Vista - BIOS not installed?

Since installing an eSATA external hdd which is connected to my PC via a PCI
host adapter card, I get the message

"No device found!
BIOS not installed"

on boot up, if I start/restart my PC with the eSATA ext hdd switched off.
The PC then continues to boot up normally and my system runs just fine. But I
want to resolve the issue that is causing the message to be displayed. Do I
have to change something in the BIOS? Please advise?

Note: But if the eSATA ext hdd is switched ON when I boot up my PC, I do NOT
get the above message or any other warning. I get one saying something like
IDE .....# detected....

Acer Aspire T180 dual-core AMD 64x2 4000 desktop (Acer Aspire T180 R01-B3)
Board: Acer EM61SM/EM61PM
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD R01-B3 02/07/2007
ST316081 2AS SCSI Disk Device (160.04 GB) -- drive 0
OS Vista Home Premium

--
Why is it always so hard to find the information you need on the Microsoft
site?!!

I have seen host controllers that had their own BIOS, I think I have a video
card that has it's own BIOS.
It sounds like your PCI card is somehow affecting the POST when the HDD is
off. Maybe the PCI Host controller card is generating that error before the
actual motherboard POST is complete.
As long as it POSTS and continues to boot after the error message, I
wouldn't worry about it too much.

"Essexbiker" <Essexbiker@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:E8EBD694-AE85-4F19-8E23-10F8F68E8C78@xxxxxx

"Essexbiker" <Essexbiker@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:E8EBD694-AE85-4F19-8E23-10F8F68E8C78@xxxxxxIf that is happening when the drive is turned off, I think the error just
means that computer is getting confused about finding a dead drive that
isn't talking to it. The 'BIOS not installed' must be referring to a Boot
BIOS that you find in things like RAID controllers, not the main PC BIOS.

I reckon you will be able to get rid of that message by taking that eSATA
port out of the Boot order in the BIOS, or placing it after the main HDD
that you normally boot from.

ss.

On Oct 8, 5:18 pm, "Not Me" <cargo...@xxxxxx> wrote:I have a computer that does this on startup. It works fine
nonetheless. It should be able to be safely ignored.

Thanks SS. I can't see anything in the BIOS about taking the eSATA port out
of the Boot order?

However, I have changed the Boot order in the BIOS to CD-ROM then HDD (and
checked that my HDD priority is set to my main SATA HDD) and disabled booting
from any other devices. But I am still getting the
No device found!
BIOS not installed
message on boot-up if the eSATA ext HDD is not switched on!

Someone said this shouldn't be a problem - but I don't like it so I really
do want to find a way to stop it... Any other suggestions?
--
Why is it always so hard to find the information you need on the Microsoft
site?!!


"Synapse Syndrome" wrote:

The only way to get rid of the message is to either remove the eSATA add-on
card or to make sure that the eSATA drive(s) are turned on. This is an
entirely normal message generated by the hardware on the eSATA adapter card
and you can't suppress or disable it. The card expects to see drives
attached and ready and when it doesn't it considers that to be an error
worthy of interrupting your boot process to tell you about.

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"Essexbiker" <Essexbiker@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:E8EBD694-AE85-4F19-8E23-10F8F68E8C78@xxxxxx

Hi Essexbiker,

When you next boot up, enter your BIOS. Select the option that enables you
to reset the configuration data (refer to your motherboard manual for
instructions). Restart your machine. If that doesn't work, try installing the
card in a different slot. Failing that, you might need to reset the BIOS
either by removing the battery or by bridging the 'clear cmos'terminals on
the motherboard (again, refer to the manual). Make sure that you reset the
BIOS to its previous configuration when you do this. Another thing that you
may need to check is how you installed the card - did you install the card
before the drivers? Some cards require that the drivers be installed first
before the card is physically installed, others card first and then the
drivers.
Dwarf

"Essexbiker" wrote:

"Dwarf" <Dwarf@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:8E324434-7207-4E76-A930-E7F00B234ABD@xxxxxx
Dwarf, I fail to see how any of these suggestions are going to help. There
isn't really a problem to fix anyway.

ss.

Thanks Richard. I still don't like it - but now that you've explained why it
is happening, I guess I will just have to live with it! lol.

Only went for the eSATA Ext HDD because my old USB 2.0 ext hdd was so slow
and the blurb on this one said it was 5 times faster than high-speed USB or
Firewire. The highest data trf rate it's acheived so far is 34.4mb/per sec.
That's a lot faster than my old drive but is it 5 times faster?

--
Why is it always so hard to find the information you need on the Microsoft
site?!!


"Richard G. Harper" wrote:

"Essexbiker" <Essexbiker@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:3DA1444F-6D2F-4E00-9AC4-8637C3E0045F@xxxxxxThis message is from the PCI card's BIOS, not your system BIOS. I have a
system with an PCI card for additional internal ATA drives. When a drive is
connected to the card, there is no message. At one time, I only had a DVD
drive attached to it - no hard drive. Then the message would display.
There really is no problem, as long as there is no drive attached to your
card or the drive is not powered on, you'll see this message.