Ensure that the SATA port to which your drive is connected is enabled. If in doubt, enable all SATA
ports unless instructed otherwise by the BIOS.
My drive is not detected in the BIOS
My drive is detected in the BIOS
Most new computers will automatically detect devices through the system setup program (CMOS or BIOS).
As the system starts, the auto-detect feature may display the drive model number on screen. Seagate drive
model numbers begin with the letters "ST". Some Serial ATA BIOS have a system setup that is not contained
within the normal motherboard BIOS. If this is the case, the Serial ATA drive will only be displayed in this
Serial ATA BIOS message. Please consult the motherboard or Serial ATA controller documentation for
assistance with entering into the Serial ATA BIOS setup.
If the drive is not detected in the BIOS
Verify Cabling
: The cause of non-detection may be faulty cabling. Replace the power
cable and the data cable for the drive in question with cables that are known to be in
good working order.
Connect in a Second Computer
(if available)
Connect to an External Enclosure
(Please verify if the enclosure is compatible with the
hard drive).
If the drive is detected in the BIOS
Since the drive is detected in the BIOS but has stopped booting correctly, the culprit may
be faulty cabling.
Replace the power cable and the data cable for the drive in question
with cables that are known to be in good working order.
If the problem persists, the most likely culprit may be a corrupted operating system. In
this case, a
Important: If your data is backup up elsewhere and you don't need data recovery, please
proceed with the instructions to repair Windows.
Warning: This will very probably erase all data on the drive.
Insert and boot from your Windows install disc to perform a
Windows Repair/Restore
.