Booting from SATA drives

from Elemental Forums

Just want to run this by the techies here...

I have reason to believe that my IDE drive may be going bad.  I loaded Windows 7 this past weekend, and have just finished reloading my system for the 4th time this morning.  The first few reloads were caused by Windows not liking my version of ZoneAlarm, and then Office.  After loading each of those, the system refused to boot.  The last reload was caused after a crash while playing Elemental, again it wouldn't boot.

After loading Windows & installing updates this time around, upon rebooting after the last update it said the drive needed to be checked for integrity, the same sh*t it said after each of the crashes before.  Only this was after normal updates were installed, no crashes.  The system had a tendency to just shut off & reboot on it's own before switching to 7 (was running xp pro before), and it still shut off on its own a few times after loading 7.  So now I'm thinking of dumping the ide drive, which is about 4 years old, for a SATA.

My question, will I have issues booting with the SATA drive?  I know XP wouldn't even see a SATA drive until drivers were loaded, so no way it was bootable under that system.  If I have to do another install, can 7 just install to the SATA drive right from the get-go, without loading drivers & what not?

Thanks!

 

39,329 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

My question, will I have issues booting with the SATA drive?
End of quote

No.

That said, I don't think it's your drive. Sounds like PSU, heat or an overclocked system.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Internal SATA is a mature technology at this point.  You should have any troubles with it on a modern OS.

I also don't think your hard drive is the problem.  The integrity checks are happening because your computer isn't shutting down cleanly.  Your shutdowns could really be caused by anything though.  Is windows crashing (ie blue screen) or is the computer simply shutting off?  If Windows is crashing you can go into the Control Panel, go to Administration Tools and open the Event Viewer and it should tell you what's causing the crashes.

If it's simply dying or rebooting then it's more likely a hardware problem... although these could cause a blue screen as well.

Later,
LAR

Groupy 2 - Organize multiple applications into grouped tabs on your Windows desktop
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I just installed a fresh Windows 7 install on a new SATA drive and the process was uneventful. Works fine. I have an Alienware Area 51 and while I have always had SATA drives, I have had a history of problems using XP and Vista. Unplanned rebooting, screen black-outs and on and on. Motherboard replaced, RAM replaced and on and on. The problems were worse doing OS upgrades, but there were still problems even using a fresh install. The system was not overclocked, but heat is always a concern with dual video cards, multiple drives etc.

Since installing Windows 7 on a new SATA drive the system has worked perfectly. I lost access to a few old games, but perhaps is time I moved on anyway!    

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

I know XP wouldn't even see a SATA drive until drivers were loaded, so no way it was bootable under that system.
End of quote

It was, you just had to slipstream the HDD controller driver into the installer and re-burn it (or use a driver floppy, but nobody has floppy drives anymore). Vista and Windows 7 include most common SATA controller drivers out of the box.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Yeah, I had considered the PSU...  My boss at work mentioned it may be a virus stuck in the Bios, so I removed the battery to clear it.  I only got the blue screen once, after Elemental crashed it.  There was a dump on the screen, but it went by so quickly I didn't see much.  Anyway, getting to the Event View after these crashes is impossible since it won't boot at all, not even in safe mode.  This may be related, but the system restore feature doesn't work either, nor did it ever work when XP was installed.  When I try to restore, it doesn't see any save points. 

I don't believe it's the drive either, mainly because I formatted it on an XP machine and it didn't find any errors at all.  Other than this bit, the system runs beautifully.  I was formatting it on the XP machine, then installing Win 7, because I somehow overlooked the 'drive options' tab where you can do the partitioning.

Might be heat, I am running a dual core cpu with 2 video cards.  I did blow the machine out the other day, before all this.  I'm not too sure what else to do about overheating, other than spending more cash on a cooling system, which I just might do if it keeps up.  The shutdowns happen instantly, like somebody just came up and hit the reset button.  The cpu isn't overclocked or anything (as far as I know anyway)...

This last drive consistency check wasn't after a crash, the system did a clean reboot after updating Windows, this was the only time it happened when it wasn't a crash. 

