PCI card with Hard drive

I have an older dell dimension and added a promise pci card with a 3rd
hard drive (Seagate 500gb) recently. All of a sudden yesterday I
rebooted and the hard drive is no longer showing up. Prior to the
reboot, it was fine. I went to the Promise web site to read faqs
about my problem and here is the most relevant:

What does it mean when I boot the system and the Ultra
controller says, ´´BIOS Not Installed´´
[actually it reads more like .... Bios not installed because no
hard drives attached]

Solution: No Hard Drives are being detected at the Ultra Bios
Posting. Check cables, jumpers, power connectors and lastly
check drives to insure they are detected on a standard hard disk
controller.

I've checked the drive and it powers up and I replaced the flat cable
and reseated the pci card but no help (okay I didn't actually move
the hard drive to the std controller but will tomorrow; I really don't
think the hard drive is bad because it happened so sudden and
S.M.A.R.T. reported it about a week ago as healthy). I checked the
device manager and the pci card is listed okay but the hard drive of
course it not listed at all. Is there any chance this is a software
driver issue but if so, what??? The device manager shows the pci
card but not this hard drive. Any ideas what next to check or
recheck?

Perhaps disconnect your other slave drive and connect this one in its place.
Should give an indication of the hd status.
PS smart is an indicator only.

<Robert> wrote in message news:...
> I have an older dell dimension and added a promise pci card with a 3rd
> hard drive (Seagate 500gb) recently. All of a sudden yesterday I
> rebooted and the hard drive is no longer showing up. Prior to the
> reboot, it was fine. I went to the Promise web site to read faqs
> about my problem and here is the most relevant:
>
> What does it mean when I boot the system and the Ultra
> controller says, ´´BIOS Not Installed´´
> [actually it reads more like .... Bios not installed because no
> hard drives attached]
>
> Solution: No Hard Drives are being detected at the Ultra Bios
> Posting. Check cables, jumpers, power connectors and lastly
> check drives to insure they are detected on a standard hard disk
> controller.
>
> I've checked the drive and it powers up and I replaced the flat cable
> and reseated the pci card but no help (okay I didn't actually move
> the hard drive to the std controller but will tomorrow; I really don't
> think the hard drive is bad because it happened so sudden and
> S.M.A.R.T. reported it about a week ago as healthy). I checked the
> device manager and the pci card is listed okay but the hard drive of
> course it not listed at all. Is there any chance this is a software
> driver issue but if so, what??? The device manager shows the pci
> card but not this hard drive. Any ideas what next to check or
> recheck?

Robert wrote:
> I have an older dell dimension and added a promise pci card with a 3rd
> hard drive (Seagate 500gb) recently. All of a sudden yesterday I
> rebooted and the hard drive is no longer showing up. Prior to the
> reboot, it was fine. I went to the Promise web site to read faqs
> about my problem and here is the most relevant:
>
> What does it mean when I boot the system and the Ultra
> controller says, ´´BIOS Not Installed´´
> [actually it reads more like .... Bios not installed because no
> hard drives attached]
>
> Solution: No Hard Drives are being detected at the Ultra Bios
> Posting. Check cables, jumpers, power connectors and lastly
> check drives to insure they are detected on a standard hard disk
> controller.
>



> I've checked the drive and it powers up and I replaced the flat cable
> and reseated the pci card but no help (okay I didn't actually move
> the hard drive to the std controller but will tomorrow; I really don't
> think the hard drive is bad because it happened so sudden and
> S.M.A.R.T. reported it about a week ago as healthy). I checked the
> device manager and the pci card is listed okay but the hard drive of
> course it not listed at all. Is there any chance this is a software
> driver issue but if so, what???

No, as the "BIOS not installed" message happens at a firmware level.


The device manager shows the pci
> card but not this hard drive. Any ideas what next to check or
> recheck?

When the Promise card says "Bios not installed", it means it hasn't
found ANY hard drives attached to the card.

So, do i understand you correctly that you have *3* hard drives
attached to the card? Or are the other 2 attached to the onboard
controller? If your other drives are attached to the onboard, try one
of them on the card (not the boot one).

Promise cards are firmware upgradeable.... but if that was the problem,
it would have been noticeable from day 1. You should, however, upgrade
the firmware if you have an ultra 66 or ultra 100 card, to overcome
48bit lba size issues.

So, i think you have either a dead hard drive, or a dead promise
controller.

