Strange problem with unrecognized HDD, Cant find solution anywhere! :/

[XanderCat]

Hi There,

Firstly, I bought a new custom built PC roughly last month. After almost 2 weeks of not noticing i realised the 1TB HDD wasn't being recognized by the system i.e wasn't showing in disk management or on the desktop etc.

I checked all the basic solutions, re-scanning for hardware changes, made sure it wasn't in disk management and even changed the SATA ports it was using etc. (The SSD and optical drive are both fine). I contacted the company and they gave me a few suggestions which didn't work and I evntually ended up re-installing windows incase it was a software problem. (Still no result).

Here's the weird thing. The company agreed for me to send it back so they could run tests etc and make sure it is/isn't faulty and it wasn't until after I sent it back that I noticed huge changes in boot times.

It didn't occur to me at first to be that bad but whilst the HDD was in my computer the boot time AND shut down time were roughly between 1 and 1 1/2 minutes. After taking it out and sending it away the boot time and shut down times are almost instantanious. I just got a call today to say that they've done a wide range of tests and they found no faults whatsoever and that the HDD is appearing fine for them.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to why this HDD isn't appearing for me and whether or not these boot times are relevent at all?

Need help thanks.

 

[ArtPog]

1. Well, the obvious question is what, if anything, did the company's tech support say that might be causing the problem you experienced? And more importantly, what is the solution?

2. As an aside, boot time will virtually always take longer (by usually a few seconds) when a secondary hard drive is connected during the SSD bootup process, but not to the degree you experienced of course.

3. You mentioned changing the SATA ports to no avail but did you also try a different SATA data cable? Ditto for a different SATA power connector should one be available.

4. And I would certainly press the builder for additional guidance in this area.

5. Have you already received the drive back from the builder and installed it? If you haven't perhaps you'll be pleasantly surprised that after you reinstall that secondary HDD the problems you had experienced has been resolved.

 

[XanderCat]

1. Well, the obvious question is what, if anything, did the company's tech support say that might be causing the problem you experienced? And more importantly, what is the solution?

2. As an aside, boot time will virtually always take longer (by usually a few seconds) when a secondary hard drive is connected during the SSD bootup process, but not to the degree you experienced of course.

3. You mentioned changing the SATA ports to no avail but did you also try a different SATA data cable? Ditto for a different SATA power connector should one be available.

4. And I would certainly press the builder for additional guidance in this area.

5. Have you already received the drive back from the builder and installed it? If you haven't perhaps you'll be pleasantly surprised that after you reinstall that secondary HDD the problems you had experienced has been resolved.

Thanks for the reply, I didn't try a different SATA cable but it should all be new so I can't imagine that being the problem, however i could try swaping the cables of the optical drive and the HDD I guess.

Secondly, I haven't recieved the drive back yet but when you say 'reinstall' what exatcly do you mean? I'm pretty low on knowledge when it comes the hardware side of things wich makes this process all the more annoying (having to open the case etc and mess with cables). Other than plugging it back in etc would I have to run some sort of process?

And finally, probably should've mentioned this before, but when I sent them screenshots of BIOS they mentioned the drive was appearing in BIOS (which lead them to think it was a software based issue) but it's completely non-existent when it comes to looking for it in windows :/

 

[ArtPog]

1. It does happen that for one reason or another a different SATA data cable can sometimes resolve one's problem with a SSD or HDD. Admittedly a defective SATA data cable is not a common problem but it does occur.

2. I used the term "reinstall" only as an indication that the drive had been previously installed - nothing more. No special "process" is necessary other than checking that you've securely connected the data/power cables.

3. I had assumed the drive had not been detected by the BIOS since (another assumption) it didn't appear listed in the "Disk drives" section of Device Manager and as you had indicated was not listed in Disk Management.

Ordinarily, given the drive was detected in the BIOS the usual advice is to check out the disk's health with a HDD diagnostic program generally available from the disk's manufacturer.

Anyway see what happens after you receive the drive back from the builder and you (re)install it.