4 in all

[Quick385]

Ok, so recently i decided to turn one of my old computers into a file server i have three HDs set up in it 10gig, 40gig, 140gig and 140gig. They are all brand new maxtors except the 10gig which is a crappy WD. The problem is when i start my computer the BIOS does not detect the primary slave, but when windows boots all 4 HDs are shown in my computer and i am able to acess all of them. After half an hour or slow that one HD that bios didn't detect disapears and i am only left with 3 HDs shown in My Computer, it's like windows stoped dectecing it just like the BIOS. This isn't the second time it has happened to me, it has happened once before with a different motherboard aswell. Does any one know whats going on and can the offer me a solution. :evil:

 

[Liquidlen]

Quick , Welcome to Techspot!
A little more specific info on your configuration would help you get more answers.
What is your setup on those HDD's especially the "crappy WD" ,Mb,O/S etc.

 

[Quick385]

Specifics

Well I am running a AMD 2400+ with 512md DDR RAM on a ECS K7S5A Pro Motherboard, win WinXP Professional

This is how my hard drives are setup:

Prinmary Master: Wester Digital 13Gb HD
Prinmary Slave: Maxtor 120Gb HD
Secondary Master: Maxtor 60Gb HD
Secondary Slave: Maxtor 120Gb HD

"Prinmary Slave: Maxtor 120Gb HD" is the one that is not being recognized by the bios and haveing problems with WinXP, i have had this same problem before on another motherboard.

 

[Liquidlen]

I am going to assume you have done all of the connection checks,cable change and jumper settings(not Cable select)
I would suspect you would be suffering a speed conflict on your primary.That 13gig is it an ata 66 and the 120gig> ata 100? If so the 120 will default to 66 .Check to see if bios set to auto detection, If so try manually inputting the info on each drive.
It would be better to make the 120 the master .
Did these problems start when you added new drives, or what?

 

[RealBlackStuff]

I think it is time to send that 13GB to the HD-heaven in the Sky. Transfer its data to to one of those 120GB biggies, using Drive Image, Partition Magic or Ghost.
Then put both 120GB HDs together as Master/Slave on IDE1 and keep the 60GB as master on IDE2.
Get an 80-wire IDE-cable for the 120GB disks. You probably have a 40-wire cable now, which may cause the problem you have.

 

[Nodsu]

You should run a HD test utility on that dodgy drive.

Also, try pausing the bootup process before HD detection (the pause key on the keyboard), waiting 10 seconds and then continuing (press any key).