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    aodskeith's Avatar
    aodskeith Posts: 7, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Aug 7, 2009, 07:30 PM
    Hard drive connectors
    First off, I'm new to these boards, and the search function does not seem to be working, so if these questions have been asked before, my apologies.

    I have a 400GB WD Hard Drive that's meant for internal, and I have the external enclosure so I'm set there, however the people at CompUSA, BB, and Staples don't seem to know anything. I do a lot of work in the field repairing computers and such. My Instructor when I was studying A+ had a cable that was capable of connecting S-ATA, IDE, and SCSI depending on the connector used. I was wondering if anyone knew the exact name for this type of cable, or give me a link to find one.

    My other question is this, I have a 1TB Seagate (I find Seagate to be absolute garbage but that's just me) that I just added to my computer. In device manager, the drive shows up under Hard Drives, but in my computer, it shows up as a CD drive. I formatted the drive, as its main purpose is added data storage. Had anyone encountered this before, and if so, any ideas on how to fix this problem?

    Thank you in advance to all who answer this.
    aodskeith's Avatar
    aodskeith Posts: 7, Reputation: 1
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    #2

    Aug 7, 2009, 07:32 PM

    I feel really stupid right now, I just found the answer to my first question about the multi connector. Im probably being blind and missing the edit link, but now I just need help with the SATA drive.
    seahwk83's Avatar
    seahwk83 Posts: 3,276, Reputation: 212
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    #3

    Aug 7, 2009, 07:50 PM

    If still able to use the drive (seagate) through device mgr as a hard drive, it would just be an Icon issue as the drive is working as needed.

    I forget what I had installed long ago but when I go to properties of the drive, I have a tab where I can change the icon that is viewed in explorer

    If not given that option in properties, here is a registry edit (if comfortable doing)
    Change a Hard Drive's Icon - Solutions by PC Magazine

    How To ... Change a drive icon
    aodskeith's Avatar
    aodskeith Posts: 7, Reputation: 1
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    #4

    Aug 7, 2009, 07:56 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by seahwk83 View Post
    If still able to use the drive (seagate) through device mgr as a hard drive, it would just be an Icon issue as the drive is working as needed.

    I forget what I had installed long ago but when I go to properties of the drive, I have a tab where I can change the icon that is viewed in explorer

    If not given that option in properties, here is a registry edit (if comfortable doing)
    Change a Hard Drive's Icon - Solutions by PC Magazine

    How To ... Change a drive icon
    All right, so by doing that, it will no longer be listed under "Devices with Removable Storage" and show up under "Hard Disk Drives"? Thanks for the fast response
    seahwk83's Avatar
    seahwk83 Posts: 3,276, Reputation: 212
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    #5

    Aug 7, 2009, 07:59 PM

    This will just change the icon, if the drive is a USB ext seagate drive, that is what it is,

    It will not be listed as a hard drive, just as a removable device as I assume connected through USB
    aodskeith's Avatar
    aodskeith Posts: 7, Reputation: 1
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    #6

    Aug 7, 2009, 08:52 PM
    The seagate is internally connected to the motherboard via S-ATA. I can't store files to the drive due to it showing as a cd-drive, despite Device manager recognizing it as a HD.
    seahwk83's Avatar
    seahwk83 Posts: 3,276, Reputation: 212
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    #7

    Aug 7, 2009, 09:53 PM

    See what the BIOS recognizes as devices

    If you have all of the following - SATA Drivers, SATA connector on the motherboard, a SATA cable and a SATA power cord from the power supply to plug into the back of the Seagate, you should be good to go

    If same situation if all confirmed and Checked the BIOS to see if there is an option about SATA drives being enabled (OR OTHER sata OPTIONS)

    Right click on device in device mgr and choose uninstall and say OK

    On reboot, see if drive is recognized properly and there are no yellow marks in device mgr
    aodskeith's Avatar
    aodskeith Posts: 7, Reputation: 1
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    #8

    Aug 8, 2009, 01:42 PM
    Everything is connected properly, BIOS setup has all 6 SATA ports on motherboard enabled, device manager still recognizes it as a hard drive but my computer still shows it as a cd drive
    seahwk83's Avatar
    seahwk83 Posts: 3,276, Reputation: 212
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    #9

    Aug 8, 2009, 02:27 PM

    What is listed when you go to properties for the drive, what info provided?

    Did this come with any drivers? Or just plug and play?

    You tried to uninstall in device mgr and reboot?

    No yellow marks in device mgr?
    aodskeith's Avatar
    aodskeith Posts: 7, Reputation: 1
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    #10

    Aug 8, 2009, 08:53 PM
    No yellow marks in device manager, drivers already installed after finding them, tried to uninstall in device manager and look for changes as well as uninstall then reboot. Went through CMD prompt and managed a chkdsk on the drive, and its all good. SFC won't do anything considering there is no OS on it. I may have to go back to CompUSA and exchange it, but I'm not up for that idea yet. My friend had a spare circuit board that matched the HD, so I tried swapping it, but still the same issues, so I'm at a bit of a loss unless the answer is staring me and the face and I'm just not seeing it.
    seahwk83's Avatar
    seahwk83 Posts: 3,276, Reputation: 212
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    #11

    Aug 8, 2009, 09:14 PM

    Can you possibly try to install to another computer to see if same results or just maybe your machine?
    aodskeith's Avatar
    aodskeith Posts: 7, Reputation: 1
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    #12

    Aug 9, 2009, 07:21 PM
    I'm going to try that when I meet my friend for a lan session. Ill post how it goes.

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