Hirens BootCD does not recognize my hard drive

[dougwakil]

What the heck... I can boot and run anything off Hiren's BootCD v14.0 just fine in my Windows XP Pro laptop, but in my desktop it boots but does not find my hard drive.
HUH???
Biostar MCP6P-M2 ver 6.0 mobo, 2 gb DDR2 800 mhz, AMD Athlon XP 64 X2 dual core, Windows XP Pro, Seagate 500 gb Sata 3.0 hard drive and a Samsung SATA DVD burner. The pc works perfectly in every way, why doesn't Hiren's BootCD function properly in it? Is there something in the BIOS that I have set wrong? If so, I have no clue what!!!
AAARRRGGHHH!!!!

 

[AntiZig]

I don't understand, so your computer is working fine? There's no HDD malfunctions?

Only problem you have is detecting the HDD while under boot from a CD? Well, one thing possible is that the software that you're using from CD is outdated and doesn't recognize the HDD or there's something that prevents BIOS/mobo from bothering to find an HDD if you booted from CD...

 

[dougwakil]

Oh yes, my desktop runs like a champ, I'm on it now. I like your suggestion that some BIOS setting may be the problem here, but I'm drawing a blank trying to guess which setting might be wrong.
Here is the whole sad story: I only booted with Hiren's BootCD to try it out before sending a copy to a friend who's been hit with a rootkit, she asked me to type out a "for dummies" tutorial for her, telling her every single step and every last scroll and keystroke of what she should do. I was able to access all the utilities on Hiren's BootCD when I ran it in my HP laptop, but I had tried it in my desktop first and "Mini Windows XP" does not recognize any SATA drive - so no anti-malware utilities can be used.
So here's something I tried, I went to Biostar's website and downloaded the Serial ATA AHCI drivers from here:
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/driver.php?S_ID=315
and put them on a floppy and loaded them at the F6 option, but Hiren's Mini Windows XP still does not see my hard drive or my sata DVD drive, it only sees the ramdrive and the A drive. Weird!

 

[AntiZig]

Well, honestly, I'm at a loss as well...

 

[Alex_hawks]

Run Disk Management. See if the drive is there. To run it:
Boot Hiren's Boot Disk --> Mini Windows XP --> Wait For Load --> Start --> Programs --> Disk Management.
If you're making it for someone else then you should know how to use Disk Management.

 

[dougwakil]

"Run Disk Management. See if the drive is there."

lol, tried that first! heh heh

Thanks anyways for thinking of me... I blame the motherboard manufacturer, I'll go to my grave saying it's Biostar's fault!

 

[thyuringasdf]

BIOS setting SATA Operation make sure it is not on AHCI or RAID or anything, make sure it is ATA, XP has problems with AHCI

 

[dougwakil]

BIOS setting SATA Operation make sure it is not on AHCI or RAID or anything, make sure it is ATA, XP has problems with AHCI

Hello and thanks for your reply! I had a peek in my Phoenix BIOS (version N61PA-M2S)... RAID is disabled and Serial-ATA is enabled. IDE prefetch is enabled and Sata Spread Spectrum is disabled. What do you suggest I change?

 

[jake2071]

changing temporarily to ATA mode in bios worked for me. when Im done playing with Hirens I have to go back into AHCI mode since I use an SSD drive.

 

[dodger007]

Thanks jale2071,

Your advice worked for my particular situation

Dodger

 

[BengalCat]

Well... It turned out that it's probably HDD. I've runned OS From UBS and it works like a charm!

 

[uzi_sch]

In Hiren's Boot CD, if Mini Windows XP doesn't detect (recognize) your SATA Hard Disk Drives then you may not see the Hiren's Boot CD menu and tools. You should try to set the SATA settings in your BIOS. Set them to ATA (or Native IDE). Restart your PC and run Mini WIndows XP again. Now, You should see the menu, tools and the Disk Management information properly.