Mini-ITX fails to detect hard disk sometimes

[Old Wolf]

I have a VIA VPSD EPIA-V mini-ITX motherboard and a Samsung 3GB hard
disk. Occasionally (perhaps one time in 15), it will do the " DISK
BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER " thing. Pressing
enter has no effect of course. A cold reboot fixes the problem.

The BIOS is set to auto-detect the IDE drives. One time I noticed
that it had detected no drive present, but another time it seemed
to have detected the drive correctly (based on the info displayed
by the BIOS before the DISK BOOT FAILURE message). I have tried
different power connectors and different IDE cables.

What are some possible causes / solutions to the problem?

Another question - I am using an old IDE cable (not one of the
new style ones with skinnier wires). The drive detects in ATA-33
mode normally. Is that a problem or should I try and get a newer
cable?

 

[kony]

I have a VIA VPSD EPIA-V mini-ITX motherboard and a Samsung 3GB hard
disk. Occasionally (perhaps one time in 15), it will do the " DISK
BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER " thing. Pressing
enter has no effect of course. A cold reboot fixes the problem.

Is this problem always occuring from a cold boot, or also
from a warm (re)boot? If only from a cold boot I would
suspect your power supply is a bit too small and isn't
spinning the drive up fast enough. If that is the case then
see if the bios has a "quickboot" or similar setting that
you could disable to give the drive more time to spin up and
be ready.

The BIOS is set to auto-detect the IDE drives. One time I noticed
that it had detected no drive present, but another time it seemed
to have detected the drive correctly (based on the info displayed
by the BIOS before the DISK BOOT FAILURE message). I have tried
different power connectors and different IDE cables.

Measure the power supply voltages and check the drive with
the HDD manufacturer's diagnostics. You might see if there
is a motherboard bios update that addresses any same/similar
issues.

What are some possible causes / solutions to the problem?

Another question - I am using an old IDE cable (not one of the
new style ones with skinnier wires). The drive detects in ATA-33
mode normally. Is that a problem or should I try and get a newer
cable?

A 3GB drive cannot do any faster than ATA33 and you should
not need an ATA66/100/133, 80 conductor cable. However,
with an old cable there is a potential that it isn't making
good contact, as IDE cables with their insulation
displacement connectors are not meant to survive alot of
plug/unplug cycles and may not age as gracefully as other
connector types. I would try another (known good) cable
just to rule that out, but again for a 3GB HDD, it need not
be an 80 conductor cable instead of 40..

 

[Old Wolf]

Is this problem always occuring from a cold boot, or also
from a warm (re)boot? If only from a cold boot I would
suspect your power supply is a bit too small and isn't
spinning the drive up fast enough. If that is the case then
see if the bios has a "quickboot" or similar setting that
you could disable to give the drive more time to spin up and
be ready.

Thanks -- a new power supply solved the problem.