Biostar MB-8433/40 UUC-A ver: 3.1 problems with the controller

[Half-Saint]

I just recently got this board and I'm having issues with the onboard controller. The bios auto-detect function doesn't work - it doesn't see the HDD.
When configured by hand, I still get the Hard Disk Failure (80) error.

Is it possible to somehow disable the onboard IDE controller? I certainly can't find an option in BIOS - it's only possible to disable the secondary IDE channel in BIOS.

Connecting an additional ISA controller didn't do anything.

All in all it seems like a nice board and I'd like to get it working, if at all possible.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Chuck(G)]

A stupid question, I know--but are you using a 40-conductor IDE cable? 80-conductor ones can sometimes create problems for older motherboards.

 

[Half-Saint]

The cable is a regular 40-wire IDE cable... it's been tested on other boards so it's a known working cable.

 

[PeterNC]

Are there jumpers to disable stuff? Sometimes mainboards operate through jumpers instead of the BIOS.

 

[Half-Saint]

I haven't any jumpers for disabling the controller. This is all I've got for reference http://www.lejabeach.com/Biostar/MB-8Series/MB-8433UUC.htm

 

[SomeGuy]

Perhaps you could try a PCI IDE or SATA card? Those don't require the built in IDE to be disabled, just set the drive types to "none".

 

[Stone]

I have a Biostar MB-8500TVX-A and it has enable/disable FDC and IDE in the setup options.

 

[modem7]

The cable is a regular 40-wire IDE cable... it's been tested on other boards so it's a known working cable.

So, what other causes have you ruled out?

* HDD is 'spinning up'
* HDD works in a different computer
* HDD confirmed as set to master

Tell us what you know.

 

[Half-Saint]

I have a Biostar MB-8500TVX-A and it has enable/disable FDC and IDE in the setup options.

Great, unfortunately my board doesn't have it. I looked several times. Maybe a BIOS update would help but finding a BIOS for this particular board...

So, what other causes have you ruled out?

* HDD is 'spinning up'
* HDD works in a different computer
* HDD confirmed as set to master

Tell us what you know.

Well I tested the setup with several known working drives and it's always the same. The hard drives are definitely spinning (I can hear them start-up) but they don't get detected. Jumpers were configured as Master in every case.