computer won't boot, BIO's access trouble

[renoaz]

No F keys respond to access BIO's at start up. DEL key hangs up with "prepare to enter setup...". Boot sequence stops at "detecting IDE drives" HDD.

PC setup:
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R 775 P35 MOBO
Intel E6750 2.66G CPU
2x Corsair CM2X2048 Mem.
EVGA Geforce GTS450 Video
Seagate 500G SATA2 ST3500320AS HD
2X Lite-on DVD's burn/ROM SATA
Antec Sonata III 500W case
Win7 OS

All fans, HD and Video card have power at boot up.

Any ideas?

 

[VirtualLarry]

First off, BIOS access on Gigabyte boards is done by hitting DEL at the beginning of POST. Not "End", and not an F-key. (Unless you want to launch EZ-Rescue, or something like that.)

Second, does it detect your HDD?

Did anything unusual happen to your PC before this hanging started during boot? Power outage? Grinding noise? BSOD?

 

[renoaz]

The POST screen finds MOBO, Memory, IDE optical drives,
Boot sequence stops/hangs at "detecting IDE drives".

"prepare to enter setup..."when I hit the DEL key and nothing happens.

I cleared the CMOS after the above, getting same results.

Can't recall any unusual events prior this boot issue.

 

[inachu]

If the bios can not access the hard drive then your hard drive could be bad.

It is rare but sometimes the hard drive controller card is bad on the hard drive and the platter is just fine.

If you have the time and money you could go out and see if you can buy the exact model hard drive and swap the controller card.

I myself had to do this only 4 times in the past 15 years so it is kinda rare bt it does happen.

 

[VirtualLarry]

As a test, try disconnecting the data cable on all HDDs / SSDs. If it gets further along in POST, say, to "ERROR BOOT DEVICE NOT FOUND, PRESS ANY KEY", then you know that your HDD / SSD is causing POST to hang.

Also, unplug any external USB HDDs.

Edit: This is the ideal situation for a POST Diagnostic PCI card with LED readout.

 

[Ketchup]

Unplug your drives. Can you get into the BIOS with the Delete key?

If so, re-attach you drives one at a time until you find the culprit.

Edit: Basically what VL posted.

 

[renoaz]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'll give the data cable disconnect process a try.
Stay tuned for further developments.

 

[denis280]

if the above don't work.try with one stick of ram

 

[renoaz]

Followed VirtualLarrys recommendation below and unfortunately the results where as described. Took the HDD down to BEST BUY and had them see if its readable. Spins but no data was accessible. New HDD installed, OS loaded, computer boots fine now.
Can I use some mirror software to transfer data from a backup (when I find it)?

"As a test, try disconnecting the data cable on all HDDs / SSDs. If it gets further along in POST, say, to "ERROR BOOT DEVICE NOT FOUND, PRESS ANY KEY", then you know that your HDD / SSD is causing POST to hang."

 

[inachu]

Followed VirtualLarrys recommendation below and unfortunately the results where as described. Took the HDD down to BEST BUY and had them see if its readable. Spins but no data was accessible. New HDD installed, OS loaded, computer boots fine now.
Can I use some mirror software to transfer data from a backup (when I find it)?

"As a test, try disconnecting the data cable on all HDDs / SSDs. If it gets further along in POST, say, to "ERROR BOOT DEVICE NOT FOUND, PRESS ANY KEY", then you know that your HDD / SSD is causing POST to hang."

GO buy a Hard Drive to USB converter.
I use the following type hardware:

As well as something similar to this:

 

[ArisVer]

The second option is better. It only cost me 23 euro from eBay.

 

[VirtualLarry]

GO buy a Hard Drive to USB converter.
I use the following type hardware:

As well as something similar to this:

Something like those is always good to have, for cloning, recovery, backup, etc.