[Plastermask]

Hello there.
I recently made a large upgrade (new proc, motherboard, videocard, PSU, HDD), and have been having nothing but problems putting it together. After overcoming numerous hardships (the motherboard wasn't compatible with my RAM, the backplate doesn't match my motherboard's actual layout, etc), I've come down to two main problems.
For reference, I have an EVGA 650i motherboard, a C2D 6600, and a Raidmax Modular 630 PSU

First: There is only one IDE connector. I happened to buy a SATA hard drive with my other things, but obviously it's blank and would need a fresh install of windows. Is EVGA assuming I will be using a SATA drive and providing the single IDE connector for my media drives?

Second: For whatever reason, my computer won't turn on when it is upright. If I hold the cable up at a certain angle, it will boot, and then shut off a few seconds later. When the computer is lying on its side, it stays on. Is this indicative of a faulty power supply, or is there something I can do to fix it?

[Advertisements]

Modern boards now only come with one IDE connector. These will also disappear off the boards in the near future in favour of SATA only devices. So eventually you'll have SATA hard drives as you do now and SATA CD/DVD units. However these are available now, relatively cheap but not widely adopted.

Anyway you can use either IDE hard drives or an IDE CD unit on the IDE connector subject to appropriate jumper settings on the devices.

Regarding the other problem, perhaps your computer is scared of heights If its only one cable that's stopping it coming on when upright, replace that cable. If its from the power supply, check you've seated it properly as gravity may be taking over and pulling it down slightly just enough to break contact.

[Neil Jones]

Modern boards now only come with one IDE connector. These will also disappear off the boards in the near future in favour of SATA only devices. So eventually you'll have SATA hard drives as you do now and SATA CD/DVD units. However these are available now, relatively cheap but not widely adopted.

Anyway you can use either IDE hard drives or an IDE CD unit on the IDE connector subject to appropriate jumper settings on the devices.

Regarding the other problem, perhaps your computer is scared of heights If its only one cable that's stopping it coming on when upright, replace that cable. If its from the power supply, check you've seated it properly as gravity may be taking over and pulling it down slightly just enough to break contact.

[Plastermask]

Thanks for the reply. Both issues have been resolved, actually. For some reason, the power supply just started working properly again.
However, now there's a new problem. The SATA hard drive I'm trying to install windows on is not recognized by the motherboard. In the past, when it booted up, it listed the drive on its device list (as a master drive, even), so I don't think it's the connections. I am contacting Western Digital to ask about this, but does someone here know what's going on?
Thanks again.

[Neil Jones]

There's no such concept as master and slave so far as SATA is concerned. Therefore it either shows up or it doesn't.
Most likely problem is you haven't turned the SATA ports on in the BIOS.

Unless you're referring to Windows can't see the SATA drive when you try to install Windows? In which case into BIOS, change the SATA type from RAID to IDE and try again. Alternatively you should have had a floppy with the mainboard, put it in your drive and press F6 when prompted to load the extra drivers needed.

[Dngrsone]

Your second issue sounds like an intermittent short somewhere. Check to make sure the motherboard is not contacting the frame anywhere it is not supposed to.

[Plastermask]

Could you go into more detail in terms of how to set up SATA in the BIOS?
I have six options in the CMOS: "Standard CMOS Features", "Advanced BIOS Features", "Integrated Peripherals", "Power Management Setup", and "PnP/PCI Configurations".
In "Standard CMOS Features", there is a list of drives- IDE Master and slave, and 4 SATA. Choosing a SATA drive brings up a screen that, when a drive is connected, should display certain information about said drive. However, all four SATA ports are declared empty by the CMOS.
I still haven't gotten in touch with WD yet; the time zone differences are really messing me up.

[Dngrsone]

If the BIOS isn't recognizing the SATA drive, then there is a hardware problem... check to make sure your data cable is connected properly and that power is applied to the SATA drive.

[Plastermask]

Well, the problem has been resolved.
I guess I didn't read the motherboard directions well enough, or they were just not right.
It turns out I plugged into the wrong SATA controller.
Thanks for the replies.