install sata2 drive on sata1 mb

[busDriver]

hi, i'm trying to install a new seagate 500gb sata2 drive on my xp home sp2 pc.
the motherboard is a foxconn 865A01 and only does sata 1, not sata 2. i was told that it would work fine, just not as fast as a sata2 mb.

when i go into device manager it sees it and says its working ok, but when i go to 'my computer' its not there.

please help, thanks

[Midknyte]

did you run disk management to partition/format the drive?

[busDriver]

no, I can't see the drive in mycomputer. I just connected it to the motherboard and switched on

[Train]

Go into disk management, partition and format it and it will show up in My Computer.

[busDriver]

a couple of questions:

where is disk management, and do i need to partition it?

also, do i need to use a jumper on it, because i'm using it with a motherboard which only has sata1?

many thanks

[busDriver]

ok, i've found disk management, and i've also put a jumper on the drive.

the drive shows up in disk management, but it says 'not initialised' and when i right click on it there is no option to format.

i'm now worried that the drive is not compatiable with my motherboard....

any ideas?

[Sterling_Aug]

Right click on the drive in the right hand pane and select "create partition" then format it.

[busDriver]

I tried that but there is no option to format. If I do it on c drive there is an option to format.

[Midknyte]

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000

You obviously didn't prepare the drive correctly if you don't know how to use disk management. If the drive is detected in device manager, you should have been able to create a new partition and format it.

There are SATAI compatibility jumpers. if your system sees the drive, you might not have to use it.

[busDriver]

thanks for your advice, but the problem is that disk man won't let me format the drive, even though the pc is seeing it.

[Midknyte]

did you create the new partition? during the partition creation, it will prompt you about formatting also. make sure to choose quick format.

[busDriver]

no, all I've done is plug the drive in and check it in mycomp and diskman. I'm using a jumper from an old IDE drive. Does that make any difference?

[Midknyte]

Back up. Does the bios see the drive or not? If not, then you have to use the compatibility jumper. The jumper from an old drive should work. If the drive is detected, skip the jumper for now.

Is the drive detected in device manager? If so, run disk management and follow the instructions on the link I provided. Create a new partition, then format.

These instructions apply for any new hard drive, IDE or SATA, SCSI or SAS. You would need to use disk management in order to see the drive in My Computer.

[busDriver]

I connected the drive to the motherboard and switched on. Deviceman sees it and says it's working ok. Diskman sees it but it will not allow me to format it. It says it is not initialised. That is the story

[Midknyte]

At which step are you getting an error? You can't format until you create a new partition.

1. In the Disk Management window, complete one of the following procedures, and then continue to step 2:
• To create a new partition, right-click unallocated space on the basic disk where you want to create the partition, and then click New Partition.
• To create a new logical drive in an extended partition, right-click free space on an extended partition where you want to create the logical drive, and then click New Logical Drive.
2. In the New Partition Wizard, click Next.
3. Click the type of partition that you want to create (either Primary partition, Extended partition, or Logical drive), and then click Next.
4. Specify the size of the partition in the Partition size in MB box, and then click Next.
5. Decide whether to manually assign a drive letter, let the system automatically enumerate the drive, or do not assign a drive letter to the new partition or logical drive, and then click Next.
6. Specify the formatting options you want to use by using one of the following procedures:
• If you do not want to format the partition, click Do not format this partition, and then click Next.
• If you want to format the partition, click Format this partition with the following settings, and then complete the following procedure in the Format dialog box:
a. Type a name for the volume in the Volume label box. This is an optional step.
b. Click the file system that you want to use in the File system box.

You can change the disk allocation unit size, and then specify whether to perform a quick format, or enable file and folder compression on NTFS volumes.
Click Next.

7. Confirm that the options that selected are correct, and then click Finish.

[busDriver]

when i right click on the new drive the only options i get are 'properties' and 'help'. nothing else. So i have not even got to the partitioning or formatting.

[Midknyte]

Where are you clicking? don't click on the drive icon on the left. You need to click in the blank area on the right, aka unpartitioned space.

[busDriver]

yes that is where i'm right clicking.

do you know if there is any difference betwen sata1 cable and sata2 cable? i'm using the cable that came with the motherboard, so i guess its sata1.

[Midknyte]

There is no difference in cable.

You're clicking where it says "Click Here" on the picture?

When you first opened disk management, did it ask you to initialize the disk? If you didn't go that, then you must initialize first. right click on the disk icon (diskmgmt1.jpg), then click initialize disk. It should turn into a basic disk.

Right click on the unallocated space (diskmgmt2.jpg), then click new partition.

I've never had to be this explicit before. I hope it works this time.

[busDriver]

yes that's worked! So simple!!! Many thanks for your help and patience