i really need help

[asianguy02]

ok im not sure where this goes, so please no "flame the noob" posts. i dont really know how to explain this, but im trying to re-install windows XP cause it took a crash and i havnt been able to get it back up, and now when i try to boot from CD to reinstall, it tells me that it cant detect my hard drive either because it isnt powered or it needs a driver or something. i am completey at a loss right now so i need some help.

[spyder003]

ok im not sure where this goes, so please no "flame the noob" posts.

That's the great thing about this place, you don't have to worry about that. What type of hard drive is it and what are your sys specs?

[asianguy02]

hard drive is a western digital 160 GB 5400 RPM

system specs are
GA-K8NS PRO MoBo
AMD Athalon 64 3200+
768 MB RAM
Sony 52x32x52x16 CD Drive
I/O Magic 3.5" floppy
CoolPower 350Watt PS
Radeon 9100 Pro
Sound Blaster Audigy Sound Board

[spyder003]

Is the drive detected in the BIOS?

How were you trying to reinstall windows?

[asianguy02]

yes the drive is detected by the BIOS, and when i start up in safe-mode then it works just fine there too.

Im trying to boot of the installation disk and install from there.

[Cricket]

Try another IDE cable first.

Go to the Western Digital web site and download the hard drive diagnostic utility to see if your hard drive is okay or not.

:) Cricket

[asianguy02]

that was the thing i was dreading. a crashed hard drive. um ill dl the diagnostic, and pray its not one of the cables cause those are the round ones that are kinda expensive, but anyway ill run the diagnostic, and switch the cable.

[Cricket]

Round cables? Don't you have a flat ribbon cable you can just swap in to test with? If not, they don't cost much...usually just a few dollars. You just want to confirm if the round cable is good or not.

:) Cricket

[asianguy02]

ya i threw in one of the ribbons, but it still didnt work, so im gonna try the diagnostic.

[asianguy02]

i got news, im not sure if its good or bad, but i got news!
the diagnostic doesnt detect the drive at all.

[kingsucka]

yes the drive is detected by the BIOS, and when i start up in safe-mode then it works just fine there too.

Im trying to boot of the installation disk and install from there.


You can boot to safe mode?

[asianguy02]

ya i just cant boot up normally. see my other post,
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=133787
im just gonna shoot it pretty soon.

[bigandy]

I replied in your other thread. It's best to keep everything in one thread. That keeps people from getting confused and helps to make sure everyone has all the (same) information.