WinXP Install Prob: No Hard Drive Found

[SteveInTallyFl]

New build A7N8X Deluxe r2.0, WD800JB(OEM). BIOS picked up EIDE disk. XP doesn't see it. ASUS did not include drivers for IDE controller in Floppy. . .should they be needed? WTHIU? I cant believe this is common on such a popular pair of components. Any ideas?

 

[jackschmittusa]

Windows won't see the drive if it isn't partitioned.

 

[SteveInTallyFl]

Somehow that doesn't feel quite right. I thought the point of WinXP fresh install was to detect all hardware and prompt me through the kind and number of partitions to create. . .If I pre-partition the drive doesn't that lead to other issues in the install process?

 

[lobadobadingdong]

1st check the ide cable, a loose cable can lead to that.
try using a win98 boot disk and see if it will fdisk the drive, if it don't see it either, you might have a bad hard drive.

 

[SteveInTallyFl]

Found it!
Bless those folks at Western Digital. . .I left the jumper at MASTER for a single HDD on the primary IDE chain. While the BIOS did not have a problem with that, Windows hardware detection did. With the jumper removed everything came together smashingly.

This is the fastest desktop system I've ever seen!

 

[kursplat]

. .I left the jumper at MASTER for a single HDD on the primary IDE chain.

....and the techs at WD quietly smile to themselves as they chalk up another one...