherboard has two places to plug in SATA drives. However, in the
handbook that I found at the Asus website, Not all versions of theA7V8X-LA
have all of the functions. For example the photo in the handbook shows 6
pci slots in the lower left corner. My board has 3. The book shows 3 slots
for memory -- I have 2.
But the final thing that did it for me was the * at the right side of
several items and the footnotes refered to these items as optional. I
don't even have the IC for the SATA controller on my board. So the fact
that there two connectors for SATA --- I do not know and the people at HP
where I have sent an email and has not yet answered, but I bet they don't
know either.

I have two 400 GB SATA drives (on sale at Best Buy) and since there does
not seem to be any chance to install them inside the computer, I have
ordered two enclosures to put the drives in and a pci card to accomodate
the SATA configuation.

Once again, I am sorry for the confusion, and misdirection.

I certainly appreciate any help that I can get.

Grandpa Ed
Click to expand...


Ed:
From your current explanation above I think I'm beginning to get a better
picture of your current situation, i.e., configuration, and what you're
intending to do, although I have to admit it's still not entirely clear to
me.

I take it the "Starteck" unit you mention (I believe you mean "StarTech",
yes?) is a mobile rack designed to hold removable HDDs. Is that right? I'm
further assuming your current mobile rack is designed to house PATA HDDs and
not SATA HDDs. Is that right? And you've installed just one (not two) of
those mobile racks in one of your computer case's 5 1/4" bay. Do I have all
this right?

So assuming I do...

So as the situation now stands you have a 60 GB WD PATA HDD internally
installed as your boot drive. You also have a 120 GB Maxtor PATA HDD also
installed as an internal HDD which you use as a secondary HDD. Is this
right?

You also have a number of additional PATA HDDs which you can use in the
removable tray of your mobile rack. Is this right?

Now you have two 400 GB SATA HDDs which you planned to use for what? To
replace one or more of your present PATA drives? What function(s) do you
intend for these drives?

Again, let me point out that since your motherboard contains SATA
connectors, the board supports SATA capability. It is not uncommon for
motherboards with the same basic model designation to have different
capabilities. That probably explains the generic specifications description
for your motherboard that you came across on the ASUS site. Ditto for the
PCI slots difference. I see no reason why you cannot install those SATA HDDs
in your PC by connecting them to the motherboard's SATA connectors. I see no
reason why you need a PCI SATA controller card in this situation.

I'm still not clear about the "enclosures" in which you plan to install the
two SATA HDDs. Are you talking about mobile racks designed for housing SATA
HDDs? Or some kind of external enclosure also designed for SATA HDDs?
Anna
 
Anna said:
Ed:
From your current explanation above I think I'm beginning to get a better
picture of your current situation, i.e., configuration, and what you're
intending to do, although I have to admit it's still not entirely clear to
me.

I take it the "Starteck" unit you mention (I believe you mean "StarTech",
yes?) is a mobile rack designed to hold removable HDDs. Is that right?
Click to expand...
=======
*****yes, I mispelled Star tech
and it is two parts one permanently mounted and the removale part that holds
the drive
=====

I'm
further assuming your current mobile rack is designed to house PATA HDDs
and not SATA HDDs. Is that right?
Click to expand...
=======
*****correct I have only used PATA up to now
==========
And you've installed just one (not two) of
those mobile racks in one of your computer case's 5 1/4" bay. Do I have
all this right?
Click to expand...
===========
*****yes, only room for one.
==========
So assuming I do...

So as the situation now stands you have a 60 GB WD PATA HDD internally
installed as your boot drive. You also have a 120 GB Maxtor PATA HDD also
installed as an internal HDD which you use as a secondary HDD. Is this
right?

