Fixed: ATA/SATA Hard Drive Not Detected or Recognized in BIOS
Updated on Dec 18, 2023 | by Kent
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ATA/SATA Hard Drive Not Detected in BIOS, Help!
Your PC can't detect the second hard drive, and it's not showing up in the BIOS. This is a frustrating issue. Don't worry, it's likely not damaged, but rather a configuration or connection problem. I can help you troubleshoot. Let's try checking the hard drive connections, updating the BIOS, and running a disk check. If that doesn't work, we can explore other solutions together."
If your ATA or SATA hard drive is not being recognized by your BIOS or PC, don't worry! You can try some quick fixes and effective solutions to resolve the issue and get your hard drive working again.
Quick Fix 1. Connect ATA/SATA Hard Drive with Another Cable Port
If the hard drive data cable becomes loose, the drive may not be recognized or detected by the PC. To resolve this, try two possible solutions: reseat the data cable or swap it with a spare one, or try to detect the hard drive in the BIOS settings before booting up the PC. This should help the computer detect and read your ATA or SATA hard drive.
- 1. To reconnect the hard drive, attach it to the data cable port or connect an ATA/SATA hard drive to a new data cable in your PC.
- 2. To use a hard drive as a second storage device on another desktop or laptop, you can simply connect it to the new device using a USB cable or an external hard drive enclosure. This will allow you to access and use the storage capacity of the external hard drive as if it were a second internal hard drive on the new device.
If the computer can read and detect your ATA or SATA hard drive, then the problem has been solved. If not, try other solutions to solve your problem.
Quick Fix 2. Turn on and Enable ATA or SATA Hard Drive in BIOS
If you have a new hard drive connected as a second drive in your PC, it may not be recognized by the system until you enable it in the BIOS settings. This is because the BIOS needs to be informed of the new drive's presence and configuration in order to recognize it.
- Shut down PC and unplug data cable from hard drive properly;
- Reconnect the hard drive with data cable;
- Restart PC and press F2 to enter BIOS;
- Enter Setup and check system documentation to see whether the not detected hard drive is turned Off in System Setup or not;
- If it's Off, turn it ON in System Setup.
- Reboot PC to check out and find your hard drive now.
Don't worry if your problem is still unsolved. Continue to follow below 3 methods to get your problem solved now.
Method 1. Update Hard Drive Drivers to Make ATA/SATA Hard Drive Detectable
If your computer's hard drive device drivers are outdated, it won't be able to run the hard drive or read data from it. To resolve this issue, you can try updating the drivers using one of the following three options.
- 1. Contact hard drive manufacturer for help and update hard drive drivers;
- 2. Download and update hard drive driver from manufacturer's website;
- 3. Manually update hard drive device drivers in Windows system:
- Click "Start" button > Type: Device Manager and hit Enter;
- Select Device Manager, expand categories to find the name of your hard drive and right-click it to see the properties.
- Select "Update Driver" > select "Search automatically for updated driver software";
- If Windows is unable to find a new driver for your drive, you can find the latest one on the device manufacturer's website.
- If the above steps don't work, try re-installing the drivers: Open Device Manager, right-click on your hard drive and select "Uninstall", then restart your computer and let Windows reinstall the drivers.
- To resolve the issue, restart your PC. Windows will automatically reinstall the drivers from the hard drive, resolving the problem.
After making these changes, be sure to reboot your PC to apply them and keep the updated settings on both your computer and hard drive.
Method 2. Initialize ATA/SATA Hard Drive to Make It Detectable
When a new hard drive is not initialized, it cannot be used to install programs or save data. Fortunately, a professional partition manager software like Qiling Partition Master can help initialize the hard drive for free.
You can directly download this software and follow the tutorial article on how to initialize a hard drive/SSD in Windows 10/8/7, making it detectable in BIOS and PC.
Method 3. Check Drive Spinning up or Not
- 1. Turn off the PC and open the computer case to remove data cable from the hard drive;
- 2. Reconnect the drive with data cable and restart PC;
- 3. Check out whether the drive is spinning or not;
- 4. If not, try to disconnect and reconnect the power cord on the computer and hard drive, repeat till the hard drive spin up;
- 5. It still doesn't work, try repeating these steps with another new PC.
- 6. Or try to connect the drive in a SATA-USB enclosure or similar device;
- 7. Or you can even get a warranty replacement order from hard drive manufacturer to see if it works or not.
Extra Tip: Format ATA/SATA Hard Drive to Make It Usable for Storing Data
If you can't use an ATA or SATA hard drive for saving data, you can format it in your PC to make it usable for saving data now. This will erase any existing data on the drive, so be sure to back up any important files before proceeding.
1. Enter Disk Management tool by right-clicking "This PC/My Computer" and select "Manage";
2. To reset a hard drive and save data, open Disk Management in Device Manager, right-click on ATA or SATA hard drive partitions, and select either "Format volume" or "Delete volume".
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