SATA Troubles...

[PsionicFox]

I recently replaced the power supply in my computer when my last one carked it, and it seems that my computer is now unable to detect my SATA drives, just like I'd done a fresh build of my tower. As far as I know, however, the data is still there on my drives, but I can't boot through to windows. Can anyone help me with this problem?

I'd REALLY like to not have to format my computer as I'll lose EVERYTHING. I have the correct SATA drivers on a floppy drive, but I'm not sure what to do now...

 

[mikescorpio81]

So when you power up your PC, what error message do you receive?
The only thing that has changed in your PC is the PSU right? Nothing else was touched during your replacement of the PSU?

Does your SATA drive spin when you power up your PC? Check in BIOS that your PC is set to boot to HDD first, and that BIOS can even see your drive. Failing this, you could try taking your drive out and trying it on another PC. This is one way to determine whether or not your disk is toast.

Also try connecting your drive up on another power cable off the PSU.

 

[PsionicFox]

Thanks for replying.

When I boot up, I don't actually get any error messages. What I get is the normal boot screen that I have seen billions of times.

When it comes to looking for things to boot from, it says this:

Boot from CD:
Boot from CD:

And then it doesn't do anything. If I put in my XP disk, I can run the setup program, and I can make it see my disks if I use the drivers that I have on a floppy disk. So yeah, I can make it see my drives, but only from inside the setup program, I can't actually make Windows boot.

And not, nothing else was changed. I removed the broken PSU, and put in the new one, double-checking all of my connections. I can remember having this sort of issue once before, but only when I was doing a re-format, which was solved by having the drivers on a floppy disk. I'm just not sure what to do now.

 

[mikescorpio81]

How many drives to you have in your PC? Do you think it's trying to boot from one that doesn't have an OS installed on it?

Can you enter set-up (BIOS) and see your disk in there?

 

[PsionicFox]

Okay, I've deemed that the problem was going away, so I decided to go for the messier option of reformatting my HD. I've disconnected my second drive, and I have preformed a re-install of Windows. Or at least, I've tried to. My computer, annoying thing that it is, has decided that even WITH the drivers on the floppy drive that I have that I give the program as it asks, it STILL won't work properly. I get the blue screen that you get when installing Windows, I follow all of the options as I should, and then the computer, after copying the files over, restarts, as it should. At this point, however, when it gets to the point of booting, and should now boot to windows to allow me to finish the install, it loops back to the blue screen again. I still have the CD in the drive at restart, but does anyone have any solutions for me? My computer is seriously starting to irritate me now.

 

[mikescorpio81]

I'm not quite sure what you mean.
Are you saying that when the install continues after the first reboot (GUI stage) it reverts back to the Win initial blue-screen set-up page?

Sounds like you rebooted to the CD!