PC problems 0 SATA (long post)

[mo786]

Hi

I have an odd problem that I cannot quite diagnose. Any help appreciated.

I have an Arock motherboard (http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=ConRoeXFire-eSATA2&s=775) - and a Western Digital SATA 500GB drive.

Basically I have been using Vista since it came out on RTM (about 10 months now). What would happen with my OLD Samsung 400GB HDD was that it would randomly freeze and crash and just became a nightmare. I thought the reason was that the HDD was faulty so I replaced it with my current WD one which is only a couple of months old now.

Only thing is the problems continue and have gotten worse. I have run the SPINRITE testing tool on the HDD and after 33 hours testing it reported no problems.

I updated the BIOS firmware from 1.60 to 2.00 in case it was a problem with the mobo not being able to do SATA properly but if anything the problems have gotten worse.

Some of the problems:

PC will boot up and take AGES to get past the IDE/SATA drives found.

PC will get past the POST screen and then say ‘Insert boot media’

PC will get past POST and then say ‘disc read error. Press ctl atl del to restart’

PC will randomly freeze in Vista and sometimes have to be rebooted. This happens sometimes after a couple of hours after a fresh install and sometimes a few days after. I got this Mobo when I got Vista and for a while it ran it rock solid with my SATA hard drive.

I doubt it is a Vista problem as it is affecting the PC before it even gets to Vista.

The odd thing is I have a spare HDD that is IDE and I can use that with Vista and it runs PERFECT. So either I am unlucky with dodgy SATA HDDs OR something is wrong with SATA on the mobo or Vista (I doubt Vista as I am sure millions of people use SATA..)

My research shows me no reports from people with similar mobos.

I also have another ASROCK Mobo running downstairs on another PC and its fine with SATA (different model though).

I have tried various things like changing the SATA wire, trying different SATA inputs on the mobo and updating the BIOS but nothing has worked. I have also looked around in the BIOS and have set the drive to be seen as IDE, ACHI, RAID and have left it on IDE as recommended by ASROCK.

So should I buy another HDD? IDE this time – benefit of this is that I have the old 500gb HDD that I can use in my media PC.

Or do I buy a new Mobo – benefit of this is that it will cost half as much as a new HDD, BUT, I will then have a second mobo that is effectively useless as I won’t be building another PC with it.

Finally, and probably most annoyingly the problem is intermittent. Sometimes the HDD will work fine and I can carry on using the PC as normal (like now).

Any ideas?

 

[Decadent Fool]

I've just got over a similar(ish) issue with mine, and I did the following.

You got any ide devices in there? If so, are they on ide 2? I had ide devices on both ide channels and it was horrible. Now I just have an optical drive on ide 2.

Make sure your bios is set to non-raid for sata devices; that sped mine up.

sata drive on sata 1?

Note your settings in the bios, and then 'load optimal defaults' and see what happens. I had to back and then tweak mine as it set sata to raid, but it's worth trying.

Good luck

 

[KraGorn]

Hard to say, but my money's on the on-board controller given the variety of problems you're seeing, it just doesn't 'feel' like a disk drive problem.

Your experience after updating the BIOS is worrying, though perhaps also points to a mobo problem somehow made worse by whatever changes were made in the BIOS code.

 

[mo786]

On board SATA controller problem has been usggested elsewhere - question is how do you fix it?

I have rquested an RMA as the mobo is 10 months old i wonder what they would do to it...

 

[Smeggor]

Hard to say, but my money's on the on-board controller given the variety of problems you're seeing, it just doesn't 'feel' like a disk drive problem.

Your experience after updating the BIOS is worrying, though perhaps also points to a mobo problem somehow made worse by whatever changes were made in the BIOS code.

Must agree with those comments. I would rule out the HDD. Asrock mobos have had some problems with SATA, intermittently not recognizing the drive. Again, after a bios update, the problem got worse, would suggest a mobo problem.

 

[mo786]

could i demand a replacvement? it is 10 months old tho

 

[Figment]

My money is on the mobo also. I see no reason why you are not entitled to a replacement if the warranty is for 12 months. 12 months is 12 months not 10. The supplier may reserve the right to test the old and confirm the fault before suppling a new one but in pracice most don't bother as it costs them more to test it then replace than to just accept your word.
Good luck.