WD150 Raptor Drive Issues.

dogg.mutt · Sep 13, 2006, 04:05 AM

Hello, I'm new to these forums in need of some serious help.

Just recently I purchased a WD150 Raptor Drive from newegg, connected it to my computer and it shows up as BzBzBzBzBzBzBzBzBzBzBzBzBzBzBzBzBz BzBzBzBzBz. Pretty awkward, also freezes the comp sometimes too, i havent been able to successfully get passed the first post screen w/ the memory test, I have gotten into the bios and it shows up as having 571 GB when its only supposed to have 150 GB, so i RMA'd the drive thinking it was defective, i got the new one and it does the same thing, I've tried everything i can do in my own home, when i get a chance to im going to take it to my job and test it out on one of those computers. Any type of feedback or anything will be greatly appreciated. Ive never had this problem before, im upgrading from a WD74 Raptor Drive and it runs perfect on my comp, so really theres no reason why the 150 shouldnt work.

my comp specs are:

Soyo Dragon 2 Platinum MB
2 GB Corsair XMS DC
Nvidia 7800GS AGP
P4 3.2 Ghz
Nothing is overclocked.

***temeteus82*** · Sep 13, 2006, 04:28 AM

Hi there and welcome to DH!
Is your BIOS updated to newest version? It sounds to mee like it's a BIOS problem.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Sep 13, 2006, 09:06 AM

That drive is SATA2?

You may want to try putting the SATA1 jumper on it... won't kill the performance or anything but may help get it working

***temeteus82*** · Sep 13, 2006, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H3X4D3C1M4L

That drive is SATA2?

WD's site says it's SATA 1 drive... (all raptors are SATA 1 drives)
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Produ...89&Language=en

dogg.mutt · Sep 13, 2006, 03:50 PM

i've tried all the jumper settings, those dont work, im not sure if my bios is up to date, unfortunately for me i was stupid and got my motherboard from an all korean company so their bios flashing instructions are insanely vague and i actually tried to flash it once before and it screwed up my bios, i can try again but none of the updated bios firmware on their site indicates anything worth upgrading but i can always try, and yea its still Sata 1.

PangingJr · Sep 13, 2006, 04:07 PM

i suggest you email the WD's tech supports, give them this info, request them to check out your motherboard compatibility with the drive...
and if you can, do the same with the motherboard's tech support.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Sep 14, 2006, 09:24 AM

You could pick up a new mobo too.... something more name brand then that eliminates some other future compatibility problems.

Still....it just looks to me like the mobo is a 1st gen SATA controller with a newer SATA drive and its communication breakdown thereafter

PangingJr · Sep 14, 2006, 04:39 PM

technical support for either the hard drive's or the motherboard's 'should' have this problem resolved before, and a solution to it should be in their known issues archives.

dogg.mutt · Sep 14, 2006, 07:13 PM

i found out the problem, pretty strange, apparently theres two different sata controllers on my mobo, ones ICH5R or something along those lines and SiliconImage 3112A, i was using the ICH5R and it couldnt recognize it, i enabled the SI controller and stuck it in there, problem solved, shows up fine and already installed everything perfectly, no documentations or notes about this other sata controller not supporting any type of specific drive, i mean the raptor 150 is still sata 1 so it wouldnt be a matter of generation steps between sata 1 and 2, it just baffles me that it wont work on that controller, but it works fine on the SI controller w/o any jumpers present, so i guess hopefully in the future people with that onboard controller ICH5R will know why their 150 raptors wont work.

***temeteus82*** · Sep 15, 2006, 02:20 AM

That ICH5R is made by Intel... So you might want to let them know about this

Tipstaff · Sep 15, 2006, 02:44 AM

Believe it or not this isn't the first time I've read about, or seen this problem. I've seen this very same issue pop up now and again, and every time it's related to a WD SATA drive, an Intel SATA controller, and most times, but not always, a motherboard using an Award bios. Last time I ran into this problem it was with one of their WxxxxJD series of drives (the 160GB drive I think), but I've seen this issue with drives from across their entire line. Most times you will get a "primary disk failure" error, or the system will work fine, but then it will, inconsistantly, lock up. Thing is the drive will work fine in another system, but just not that one. Not even a replacement drive from WD will work in that system.

In any case, so far I've found a couple ways to "try" and fix the issue, either by doing a simple bios update, trying a different SATA port, or fooling around with the bios settings. Not 100% gauranteed to work all the time.. but it does work... sometimes. Other than that there isn't much you can do besides switching to another manufacturers drive, or using a different controller entirely (as with this case).