HDD Woes

[Sleek]

I have a 20gb 5400RPM MAxtor HDD thats giving me a headache. It shows up in WIndows (Windows 2000) but when I double click it it asks me if I want to format it. I've tried using a dos boot disk and running Fdisk, no go, tried formatting it and puting Mandrake 8.1 on it using the wizard, no go, tried clicking yes when it askes me if I want to format it, It just sits there. Tried running defrag, it doesnt get detected. So what do I do? I also tried going into my BIOS and detecting it from there but still no go.

EpoX 8KHA+
Tbird 1.2 @ 1.3
60gb 5400rpm Maxtor (works fine)
20gb 5400rpm Maxtor(the one that doesnt work)
256mb of Crucial DDR RAM
GeForce 2 Ultra
Sound Blaster Live! Value

 

[bruincal]

shows up in windows 2000 but there are problems with detection in the BIOS?!?
You should go to www.maxtor.com and download PowerMax, which is maxtor's diagnostic software for its hard drives. PowerMax will create a boot floppy, from which it will try to detect the drive, see if the cable's are plugged in properly, access the SMART feature to indicate if possible failure occuring, and also run diagnostic tests to indicate if the drive is reliable or not.


good luck! one of the things i hate the worst is unreliable data storage =P