On 23 Dec 2006 19:05:02 -0800, "" <>
wrote:

>
>Robert wrote:
>> I have an older dell dimension and added a promise pci card with a 3rd
>> hard drive (Seagate 500gb) recently. All of a sudden yesterday I
>> rebooted and the hard drive is no longer showing up. Prior to the
>> reboot, it was fine. I went to the Promise web site to read faqs
>> about my problem and here is the most relevant:
>>
>> What does it mean when I boot the system and the Ultra
>> controller says, ´´BIOS Not Installed´´
>> [actually it reads more like .... Bios not installed because no
>> hard drives attached]
>>
>> Solution: No Hard Drives are being detected at the Ultra Bios
>> Posting. Check cables, jumpers, power connectors and lastly
>> check drives to insure they are detected on a standard hard disk
>> controller.
>>
>
>
>
>> I've checked the drive and it powers up and I replaced the flat cable
>> and reseated the pci card but no help (okay I didn't actually move
>> the hard drive to the std controller but will tomorrow; I really don't
>> think the hard drive is bad because it happened so sudden and
>> S.M.A.R.T. reported it about a week ago as healthy). I checked the
>> device manager and the pci card is listed okay but the hard drive of
>> course it not listed at all. Is there any chance this is a software
>> driver issue but if so, what???
>
>No, as the "BIOS not installed" message happens at a firmware level.
>
>
> The device manager shows the pci
>> card but not this hard drive. Any ideas what next to check or
>> recheck?
>
>When the Promise card says "Bios not installed", it means it hasn't
>found ANY hard drives attached to the card.
>
>So, do i understand you correctly that you have *3* hard drives
>attached to the card? Or are the other 2 attached to the onboard
>controller? If your other drives are attached to the onboard, try one
>of them on the card (not the boot one).
>
>Promise cards are firmware upgradeable.... but if that was the problem,
>it would have been noticeable from day 1. You should, however, upgrade
>the firmware if you have an ultra 66 or ultra 100 card, to overcome
>48bit lba size issues.
>
>So, i think you have either a dead hard drive, or a dead promise
>controller.


Yes, I have only one drive on the pci card and the other two on the
motherboard. In testing I confirmed the pci card/flat cable are okay.
Right now, I want to do one more test before I say the hard drive is
bad but with several tests already done, it looks bad. Guess what
makes me upset is that it gave me no warning at all. Perhaps the only
good-bad thing about it is, it's a Seagate 5 year warrantee (still
under warrantee) and I lost no important files but I made a true image
backup file on it which contains a lot of passwords in one file and I
won't take the chance of sending it in to Seagate so I will have to
eat the cost of this almost new drive .
Moral of this is: live and learn.

Anyway, "thank you" for your diagnosis. I'd say you were right on
the money.

Robert wrote:
> On 23 Dec 2006 19:05:02 -0800, "" <>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >Robert wrote:
> >> I have an older dell dimension and added a promise pci card with a 3rd
> >> hard drive (Seagate 500gb) recently. All of a sudden yesterday I
> >> rebooted and the hard drive is no longer showing up. Prior to the
> >> reboot, it was fine. I went to the Promise web site to read faqs
> >> about my problem and here is the most relevant:
> >>
> >> What does it mean when I boot the system and the Ultra
> >> controller says, ´´BIOS Not Installed´´
> >> [actually it reads more like .... Bios not installed because no
> >> hard drives attached]
> >>
> >> Solution: No Hard Drives are being detected at the Ultra Bios
> >> Posting. Check cables, jumpers, power connectors and lastly
> >> check drives to insure they are detected on a standard hard disk
> >> controller.
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >> I've checked the drive and it powers up and I replaced the flat cable
> >> and reseated the pci card but no help (okay I didn't actually move
> >> the hard drive to the std controller but will tomorrow; I really don't
> >> think the hard drive is bad because it happened so sudden and
> >> S.M.A.R.T. reported it about a week ago as healthy). I checked the
> >> device manager and the pci card is listed okay but the hard drive of
> >> course it not listed at all. Is there any chance this is a software
> >> driver issue but if so, what???
> >
> >No, as the "BIOS not installed" message happens at a firmware level.
> >
> >
> > The device manager shows the pci
> >> card but not this hard drive. Any ideas what next to check or
> >> recheck?
> >
> >When the Promise card says "Bios not installed", it means it hasn't
> >found ANY hard drives attached to the card.
> >
> >So, do i understand you correctly that you have *3* hard drives
> >attached to the card? Or are the other 2 attached to the onboard
> >controller? If your other drives are attached to the onboard, try one
> >of them on the card (not the boot one).
> >
> >Promise cards are firmware upgradeable.... but if that was the problem,
> >it would have been noticeable from day 1. You should, however, upgrade
> >the firmware if you have an ultra 66 or ultra 100 card, to overcome
> >48bit lba size issues.
> >
> >So, i think you have either a dead hard drive, or a dead promise
> >controller.
>
>
> Yes, I have only one drive on the pci card and the other two on the
> motherboard. In testing I confirmed the pci card/flat cable are okay.
> Right now, I want to do one more test before I say the hard drive is
> bad but with several tests already done, it looks bad. Guess what
> makes me upset is that it gave me no warning at all. Perhaps the only
> good-bad thing about it is, it's a Seagate 5 year warrantee (still
> under warrantee) and I lost no important files but I made a true image
> backup file on it which contains a lot of passwords in one file and I
> won't take the chance of sending it in to Seagate so I will have to
> eat the cost of this almost new drive .
> Moral of this is: live and learn.
>
> Anyway, "thank you" for your diagnosis. I'd say you were right on
> the money.

