ide controller bad = RMA motherboard?

[Smeagol]

Okay I just bought a new computer, and barely got some kinks worked out and everything running when I get hit again with a problem I haven't before encountered. I was getting ready to install the XP service pack 2 upgrade, and as the cd I have it on was autoloading, the computer froze. upon reboot the bios post screen stated that my DVD drive was a Nive/On FVFRW SHO-367H6s""""""""""""""J2SR". Seeing as how before my bios always showed it correctly as a Lite-on DVDRW drive, I was curious and suspicious. Well, after getiing back into windows I notice that My drive is no longer listed in My Computer, or the device manager. I took the drive out and hooked it up to my other computer, and the bios saw the drive correctly. I then took a 10GB PATA hard drive and plugged it into the new computer to see if it would correctly identify and use a hard drive. It got the drive name right, but CMOS said it was a 25GB drive. Also that drive has WINXP on it, but couldn't boot. I just want to confirm that my suspicions are correct. I think that somehow when my computer crashed, my ide controller was somehow hosered. Does anyone think there's a way to fix it, or will I have to RMA my motherboard back to Newegg?

System Specs:
AMD Athlon X2 5200+
Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4
2x1GB DDR2-800 RAM
Lite-on 16x DVDRW drive
GeForce 8600GTS

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[fiream29]

First thing I'd suspect is BIOS corruption. You can try clearing the BIOS and see if that clears the problem. If the problem clears but then comes back at a later time you may have a problem with the drive itself. Clear the BIOS again and then try running another drive on that controller for a while. It wouldn't hurt to swap cables either.

Your manual should show the location of the BIOS clearing jumper and give exact procedures for use. Whether it says so or not make sure the system is off and the power supply switch is off or the system unplugged before you attempt a reset. Contrary to popular belief it doesnt take fifteen minutes (or overnight) to clear the BIOS. A few seconds should be plenty. That jumper may throw a short across the CMOS battery so you are in effect killing the battery life if you leave it on too long. You'll know if it reset or not as everything in the BIOS will be defaulted including the time and date. If the time/date are still correct then it didn't work.

If you have any custom settings in the BIOS you've worked out be sure and note them so you can set them back when done.
Good Luck,
Fiream29

 

[JustaGeek]

And after you've cleared the CMOS, enter the BIOS and set all the frequencies, timings and voltages manually - especially for the memory.

And make sure that you disable RAID in IDE settings - some MB's come with default values set to RAID. Just choose "non-RAID".

Good luck!