Second HDD not showing in My Computer but showing in BIOS

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Rajonwork

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Dec 10, 2010
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Hi Paperdoc..

Saw your posts and help to the members here.. I also need your help

I had one 250 GB SATA Segate HDD running Win XP SP3 then my system crashed and could not install XP on the same HDD.
I had 2 partitions on it (C and E).
Now added another 80GB SATA HDD with Win XP3, running XP fine.
Thought to attach 250 GB HDD and take a backup of the data from previous HDD's E drive.

Now 250 GB HDD is showing in BIOS but not in My Computer or Manager - Storage.

Please help if something can be done.

Thanks,
Raj
 
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The post by malmental above looks like one of mine from a while ago, but DO NOT DO THAT in your case. That post is written as advice for someone with a new blank HDD. The operations advised will wipe out ALL old data and you'll never get it back!

The first part of it, advising how to start Disk Management and SCROLL the LOWER RIGHT pane to examine all your HDD hardware is valid. But from there you will need to read what info it displays and post it here so we can advise further. We want to avoid destroying old data if possible.

It's not clear now why your computer "crashed", but quite possibly there is minor corruption of data on the 250 GB unit. In Disk Management's lower right pane there will be one horizontal block representing that unit. At its left end will be a small label block that shows a disk label like "DISK_2", a disk type like "Basic", a size in GB (probably 232 GB), and a status. To its right is a large block representing the Partition(s) on the disk. Hopefully it shows you there two sub-blocks, one for each of the two Partitions you have on it with data. In EACH of these sub-blocks there should be more info, like this: a Volume Name like "My Disk" or "Harry's DATA" or (who knows what), a letter name in brackets like (D: ), a size in GB, a File System like "NTFS", and a status note.

Report back here exactly what is shown for the disk main label at the left, and for each of the two Partitions. What you should do depends on what you find there. Sometimes it's a very simple fix of assigning a disk letter name. Sometimes it's more complicated if the File System shows as "RAW". Or sometimes the Partition Table is confused and needs to be fixed.

Meanwhile, do NOT write ANYTHING to that disk!
 
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Thanks Paperdoc.. I was expecting and waiting for your response.

1. You are right. malmental's reply is your prev copy/paste response, it is for new hdd added in the PC.
2. My system crashed on weekend, while something was running and someone took the power out.
Since then could not boo with that system
Tried to repair and run recovery no help
So tried to fresh install on C drive of faulty 250 GB but no help crashed thrice in between the installation
Then connected installed on new 80gb hdd.
Then attached the old 250GB hdd on system
Checked in BIOS showing as SATA HDD
Checked in MY computer - only showing 80GB HDD ( C and D partition)
Checked in Disk manager - only showing C and D partiion with Disk 0 Basic 74.50 GB
No information for that 250 GB HDD
Please help if something can be done to get the data from E Drive
 
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What I meant is set to "sata in Ide" mode as opposed to AHCI.
Just a thought in trying to eliminate possible reasons for windows not recognising it.
 
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Jockey raised a valid point. Win XP in all its forms does not know how to use a "Native SATA" or AHCI device unless you load a AHCI device driver into Win XP. In your case that could be done - you have XP loading from a functioning 80 GB unit, and the 250 GB unit is only accessed for data after XP is running. So you could load the AHCI driver into Win XP for access to a true SATA HDD.

It is entirely possible this IS part of your problem - you say the BIOS can "see" the 250 GB SATA drive, but Win XP cannot.

For several related reasons, many mobo BIOS makers have provided in BIOS a trick to solve this problem without actually loading drivers. This is what jockey is talking about. Very near where you Enable that SATA drive port there is another line for setting the SATA Port Mode. Here you usually can choose among "IDE (or PATA) Emulation", "Native SATA", "AHCI", or "RAID". Any of the last three WILL require loading a driver into Win XP. But if you choose the "IDE (or PATA) Emulation", the BIOS will intervene and fool Win XP into believing it is using an older-type IDE device it already understands, and it all just works WITHOUT loading any extra driver!

So, you can try either way. You can go into BIOS and set the Port Mode for the 250 GB unit this way. OR you can set it to SATA or AHCI Mode, and then load the AHCI driver for your mobo's SATA controller into Windows XP, just as you might load any other driver for a new device you install. The driver you need may have been on a CD that came with your system, or you may have to go to the website of the maker of your mobo and download it. (I have assumed that you are using the HDD controllers built into your mobo, and not an add-on HDD controller card in your PCI bus.)
 
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