Jump to content

[Resolved] resolution for disappearing Maxtor drives? (post #12)


Recommended Posts

***UPDATE AT BOTTOM***

 

I have a Maxtor 6B300S0 SATA HD. I would occassionally get random blue screens in Windows (fresh install, no overclocking, DRIVERS ONLY installed). Windows kept saying my HD needed checked for inconsistency. Sometimes my HD LED would not be on when it should be. I kept getting BSODs with the error "Session5...". I looked this up in the MS KB. It says there is a prob with Windows assigning drive letters. I thought my HD was going bad. I downloaded the newest ver of MaxBlast and have ran all the tests multiple times... always says my drive is fine. Passes them all. So I wipe out Windows and do a full format. Install Windows again, same problem. I go into BIOS and notice that it doesn't see my HD. I try to boot up and get the Boot Failure message. Then my HD comes back in BIOS. It has dissappeared and reappeared over and over. I was about to give up... I look on here and see several people having the same problem?! Has anyone found a fix for this...? The Maxtor is my only current HD and my system is pretty much useless without it..... Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

-Thanks

 

***UPDATE*** - Guys... everytime I login, I have about 5 private messages asking me for firmware updates. I no longer have any of them... If you need firmware updates, check out POST #100 in this thread. I have provided a Maxtor e-mail address for you to request and receive firmware updates.

 

NOTE - Apparently now the above mentioned post has been moved to POST #101 :shake:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Replies 225
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

the only thing I can suggest is sending me the drive to test (if it is your only hdd then this is going to be hard to do lol).

 

if the drive works fine on my rigs, then I would have to either have you send your mobo/cpu/ram to me also to test, or send you the drive back so you could have it replaced with another mfg's drive.

 

I've got Maxtor 160GB IDE drives only (no maxtor sata drives to speak of).

 

all of my SATA drives have been able to detect with no problems, but the largest drive i have is 160GB.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

AG,

 

Thanks for the offer... my HD is brand new... I am trying to decide if I should just return it to NewEgg for a different drive, or send it to you to test :confused: I could grab a spare drive at work tomorrow and clone my stuff to it. As far as sending you the Mobo/CPU/RAM... do you actually think the CPU and/or RAM could be the guilty party?! I mean, I could understand the Motherboard or Hard Drive causing the problem... but the CPU/RAM?! I guess anything's possible...

 

I'm gonna research this issue a little more tonight... I may contact Maxtor tomorrow... I have heard mention of a BIOS update for the 6B series drives. I'll get back with you tomorrow.

 

-Thanks again

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

UPDATE

----------

 

After reading multiple threads on multiple forums, I have found out the problem is not only with DFI nF4 boards. Apparently the Maxtors have had issues with an ASUS nF4 and a MSI. In both cases, a motherboard BIOS update AND a hard drive firmware update were required. I am running the newest BIOS (3/31-3) on my board. I have seen mention of a firmware update for the Maxtors but haven't found a good working link. Someone in a thread mentioned you have to flash from a PCI SATA controller card and can NOT use your motherboards onboard SATA ports?! I am gonna call Maxtor and see what they say...

 

EDIT: I am at work now... I'm getting ready to clone over to a Seagate 80GB IDE drive. I will run it for a little while to see if all goes well...

 

 

-LaTeR

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm just odd then, I have a spare IDE drive that I plug in as the master drive, load whatever flavor of Windoze I am using at the moment and make sure everything runs fine with all the drivers etc.; then yank it out and make it a slave and store it until the inevitable. Ultra paranoid, maybe, but it sure comes in handy when the spit hit the fan and all else fails (including the drive you were using).. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

UPDATE

----------

 

After reading multiple threads on multiple forums, I have found out the problem is not only with DFI nF4 boards. Apparently the Maxtors have had issues with an ASUS nF4 and a MSI. In both cases, a motherboard BIOS update AND a hard drive firmware update were required. I am running the newest BIOS (3/31-3) on my board. I have seen mention of a firmware update for the Maxtors but haven't found a good working link. Someone in a thread mentioned you have to flash from a PCI SATA controller card and can NOT use your motherboards onboard SATA ports?! I am gonna call Maxtor and see what they say...

 

EDIT: I am at work now... I'm getting ready to clone over to a Seagate 80GB IDE drive. I will run it for a little while to see if all goes well...

 

 

-LaTeR

 

Yes, that is correct it is NOT solely a DFI issue. They sell those drives at Staples, right? That's why you'll NEVER catch me w/ one in my rig... :nod:

 

I'm just odd then,

 

@ athlon...nice idea...let us know how you make out! Good Luck!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I dunn my maxtor is working fine, though the mobo won't boot from it after flashing bios and clearing cmos. Just booting with the maxtor drive in works fine though, and once I've done that, I can jack my IDE drive back in.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

UPDATE #2

---------------

 

Okay, it got to the point where I was receiving BSODs everytime I would boot up with my Maxtor in mormal mode (safe mode was okay)... I just cloned over to a Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB EIDE drive. I figured I may have to repair Windows, since all the Blue Screens, but it fired right up after the clone. It loads Windows FASTER than the Maxtor... and hasn't 'lost' the Hard Drive or crashed yet. It appears to be running rock stable. I emailed Maxtor, but haven't heard back from them yet...

 

BTW, the Maxtor drive is SATA(II) - 150MBps - 16MB Cache - NCQ and the Seagate is EIDE - 100MBps - 2MB Cahe... why is the world would the Seagate make the machine boot noticeably quicker?!?!

