Computer freezes at POST with SATA drive connected
SCENARIO:
I have an older computer that I've never used SATA drives with before. It's a make-shift file server. Originally, I had an 80GB (OS Drive) on IDE-0 Ribbon and 2x 200GB's (storage) on IDE-1 Ribbon. I pulled the 2x 200GB's and am attempting to load 2x 640GB SATA drives to it and configure them on RAID1 Mirror Array. I've already loaded XP Pro with all drivers, windows updates, and software I want on here.
PROBLEM:
No matter what SATA drive I hook up to this computer, it freezes on the POST screen. It will do the RAM count, but will freeze before it gets to "Detecting IDE Drives...".
SYSTEM SPECS:
Motherboard: SOYO KT-600 Dragon v. 2.0
CPU: AMD Duron ~1.8Ghz
Memory: 512MB (2x 256MB) DDR PC2100
Power Supply: RAIDMAX RX-420K
Video: an old ATI Rage II PCI card I had lying around
Optical Drive: 52x CD-RW Drive
Pata Drive: Western Digital 80GB Caviar
SATA Drive: 2x Western Digital 640 Caviar
MY COMMENTS:
I cannot go into the BIOS from there. It completely freezes up. No response from the keyboard. I can only reset or hard shutdown via the power button.
I have 4 working SATA drives in my possession including the brand new 640's I'm trying to install in the machine. I've tested each one individually in the machine either with or without the 80GB PATA drive connected. Each one does the same EXACT thing when I try powering on the system. I do not see any settings in the BIOS for the SATA Controller, so I don't know if there's anything I can change to make a difference. I've only tried loading the Fail-Safe and Optimized Settings in the BIOS and neither had an effect.
I don't think it's a power issue. I Do have 4 80mm fans in the case, but I've tried leaving them disconnected throughout my testings (the side panels are off, so it's staying cool). I've confirmed that the drives are powering on and spinning up properly, and it's a 420w power supply with a PCI video card, AMD Duron processor, and I've even tested it with only 1 SATA drive powered on at a time.
I Fear that this may be a motherboard issue, but I'm not convinced just yet. I'm hoping there might be a setting I can test. I've thought about maybe the drives needing to be limited to 1.5GB/sec bandwidth, but I don't see a jumper setting on these drives for that. I've downloaded the manuals from WD. I only see an SSC setting on all the drives, and a PM2 setting on one of them. I've tried all the jumper positions with no difference.
I have an Antec SATA PCI Card that I can test, but it's not with me at the moment. I probably won't be able to get ahold of it for a few weeks.
I'm hoping that someone may read this post and have a few suggestions. I greatly appreciate your time to read my ramblings. I hope I gave enough details. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks in Advance!!!
have you installed the SATA drivers when you see ""Press F6 if you need to install a third party SCSI or RAID drivers" at the beginning of Windows Setup? The prompt appears at the bottom of the screen but only stays there for a limited time.
If you don't perform this step Windows Setup won't be able to detect any SATA drives.
I'll actually have to check if the SATA controller is installed in the device manager. Like I said, I have a PATA drive that I'm using as the OS drive. Windows XP Pro SP3 all updated and I installed the latest mobo drivers, but not sure if that includes the SATA controller. I'll get back to ya. Thanks!
Actually, I'm PRETTY sure I did load the SATA RAID Drivers for the motherboard. I just went to SOYO's website to verify if it was the RAID Utility or the Drivers that I had downloaded, and it was the drivers. It just comes with the utility application. I'll double-check when I get home, but I'm pretty sure I have the drivers loaded for the SATA controller.
Actually, I'm PRETTY sure I did load the SATA RAID Drivers for the motherboard. I just went to SOYO's website to verify if it was the RAID Utility or the Drivers that I had downloaded, and it was the drivers. It just comes with the utility application. I'll double-check when I get home, but I'm pretty sure I have the drivers loaded for the SATA controller.
Any other suggestions in the meantime?
I don't think this has anything to do with it, but I will try doing the BIOS update as well. I don't have a floppy drive hooked up to that computer (because I despise them!!) but I'll have to grab one from a junker and give it a shot
Computer freezes at POST with SATA drive connected 
Linear Mode
