BIOS not installed.

[Zyte]

Not sure if this is the right forum, so apoligies if im wrong.

Bought a new HDD to be my master drive went to the usual OS install which everyone hates. When the PC boots i get shown this error:

VIA Technologies, INC VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID BIOS setting utility v2.01

scan devices, please wait...
press <tab> to key into user window!

Hardware initiate failed, Please Check Device!!!
The Bios does not be isntalled. Press <g> to continue!

OS : WinXP
BIOS: AMIBIOS 08.00.09
Motherboard: Asus K8V-SE Deluxe AMD Skt754 (Athlon64) DDR400
RAM: 2 x 512MB DDR400 PC3200 RAM (Elixir/Nanya brand) memory
Processor: AMD CPU Athlon 64 3400+ 64 bit Skt 754
Graphics Card: Radeon 9800XT with 256mb memory
Hard Drive: Hitachi 320gb

Im absolutely clueless as what to do as when i google VT8237 it brings up a ~6mb file which wont fit on a floppy. I've never installed or flashed BIOS before and i know i can severely ruin a pc should i do something wrong.

please

[Clunk]

So its just done this since you installed the hard drive, or were there problems before that?

Is it a sata 2 drive? You may have to change a jumper over for it to work, Im not sure if thats the problem, but its worth a try.

[Zyte]

First time i saw it was when i put the new drive in. It is a sata2 drive, but there are no jumpers on the front of it.

[Clunk]

You sure there isnt any, near the sockets?

Are you sure your board supports sata 2?

[Zyte]

My mistake its not SATA2.

http://www.2dayblog.com/images/2007/...chi_hd_468.jpg
The drive is the same as this one, and there are no jumpers in sight.

[Clunk]

If you disconnect the drive does it still do it?

[Zyte]

When the drive is disconnected it boots, checks for IDE drives, states no drives are found and says CMOS Checksum Bad.

[Clunk]

Reset the cmos and try again...do it properly with the battery out and leave it shorted for a good while.

It could be your cmos battery that needs replacing.

[Zyte]

Just realised that pushing "g" to continue when the drive is plugged in runs the same sequence as above. managed to get into BIOS setup somehow seeing as it says its not installed.

BIOS version im running is AMIBIOS 08.00.09

Hope that helps.

I reset the BIOS using the JBAT.

[Zyte]

Went into BIOS and disables BootSATA (i think that what it was called under the Advanced tab , onboard devices) that has got me as far as as the beginning of the Windows installation. Push "S" to load 3rd party driver thing.

Load the driver, then it doesnt recognise the HDD so im forced to push F3 to quit.

Is it possible that the original HDD was fine and that the motherboard has blown?

[scrandman]

Sounds like you need to install the SATA drivers from floppy at the F6 prompt during Windows installation to me...

[Zyte]

Im struggling to find the SATA drivers. Anybody link me?

[Supershanks]

You should find the drivers on the cd that came with your board, you might get them from here K8V SE Deluxe sata/raid drivers

luck

[directhex]

there are multiple BIOSes in a computer - everything that needs to prove its existence pre-OS has one (e.g. network cards in case you boot from a network, disk controllers in case you boot from a disk drive of some kind)

the message is being given by your disk controller - sometimes it's harmess (e.g. if not booting from a sata controller, it doesn't bother to load its BIOS, hence a similar message to yours)

[Zyte]

yeh ive managed to get passed that problem but it is still not recognising any of the 3 HDD's ive placed in it(using the sata driver). Must admit im stumped.

Getting desperate (full on PC addiction withdrawl symptoms setting in ). Think it might be the motherboard but dont know of a way to check it.

[Supershanks]

so your in windows now??
are the drives initialised & partitioned??