PCI IDE Controller doesn't read HD.

[Rayz]

A while back I got a new HD, but it turns out my motherboard is so old it can't support an HD past 137GB. I was told I needed a PCI IDE Controller. Anyways, I just got this Newegg.com - PROMISE ULTRA133TX2 PCI IDE Controller Card - Controllers / RAID Cards in the mail today.

I followed the instructions, and installed the driver correctly. I went to Device Manager to confirm that the card was being detected. I attach my new HD to the controller, but when I start my computer I look to see that my HD is not listed anywhere.

I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but I re-read the instruction manual that came with the device, and there's nothing that helps.

[Steve R Jones]

Start->Run->Diskmgmt.msc
Does the new drive show up there?

[Rayz]

No, it doesn't.

I'm wondering if downloading the latest BIOS update from the manufacturer's website. I created a bootable floppy, like the instructions said, but it says to type the path of the BIOS I wish to update. The problem is that I don't know the path.

Edit: I typed ptiflash/f u133b15.bin and I got a message saying Updating Card 1.... OK! Bios updated I think.

Still, that didn't fix the problem. Whenever I attach the power connector to the HD I get a message saying "DISK BOOT FAILURE. INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER" The only thing that works is when I put the floppy that came with the card in. When I put the floppy in I get another message saying "Non-system diskette. Replace and press any key to reboot." Nothing works on this message. I am forced to turn my computer off.

[BipolarBill]

The drive worked before, right?

How is it jumpered and where are you connecting it? If it's a Western Digital drive, it must be set as either Cable Select or no jumper at all.

Do you see the BIOS screen for the Promise card as you're booting up? Does it show a drive connected?

[Rayz]

Yeah, it worked before. I even have a few gigs worth of stuff already saved on it.

I have the (blue) side of the cable that came with the card attached in the IDE 1 slot on the card. The other end is attached to the drive. The drive needed a power cable, so I attached the one that has P5 on it. I set the jumpers to cable selected, and I tried having nothing at all.

When card is booting it it says there's a 232GB drive attached, and it says something like "IDE Bug Detected". I don't really know exactly what it says, but I'll go back and see, and then edit this post.

Edit:

Alright here's what it says.

The name of the card appears, and it says BIOS 2.20.0.15. (latest version from Promise's website) Then below that it says "Detecting" After a moment it shows my hard drive's model name, and it's 232Gb capacity. Below that it says "IDE BUS MASTER ENABLED"
Then screen switches to the "Disk boot failure. Insert system disk and press enter" message I mention before.

I have my devices boot in this order.
1 - Floppy
2 - Cd-ROM
3 - Network boot [SCSI Boot Device]
4 - Hard Drive

[BipolarBill]

You have to put "hard drive" before network device. I warned you before that the card is considered as a SCSI device.

[Rayz]

Alright, I went back and fixed that.

I am still getting the same disk boot failure message. If I can figure out what's causing that then everything will probably start working.

[BipolarBill]

Is the old hard drive still in?

You cannot boot from this drive until Windows has the drivers for the new card loaded.

Take the old drive out. Boot from the Windows CD and press F6 when you see "Press F6 if you need to install a third party storage driver" on the bottom of the screen. Pop in the floppy disk that came with the card and load the drivers. Start Setup and choose to Repair XP. Do not choose Recovery Console. Select Install and then Repair.

That should do it.

[Rayz]

I did what you said, but the drive was attached without the card. If I tried doing it with the drive attached to the card I get the boot disk failure message...again. If the drive is attached to the card, the message will come up only when the power conenctor is in. It appears before I can try booting from Windows CD.

[BipolarBill]

The power connector should always be connected when the drive is.

Connect the drive to the card. Disconnect the old drive completely. Do not disconnect the power without disconnecting the data cable! They need to be done together - always.

Now, the card is connected to the new drive. The data cable must be an 80-wire cable - with the blue connector. The drive must be jumpered as Cable Select.

The boot order should be:

Floppy
CD
Network/SCSI
Hard drive

When you boot up with the Windows CD, you should see a prompt like "Press any key to boot from CD". Press a key and be prepared to press F6 to load the Promise drivers.

If the CD doesn't boot, it's a bad copy.

If you want to boot from the old drive, the boot order is:

Floppy
CD
Hard Drive
Network/SCSI

The original drive must be primary master in this case.