Thanks for the quick replies guys :)

 

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Krynus, reply 5
Yeah, I had considered the PSU...  My boss at work mentioned it may be a virus stuck in the Bios, so I removed the battery to clear it.  I only got the blue screen once, after Elemental crashed it.  There was a dump on the screen, but it went by so quickly I didn't see much.  Anyway, getting to the Event View after these crashes is impossible since it won't boot at all, not even in safe mode.  This may be related, but the system restore feature doesn't work either, nor did it ever work when XP was installed.  When I try to restore, it doesn't see any save points. 

I don't believe it's the drive either, mainly because I formatted it on an XP machine and it didn't find any errors at all.  Other than this bit, the system runs beautifully.  I was formatting it on the XP machine, then installing Win 7, because I somehow overlooked the 'drive options' tab where you can do the partitioning.

Might be heat, I am running a dual core cpu with 2 video cards.  I did blow the machine out the other day, before all this.  I'm not too sure what else to do about overheating, other than spending more cash on a cooling system, which I just might do if it keeps up.  The shutdowns happen instantly, like somebody just came up and hit the reset button.  The cpu isn't overclocked or anything (as far as I know anyway)...

This last drive consistency check wasn't after a crash, the system did a clean reboot after updating Windows, this was the only time it happened when it wasn't a crash. 

Thanks for the quick replies guys

 
End of Krynus's quote

We have a red flag!  How long have you had the two video cards and what is your PSU rated for?  I'd try taking one out and see if your system's any more stable.

Also, have you tried pulling the power plug after your computer won't reboot and then trying it? (After you plug it back in.)

Later,
LAR

Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting yrag, reply 1


That said, I don't think it's your drive. Sounds like PSU, heat or an overclocked system.
End of yrag's quote

Second that one.

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

I had a similar problem a few systems ago.  Turns out it was the chaepo power strip I plugged the computer into, it wasn't delivering enough power at times.  So add that to the things you check if you use a power strip or the like (which is prudent to prevent lightning strikes/etc. from causing problems -- I now use an Isobar Surge Protector).

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Let's see.... I've had 2 video cards since I built the machine, about 3 years ago.  The reboot thing is recent though.  No I haven't removed a card... yet, but if it continues I may do so.

Also, I haven't tried unplugging the machine afterwards, I'll be doing that next time.

Nick - I am indeed using a power strip, but it's only been on the strip a couple of weeks, the reboot thing was happening before that.  BUT the UPS it was on before had problems I think.  For one, it was pretty loud, like a low rumble, even when it was turned off.  The only time it would shut up was when it was unplugged, and then only after it winded down.  Didn't unplug it often though, just when I tried to fix the rumble. 

A few things to go after next time, man I should've thought of all those.  My techie skills are slipping I think...

Thanks guys!

 

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Krynus, reply 9
Let's see.... I've had 2 video cards since I built the machine, about 3 years ago.  The reboot thing is recent though.  No I haven't removed a card... yet, but if it continues I may do so.

Also, I haven't tried unplugging the machine afterwards, I'll be doing that next time.

Nick - I am indeed using a power strip, but it's only been on the strip a couple of weeks, the reboot thing was happening before that.  BUT the UPS it was on before had problems I think.  For one, it was pretty loud, like a low rumble, even when it was turned off.  The only time it would shut up was when it was unplugged, and then only after it winded down.  Didn't unplug it often though, just when I tried to fix the rumble. 

A few things to go after next time, man I should've thought of all those.  My techie skills are slipping I think...

Thanks guys!

 
End of Krynus's quote

Krynus, there is one other thing you could try if you haven't already.  A crapped up registry can cause all kinds of problems.  Needless to say [but I will :-)] make a backup of the registry - especially since you can't set a restore point.  I use Eusing here and it solved a major problem for me a few years ago.  I'd been using a popular registry cleaner but something just wasn't right.  My system was sluggish and bootup and shutdown took forever. 

Followed my own advice - made a backup of the registry, set a restore point and ran Eusing.  It found over 700 files that the other software missed.  My system started working like new again.  Mind you, I think your problem is probably hardware related but new hardware costs money and Eusing is free.  Also, it's is obvious that XP was having issues if you couldn't use the restore function.  Cleaning up the registry just might be worth a try.  It worked wonders on mine.