Why can not the computer see the SATA drive?

The situation when the computer does not see the SATA hard drive , occurs quite often. To see this, it's enough just to look through thematic forums: as a rule, there are a lot of topics that are related to this problem in one way or another. The recommendations given in the discussions sometimes allow us to restore our capacity for work. Yes, and broaden the reader's horizons, answering the question "why the computer does not see the disk (HDD)." On the other hand, with some faults the hard drive has to be sent to a landfill. Unfortunately, the race of manufacturers for affordable disk space, performance and cost reduction has led to the fact that the reliability of modern hard drives is much lower than their counterparts 10-15 years ago.

Why can not the computer see the disk?

The reasons for this behavior of the system can be very different: from a banal breakdown of the contact to a serious breakdown of the components of the hard drive itself. Accordingly, to answer the question "why the computer does not see the disk," it is necessary to conduct a small diagnosis. In fact, all existing causes can be conditionally divided into two large groups. The first includes all those that are associated with the inability to determine the hard drive system when the external normal operation of the drive. But the second, on the contrary: a suspiciously quiet hard drive is not seen by the motherboard. Let's look at each group in more detail.

Does the hard drive work?

To understand why a computer does not see the disk, first of all it is necessary to determine whether the disks (so-called pancakes) rotate inside the device. They are placed on the shaft of the electric motor and, when the computer is turned on, they untwist to the steady speed. Thus, if the shaft remains stationary after power-on, the problem is reduced to checking the power connector. To determine if the system unit is off, remove the side cover, put your hand on the hard drive body (not on the electronic part!), And press the power button. A small vibration is clearly felt - it can not be confused with anything. With the difficulties with the definition, you can use the proven method: touch the metal part of the screwdriver to the HDD case, its handle to lean against the palm, which, in turn, is pressed to the ear.

The shaft is stationary

In the event that the hard drive does not spin, you should turn off the system unit, remove the connected plug from the hard drive connector (goes from the power supply) and re-insert. If after turning on the HDD everything still does not work, then you need to connect another connector to the disk (they are usually standard and interchangeable). In case the disc does not untwist, it is necessary to carefully inspect the soldering of the contacts of the power connector - there should be no damage there. If the result is negative, you will most likely have to purchase a new device.

The shaft rotates

Quite another situation, when pancakes are unwound, but the device does not appear. In this case, you can try reconnecting the SATA cable or, better yet, replace it with a new one equipped with a metal clip.

After that, you can check the BIOS settings. To enter the configuration utility, you must repeatedly press the Del button immediately after turning on the computer. Here you should check the status of the IDE / RAID / AHCI and switch the port to a different mode. If nothing has helped, you need to reset the BIOS settings using the jumper on the motherboard. The source of the problem can be a box for a hard disk - you need to test the performance without it.