Dual SATA HDD Computer

[DaveP]

I have a server which I want to put to another use. I now want to use it as my Ghost image server. I have installed Windows 2003 Standard edition and I have Ghost working serving the images. I have now put a second SATA HDD [the same specification as the first] into the server and now Windows 2003 will not boot. It gets as far as the Windows splash screen with the progress bar but goes no further. The progress bar does not move at all and the screen is very dark. When I try to re-install Windows with the second HDD in place Setup stalls before the stage where it looks for previous installs of Windows. If I disable the first HDD and boot from the newly installed HDD the old Windows 2000 does boot successfully [The screen displays at normal brightness] and I am able to logon as administrator, but Windows wants to upgrade/repair the installation before going any further [This condition has been inherited from the two old servers the disks came from]

The reason for putting a second HDD in this server is that the images take up more space than is available on one disk.

So does anyone know how to get two SATA HDDs working in one machine or can anyone see what I am doing wrong? Thanks.

[DaveP]

Additional: Server Specification:

Chip: Intel Celeron 2.4 GHz
RAM: 1008 Mb [DDR226 Operating in single-channel dynamic paging mode]

Start Windows 2003 in Safe Mode: Boot hangs at acpitabl.dat.

[bishopsgarthstockton]

So its not a problem with the drive or the sata cable connection. have you tried formating the drive and then installing it into your server?

[bishopsgarthstockton]

have you tried a completely diffrent drive altogeather.?

[Geoff]

Which version of SATA does the motherboard support? Which version of SATA do (both) the drives support?

[DaveP]

Which version of SATA does the motherboard support? Which version of SATA do (both) the drives support?

As both drives are the same surely this is not a factor? How would I check these values anyway?

[DaveP]

...have you tried formating the drive and then installing it into your server?

I had thought of that, but have not got around to trying it yet. I suppose I would either low level format, or format it with NTFS on it. That is my next move I think [NTFS]

[contink]

Which version of SATA does the motherboard support? Which version of SATA do (both) the drives support?

As both drives are the same surely this is not a factor? How would I check these values anyway?

I think Geoff is hinting at there maybe being a dip switch or similar on your drives that turn them to be SATA I (150) or SATA II (300) compatible. Certainly on my Seagate drives there's something like that, so worth checking you don't have one set to SATA 300 and the other to 150.

[DaveP]

..., so worth checking you don't have one set to SATA 300 and the other to 150.

OK. I will open the server and have a look. Thanks for that.

[Geoff]

Which version of SATA does the motherboard support? Which version of SATA do (both) the drives support?

As both drives are the same surely this is not a factor? How would I check these values anyway?

I think Geoff is hinting at there maybe being a dip switch or similar on your drives that turn them to be SATA I (150) or SATA II (300) compatible. Certainly on my Seagate drives there's something like that, so worth checking you don't have one set to SATA 300 and the other to 150.

Yes, exactly. Also, buyers beware. Some SATA II drives have no switch! Making it impossible to get them to run at SATA I speeds.

[DaveP]

OK. I have put the second HDD in a SATA enabled workstation. After waiting for a bit the workstation found the drive and the Windows 2000 data. I have now deleted all of the partitions and I am now formatting the drive with NTFS. Fingers crossed.

Incidentally there are no dip switches on these drives so that would make them SATA II?

[contink]

Incidentally there are no dip switches on these drives so that would make them SATA II?

I could be wrong but I've heard tell of some SATA drives that have to set using a utility from the manufacturer (usually avail on their website). No idea which models or manufacturers as I've not used ought but Seagates in a while but worth checking out.

[DaveP]

I could be wrong but I've heard tell of some SATA drives that have to set using a utility from the manufacturer (usually avail on their website). No idea which models or manufacturers as I've not used ought but Seagates in a while but worth checking out.

Can anyone point me in the direction of such a utility. I have searched the Seagate website [These are Seagate ST3120026AS SATA disks] and found and downloded the Seagate DiscWizard but it does not want to run. Is this the utility I should be using? Is it the only way to resolve this issue?

As an update I have now installed Windows 2003 on the other HDD [originally had Windows 2000 installed] while formatting the first. I now have the same problem as before: Windows does not boot and the splash screen is darker than it would be normally.

[Geoff]

That particular drive will only run at SATA I speeds. It's incapable of SATA II.

I suspect it's either a driver problem or a motherboard issue. I suggest you check for any BIOS updates. Then make yourself a fresh driver floppy disk and install W2k3 (preferably with SP2 slipstreamed in) from scratch.

[PeterW]

DaveP can you let us know the make/model of the mainboard and/or server?

We may be able to help better if we have this info.