Vista - SATA HDD not showing after update

Hi all,

This is my first post so please be gentle.

I ran the Windows update on close last night and today my system will not re-boot, my bios cannot see my SATA2 HDD.

I have tried repair in windows but no good as HDD is not there.

I have tried swapping the SATA sockets etc but they all say none detected.

I tried MOBO jumper reset with battery out.

The HDD is spinning so the power is working.

Please help I am lost

Hi mouthrax

Make sure that you do not have RAID selected in the BIOS it should be set to IDE

I hope this helps

Pooch

What motherboard do you have?

Could you please fill out the system specs as it will be easier for us

Hi mouthrax and welcome to Vista Forums

Check the SATA data cable to make sure that it hasn't worked loose in its sockets. If necessary, replace it with a latching type as these are much more secure and reliable.

Hii Mouthrax

What you can do is get into bios and then above select the Advance Options and then it list you may will find SATA Controller mode might be it have changed to RAID try to change it to SATA if that doesnt work try with IDE which will surely work if it works or doesnt plz post a reply

Till then bubbye n take care

Hi guys,

Thanks for the welcome and the help.

I will look for the raid thing tonight and failing that I will return with the comp specs.

Why would the bios settings have changed?

Like I say I will come back and let you guys know what happens and give specs.

I believe my specs are:

Motherbord - ASUS M3A78-CM
HDD - Maxtor 500 gig
OS - Windows Vista Home Premium x64
Processor - Dual Core AMD (x64)
Memory - 6 gig Ram

Right guys I looked in BIOS again and as I thought the SATA is set to SATA and there is no option for IDE?

My primary IDE however has my CD drive which is showing up.

What I can't understand is everything was fine until the latest windows update?

The Motherboard is ASUS M3A78-CM

Are you absolutely certain that your HDD is no longer detected by your BIOS?

It's possible that Windows Update replaced the driver necessary for Vista to talk to your hard disk "controller", which could lead to a blue-screen when Vista tries to boot.

Windows Update in no way impacts your BIOS being able to detect your HDD. If your BIOS is truly no longer detecting your HDD, my suspicions would immediately turn to hardware. The Windows Update is likely merely a coincidence. Make sure to check your cables and such. Failing that, it's likely that your drive is dead. (Just because it draws power and spins doesn't mean that it's actually functional.)

Have you tried plugging the HDD into another machine, as a secondary drive, and seeing if that machine can access the drive? Or have you tried booting from a linux livecd, such as Knoppix, and seeing if it "sees" your HDD ?

Hi guys,

Yes the HDD was broken in the end