Good post code, won't fully boot.

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feuerstine

n00b
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Jul 2, 2008
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Hardware is listed below. I am getting a good post code (FF), and everything appears to be going fine, but then.. nothing.. blank screen. I tried to boot into Safe Mode with the same result.

I have removed everything but the mouse, keyboard and monitor connections. I have even unhooked the 2nd hard drive.

This is my older, second machine, so not totally vital, but I'd still like it to work for the kids. I also have some data on it I'd like to get off without jumping through hoops with the hard drives.

Abit AV8 S939 Mobo
AMD Athlon64 3500 (single core)
Geforce 6800
1GB Corsair DDR-400 (2X512)
WD 74GB Raptor

I can provide more details if necessary. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Nathan
 
Okay, I've done some more troubleshooting, to no avail. I've confirmed that the boot sequence in the BIOS is set up appropriately, the primary hard disk is spinning, and that it tries the floppy boot first. But after the floppy boot, nothing.. black screen. Is my HD dead? Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Nathan
 
1) make sure hdd is properly connected
2) try connecting it to other sata ports, reconfigure in bios if necessary.
3) try running in IDE/legacy mode instead of sata/ahci/raid mode (dont know how this would have changed... but it doesn't hurt to try... )
4) try running hard drive in different computer, or...

...i'd recommend getting some bootable discs like ubuntu,knoppix ,hiren's bootcd, ultimate boot disk, or some bart PE variant and booting off those. I'm not sure if ubuntu or knoppix have any disk check utilities by default (they should). Hiren's and ultimate are dos based.
 
enginurd: I believe BIOS is detecting the HDD. It shows the boot device as an onboard SATA RAID add-in, but this is the same as when it booted successfully recently.

serpretesky:
1) I've double-checked the connections for power and SATA. I can feel it spinning, so I know it's getting power.
2) I haven't tried the other SATA port (I have SATA1 and SATA2, it's in SATA1.) I can try that tonight.
3) I'm not sure how to do that?
4) I have a different computer, but I'm not sure what would happen if I plug this drive in? Will it just try to boot from it? (assuming changed boot order in BIOS).

Not sure what you mean by bootables from those other sources. Is that something I can just download? I'm relatively computer savvy, just not working with desktop installs and the like. I guess my point is, I can follow directions quite well :) Just point me in the right direction.

Thanks for your help/thoughts guys!
 
Showing the boot device as onboard SATA doesn't mean it detects the drive. There should be a screen where you enable/disable each SATA controller, and it should have an option for auto-detect. It should show you the drive info once auto detect is finished.

3) its in the BIOS, typically listed as Native Mode, IDE Mode, AHCI, RAID, etc
4) don't use a different computer, use a Live boot disk. Google, download, and burn the ultimate boot CD (UBCD) and run some drive tests to see if the drive is in good working order.
 
enginurd said:
Showing the boot device as onboard SATA doesn't mean it detects the drive. There should be a screen where you enable/disable each SATA controller, and it should have an option for auto-detect. It should show you the drive info once auto detect is finished.

3) its in the BIOS, typically listed as Native Mode, IDE Mode, AHCI, RAID, etc
4) don't use a different computer, use a Live boot disk. Google, download, and burn the ultimate boot CD (UBCD) and run some drive tests to see if the drive is in good working order.
Click to expand...

...what he said. You can find ISO's that you can just burn to cd's and boot to.

if you'd still rather try putting it in different computer, yes you can do that. Just attach the drive to one of the sata ports in the diff computer and make sure it detects in bios. Boot to your normal drive and see if you can see the transffered drive. If it seems to work fine in the different computer i'd still recommened running a disk check on it.
 
I still don't see anything in the BIOS for Native Mode, IDE Mode, AHCI, RAID, etc.. I also don't see anywhere in there where it notes my Hard Drive. It just shows the On-Board SATA RAID. However, when booting up, it does display the WD Raptor drive on screen as the boot device drive. I assume that means it's being detected properly.

I downloaded the Ultimate Boot CD iso and am running several tests. I ran a basic and full test using the Western Digital diagnostics on the disc. Both returned no errors. I tried running another, Salvation HDD Scan and Repair, and it indicates it cannot find the HDD. I am trying other scans, but am not sure what else to do from here.

Thanks!
Nathan
 
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