Dell 500SC Poweredge & Large Disk

[Mike999]

I have this 500SC, and until yesterday, it worked fine.
Then I went into the BIOS to change the time, and now it won't boot.
It says drive 0 failure.

I tried AUTO in the BIOS, but it finds a WD75AA and not my WD307AA.
I tried 1023, 16, 63 = no luck.
I tried ATA-66 ATA-33 no luck.
The BIOS won't let me put in 16383, 16, 63 as it's too old.
I have BIOS A04, and I did DL A07 but I don't have a boot cd yet, not sure I'm wasting my time anyways.

It USED TO work !
So it must work again with no real changes right (besides BIOS) ?

BTW there is no LBA or Translation in the BIOS.

What do I change ?

Mike

 

[williamtyree959]

It sounds like you're dealing with a classic BIOS issue related to hard drive configuration. Here’s a step-by-step approach to troubleshoot and hopefully resolve the problem:

**1. Reset BIOS Settings:

• Clear CMOS: To ensure that the BIOS settings are reset to their defaults, you can clear the CMOS. This is typically done by either removing the CMOS battery for a few minutes or using the CMOS reset jumper on the motherboard. Refer to your motherboard's manual for the exact location of the jumper.

**2. Check Drive Connections:

• Cables: Verify that all cables (both power and data) connected to the hard drive are secure. Sometimes a loose connection can cause drive detection issues.
• Drive Position: Ensure that the drive is properly connected to the correct IDE channel (master/slave configuration if applicable).

**3. BIOS Settings:

• Drive Detection: Re-enter the BIOS setup and manually configure the hard drive settings. Since your BIOS doesn’t support LBA, make sure the settings are correct for the drive's parameters.
• Auto Detection: If auto detection isn’t working, try manually entering the drive’s parameters. For the WD307AA, you can find the correct settings in the drive’s documentation or on the manufacturer’s website.

**4. Update BIOS:

• BIOS Update: If clearing the CMOS and checking connections don’t resolve the issue, consider updating the BIOS to version A07 if possible. You mentioned you have the update but need a boot CD. You can create a bootable USB or CD with the BIOS update utility. Ensure you follow the instructions precisely to avoid further issues.

**5. Check the Hard Drive:

• Drive Health: The hard drive itself might be failing. If possible, connect the drive to another system or use a different drive to see if the problem persists.
• Drive Capacity Limits: Some older BIOS versions have trouble with large drives due to their size. If your drive is too large, consider testing with a smaller capacity drive.

**6. Try Different BIOS Settings:

• Manual Configuration: Since you’ve tried different settings with no luck, ensure that the IDE mode is properly configured (e.g., ATA-33 or ATA-66). Additionally, if you see settings related to "Drive Type" or "HDD Type," try setting it to "User" and manually entering the drive parameters.

**7. Testing with a Boot CD:

• Boot CD: If you can create a bootable CD or USB, try booting from it and see if the drive is detected. You can use tools like Hiren's BootCD or a Linux Live CD to check drive detection and perform diagnostics.

Summary:

1. Reset BIOS settings by clearing CMOS.
2. Check physical connections and configurations.
3. Attempt to update BIOS to version A07.
4. Verify hard drive health and compatibility.
5. Try different BIOS settings and configurations.

If after all these steps the drive still isn’t detected or you receive errors, the issue may lie with the hard drive itself or compatibility limitations with the BIOS.