You also have a number of additional PATA HDDs which you can use in the
removable tray of your mobile rack. Is this right?
Click to expand...
============
*****yes this is correct
==============
Now you have two 400 GB SATA HDDs which you planned to use for what?
Click to expand...
=========
*****data storage, i have several thousand mp3 from the 20, 30, 40, and 50s
that I want to sort out and they are what is on the several Star Tech
mounted units. I would like to get them sorted out so I can discard the
duplicates.
==========
To
replace one or more of your present PATA drives?
Click to expand...
============
*****no, supplement the existing drives with additional sstorage.
=============
What function(s) do you
intend for these drives?
Click to expand...
==============
*****as stated, to sort out the mp3s
===============
Again, let me point out that since your motherboard contains SATA
connectors, the board supports SATA capability.
Click to expand...
============
*****go to the ASUS web site and download (e1097_a7v8x.pdf) on page 20 and
21 it points out that SATA is one of the optional items for this
motherboard. despite your assurance that it supports SATA, I cannot get the
computer to recognize the drive no matter what I do.
===========
It is not uncommon for
motherboards with the same basic model designation to have different
capabilities. That probably explains the generic specifications
description for your motherboard that you came across on the ASUS site.
Ditto for the PCI slots difference. I see no reason why you cannot install
those SATA HDDs in your PC by connecting them to the motherboard's SATA
connectors. I see no reason why you need a PCI SATA controller card in
this situation.
Click to expand...
==============
*****I have conneted the SATA to the connectors on the drive and put power
to it,(laying next to the case with the side off) and nothing I do causess
it to be seen as being part of the system.
===============
I'm still not clear about the "enclosures" in which you plan to install
the two SATA HDDs. Are you talking about mobile racks designed for housing
SATA > HDDs? Or some kind of external enclosure also designed for SATA
HDDs?
Click to expand...
==========
*****these are the enclosures from Tiger Direct ((Sabrent SATA 3.5" IDE to
USB 2.0 Enclosure (M501-1178 ))) I am going to put the 400 gb drives in the
enclosre and connet to the pci
=============
*******Does any of this help or just make it more confused?

Ed
=================

Anna
 
Grandpa Ed said:
=======
*****yes, I mispelled Star tech
and it is two parts one permanently mounted and the removale part that
holds the drive
=====

I'm
=======
*****correct I have only used PATA up to now
==========
And you've installed just one (not two) of
===========
*****yes, only room for one.
==========
============
*****yes this is correct
==============
=========
*****data storage, i have several thousand mp3 from the 20, 30, 40, and
50s that I want to sort out and they are what is on the several Star Tech
mounted units. I would like to get them sorted out so I can discard the
duplicates.
==========
To
============
*****no, supplement the existing drives with additional sstorage.
=============
What function(s) do you
==============
*****as stated, to sort out the mp3s
===============
============
*****go to the ASUS web site and download (e1097_a7v8x.pdf) on page 20 and
21 it points out that SATA is one of the optional items for this
motherboard. despite your assurance that it supports SATA, I cannot get
the computer to recognize the drive no matter what I do.
===========
It is not uncommon for
==============
*****I have conneted the SATA to the connectors on the drive and put power
to it,(laying next to the case with the side off) and nothing I do causess
it to be seen as being part of the system.
===============

==========
*****these are the enclosures from Tiger Direct ((Sabrent SATA 3.5" IDE
to USB 2.0 Enclosure (M501-1178 ))) I am going to put the 400 gb drives in
the enclosre and connet to the pci
=============
*******Does any of this help or just make it more confused?

Ed
=================
Click to expand...

If the enclosure is SATA to USB then why the PCI card?
 
Charlie Tame said:
If the enclosure is SATA to USB then why the PCI card?
Click to expand...
======================================================

The card has a blank face and it is a (CABLES UNLIMITED, I/O Card, Serial
ATA 150 Control (C250-2284 ))
so that I can use a Sata inside the box If I want to.

The enclosure boxes will connect to a usb2 somewhere, anywhere and all the
magic is done inside them I guess to make the sata compatible to the usb2.

I actually have 3 sata drives, 2 from Best Buy on sale (400 gb each) and one
200 GB from Staples on sale. I saw the connectors and never had any idea
that it would not be more than one more plug and play item. This has turned
into quite a project, and I have yet to do any productive work, other than
Google all over, read a ton of material, and wonder why me.

ED
 
======================================================

The card has a blank face and it is a (CABLES UNLIMITED, I/O Card,
Serial ATA 150 Control (C250-2284 ))
so that I can use a Sata inside the box If I want to.

The enclosure boxes will connect to a usb2 somewhere, anywhere and all the
magic is done inside them I guess to make the sata compatible to the usb2.