 

-LaTeR

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

UPDATE #2

---------------

 

Okay, it got to the point where I was receiving BSODs everytime I would boot up with my Maxtor in mormal mode (safe mode was okay)... I just cloned over to a Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB EIDE drive. I figured I may have to repair Windows, since all the Blue Screens, but it fired right up after the clone. It loads Windows FASTER than the Maxtor... and hasn't 'lost' the Hard Drive or crashed yet. It appears to be running rock stable. I emailed Maxtor, but haven't heard back from them yet...

 

BTW, the Maxtor drive is SATA(II) - 150MBps - 16MB Cache - NCQ and the Seagate is EIDE - 100MBps - 2MB Cahe... why is the world would the Seagate make the machine boot noticeably quicker?!?!

 

-LaTeR

quaility, my friend, quality. :D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

UPDATE #3

---------------

 

I received an email response from Maxtor... sadly I just got it, so I will have to wait until tomorrow's business hours to call them... Anyways, here's the message...

 

---------------

 

MESSAGE

 

Greetings,

 

I have a brand new Maxtor 6B300S0 SATA hard drive installed in my DFI nF4 Ultra-D motherboard. Randomly my BIOS will 'drop' the hard drive. It will just 'lose' it and can not detect it until I completely shut down and wait, and sometimes I have to reset the CMOS. I have ran MaxBlast on it and it passes all the tests everytime. I have searched Google and this is a known issue. Apparently some Maxtor SATA HDs have issues with ASUS and MSI also. I have the newest BIOS for my motherboard. I have heard mention of NEW updated firmwares for Maxtor drives. I am wondering if I should give one of these a try? I'm sure this issue has been reported and logged, so hopefully you will have some advice for me. There are a few open threads at www.DFI-STREET.com, in which several people have the same problem. No one seems to have a fix for it yet. The Maxtor is currently my only HD, so this is kind of a major issue for me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

-Thanks

 

 

REPLY

 

Hello Charles Haynes,

 

Thank you for your e-mail inquiry.

 

After carefully reviewing your case it is recommended that you call into our technical support center for further assistance. Due to the nature of your particular problem, and the need for interaction, contacting MAXTOR directly via telephone will provide you with a quicker and more tailored solution for the issue you are facing. I will create a record of your e-mails so that the technician will be familiar with the details of your case when you call in. Your phone number listed in your e-mail will be your case number when you call in. Please ask to speak to a Level 2 agent when you call.

 

Maxtor technical support center agents are available to assist you 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM MDT, Monday - Friday at 1-800-262-9867.

 

Thank you and apologies for any inconvenience,

 

Joanna

 

---------------

 

I will update this again after I talk to them tomorrow morning. Hopefully there will be a working fix for us all :nod: If for some reason I can't get my drive working by tomorrow, it will be going back and I will be getting a different brand...

 

EDIT: BTW, My buddy and I were trying everything we could to bring my system to her knees for 5 hours (Prime, 3DMark, etc...) just to 'make 100% sure' the Maxtor was to blame for the problems. She was as solid as could be... no signs whatsoever of any problems... so the problem IS definately the Maxtor drive.

 

-LaTeR

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

UPDATE #4

---------------

 

Okay guys, here's the one we've all been waiting for...

 

I was in contact with Maxtor 4 times today (2 by phone, 2 by e-mail). I talked to two Level 2 techs. They both seemed knowledgeable and ACTUALLY wanted to help me! They confirmed that there was an issue with a few newer Maxtor SATA drives and a few newer motherboards. They said it was a "slight incompatibility", rather than a problem... but they said it COULD be fixed with firmware updates. They had me download 2 firmware updates. I had to flash to one, then reboot... then flash to the second one (it wasn't possible to to straight to the second one). The process wasn't very smooth. At first, they gave me one that wouldn't flash at all... then I got one that said flash mismatch.... Anyways, finally I got both firmwares to update. I turned my computer on and it actually booted up (and fast) without a BSOD (which it had been getting). I have continued to run it for a while and all seems to be well. So hopefully all is good. I will know for sure by the end of the weekend (I plan on running her hard :nod: )... Both techs told me to see how it went and let them know... BTW, my original firmware verison was BANC1B70, I then flashed to BANC1BY0, and then finally to BANC1E00. The boot disk their utility created didn't exactly run properly. I have to boot from a Win98 floppy and look at the switches on their .exe file... but in the end, it appears all went well. Hopefully the process will be simplified soon... I am not sure about posting the firmwares and instructions here... it sounded as if you had to have EXACT firmware upgrades for the version you currently have. I am home now, and the f/w are at work anyways... I'll see how the weekend goes and if it is requested, I will post them. Oh yeah, one more thing... here's the 'bad' part... I couldn't get the drives to flash in my Ultra-D. I asked them why, and they said it was only meant for regular SATA... some/most SATA (w/ RAID capabilities) wouldn't work (even if RAID was turned off). They were right... I had to put my HD into an P4 motherboard w/ Intel chipset and regular SATA, and all was well... HOWEVER, I may know what caused the problem... When THEIR boot disk was ran in my DFI, it would always give an "Error in Line 8..." error on bootup. When I used it on the Intel board, I did NOT get the error. But later on (when I was using the Win98 boot disk), I never did try it again on my AMD/DFI system. So POSSIBLY is you use a standard Win98 floppy (and not the Maxtor one), you could get it to work on a DFI nF4...

 

Crazy, long post... Hopefully everything is stable now... I will post back after the weekend...

 

-LaTeR

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...