If you're going to void your warranty anyway, you can attempt to
recover data by a hard drive controller board swap. It requires a
***identical*** hard drive. Same model, and same revision. Swap circuit
boards. You will also need a tiny Torx screwdriver.

Seagate WILL zero your hard drive. So I wouldn't worry about THAT so
much.

You can try wiping the hard drive with DBAN. It can sometimes overcome
bad hard drive controllers. (Take the precaution of disconnecting all
non-target hard drives first)

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

On 23 Dec 2006 20:54:22 -0800, "" <>
wrote:

>
>Robert wrote:
>> On 23 Dec 2006 19:05:02 -0800, "" <>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >Robert wrote:
>> >> I have an older dell dimension and added a promise pci card with a 3rd
>> >> hard drive (Seagate 500gb) recently. All of a sudden yesterday I
>> >> rebooted and the hard drive is no longer showing up. Prior to the
>> >> reboot, it was fine. I went to the Promise web site to read faqs
>> >> about my problem and here is the most relevant:
>> >>
>> >> What does it mean when I boot the system and the Ultra
>> >> controller says, ´´BIOS Not Installed´´
>> >> [actually it reads more like .... Bios not installed because no
>> >> hard drives attached]
>> >>
>> >> Solution: No Hard Drives are being detected at the Ultra Bios
>> >> Posting. Check cables, jumpers, power connectors and lastly
>> >> check drives to insure they are detected on a standard hard disk
>> >> controller.
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >> I've checked the drive and it powers up and I replaced the flat cable
>> >> and reseated the pci card but no help (okay I didn't actually move
>> >> the hard drive to the std controller but will tomorrow; I really don't
>> >> think the hard drive is bad because it happened so sudden and
>> >> S.M.A.R.T. reported it about a week ago as healthy). I checked the
>> >> device manager and the pci card is listed okay but the hard drive of
>> >> course it not listed at all. Is there any chance this is a software
>> >> driver issue but if so, what???
>> >
>> >No, as the "BIOS not installed" message happens at a firmware level.
>> >
>> >
>> > The device manager shows the pci
>> >> card but not this hard drive. Any ideas what next to check or
>> >> recheck?
>> >
>> >When the Promise card says "Bios not installed", it means it hasn't
>> >found ANY hard drives attached to the card.
>> >
>> >So, do i understand you correctly that you have *3* hard drives
>> >attached to the card? Or are the other 2 attached to the onboard
>> >controller? If your other drives are attached to the onboard, try one
>> >of them on the card (not the boot one).
>> >
>> >Promise cards are firmware upgradeable.... but if that was the problem,
>> >it would have been noticeable from day 1. You should, however, upgrade
>> >the firmware if you have an ultra 66 or ultra 100 card, to overcome
>> >48bit lba size issues.
>> >
>> >So, i think you have either a dead hard drive, or a dead promise
>> >controller.
>>
>>
>> Yes, I have only one drive on the pci card and the other two on the
>> motherboard. In testing I confirmed the pci card/flat cable are okay.
>> Right now, I want to do one more test before I say the hard drive is
>> bad but with several tests already done, it looks bad. Guess what
>> makes me upset is that it gave me no warning at all. Perhaps the only
>> good-bad thing about it is, it's a Seagate 5 year warrantee (still
>> under warrantee) and I lost no important files but I made a true image
>> backup file on it which contains a lot of passwords in one file and I
>> won't take the chance of sending it in to Seagate so I will have to
>> eat the cost of this almost new drive .
>> Moral of this is: live and learn.
>>
>> Anyway, "thank you" for your diagnosis. I'd say you were right on
>> the money.
>
>If you're going to void your warranty anyway, you can attempt to
>recover data by a hard drive controller board swap. It requires a
>***identical*** hard drive. Same model, and same revision. Swap circuit
>boards. You will also need a tiny Torx screwdriver.
>
>Seagate WILL zero your hard drive. So I wouldn't worry about THAT so
>much.
>
>You can try wiping the hard drive with DBAN. It can sometimes overcome
>bad hard drive controllers. (Take the precaution of disconnecting all
>non-target hard drives first)
>
>http://dban.sourceforge.net/


Thanks again for the advice. I may try this. Word to the wise,
maybe if you do what I did, password protect your image files (I
didn't and that was my mistake) but I never expected an almost new
drive (bought new) to go bad without warning .

Appreciate your help again. Apparently I'm still learning.