I actually have 3 sata drives, 2 from Best Buy on sale (400 gb each) and
one 200 GB from Staples on sale. I saw the connectors and never had any
idea that it would not be more than one more plug and play item. This has
turned into quite a project, and I have yet to do any productive work,
other than Google all over, read a ton of material, and wonder why me.
Click to expand...

Okay so I don't see my earlier reply about looking in the BIOS to see if
there are any settings. The problem with this sort of issue is that unless
someone with almost exactly the same hardware turns up it's going to be hard
to get a definitive answer. It may be that on this board the SATA onboard
has to be enabled, or maybe the device data has to be manually entered, or
maybe you just need to change a "Disabled" setting to "Auto" or something. I
also had some problems myself with this Asus board. After I got it there
were a number of BIOS revisions, and a number of them fixed one issue and
broke something else. Suffice to say I am not using the latest BIOS, I am
using whichever one I found that made everything work. As the board appears
to be a Compaq original it's also quite possible that testing only involved
components that Compaq actually intended to use, or that some were simply
not fitted because they were not required and saved a bit of cost. In
addition the BIOS is no doubt modified by Compaq.
 
Charlie Tame said:
Okay so I don't see my earlier reply about looking in the BIOS to see if
there are any settings. The problem with this sort of issue is that unless
someone with almost exactly the same hardware turns up it's going to be
hard to get a definitive answer. It may be that on this board the SATA
onboard has to be enabled, or maybe the device data has to be manually
entered, or maybe you just need to change a "Disabled" setting to "Auto"
or something. I also had some problems myself with this Asus board. After
I got it there were a number of BIOS revisions, and a number of them fixed
one issue and broke something else. Suffice to say I am not using the
latest BIOS, I am using whichever one I found that made everything work.
As the board appears to be a Compaq original it's also quite possible that
testing only involved components that Compaq actually intended to use, or
that some were simply not fitted because they were not required and saved
a bit of cost. In addition the BIOS is no doubt modified by Compaq.
Click to expand...


Charlie,
Yes indeed I have explored the Bios line by line and page by page. I tried
several things (with and without the drive attached) I was unable to make
the system recognize that there was another drive there. I went to
Microsoft, ASUS, Hewlet Packard (which is Compaq Presario) I went to Via
which makes the chip closest to the connectors. I went to any number of
forums and read the troubles that others had along this line. I read all the
messages here that had SATA in the header. And then I posted my own message
and I have been trying to explain what I have done and what I want to do. I
talked to my son who has made several computer from kits and/or purchased
parts. We had a nice visit, but no joy in getting this to work.
I started to look at Tiger Direct (my on-line dealer of choice----I am sure
there a lot of others just as good but they have always got it done for me,
so I stick with them). And found what seems to be a solution to the getting
the drives usable that I have purchased.

I also updated the bios with the newer version(?) from Compaq. No help.

Thanks for staying with me (also to Anna and others) to try and find a way
through this.

ED
 
Grandpa Ed said:
Charlie,
Yes indeed I have explored the Bios line by line and page by page. I tried
several things (with and without the drive attached) I was unable to make
the system recognize that there was another drive there. I went to
Microsoft, ASUS, Hewlet Packard (which is Compaq Presario) I went to Via
which makes the chip closest to the connectors. I went to any number of
forums and read the troubles that others had along this line. I read all
the messages here that had SATA in the header. And then I posted my own
message and I have been trying to explain what I have done and what I want
to do. I talked to my son who has made several computer from kits and/or
purchased parts. We had a nice visit, but no joy in getting this to work.
I started to look at Tiger Direct (my on-line dealer of choice----I am
sure there a lot of others just as good but they have always got it done
for me, so I stick with them). And found what seems to be a solution to
the getting the drives usable that I have purchased.

I also updated the bios with the newer version(?) from Compaq. No help.

Thanks for staying with me (also to Anna and others) to try and find a way
through this.

ED
Click to expand...


Well I don't think you can rule out the possibility of defective hardware
because if it was not in use originally it may never have been tested, and
in fact for a manufacturer to save pennies by leaving out some components
they don't plan to use is not unknown. I think this is one reason for buying
a computer as parts and building from scratch. Good luck with the project.
 
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