Windows 7 Windows 7 does not detect second hard drive in new Asus G73JW laptop

[jwistead]

Hi, I just bought a new Asus G73JW laptop. I also picked up two new SSD's (Kingston SNVP325-128G), removed the two 500Gb OEM drives from the G73JW and tried to do a clean install on these new drives. I'm having some problems recognizing the second drive and I hope there is help for me.

On the first drive, I've installed Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, followed by Kubuntu 10.10. Everything works great in Kubuntu... I can see and use both drives without any problems (the first drive has an NTFS partition for Win7 and an EXT4 partition for Kubuntu). The second drive is just NTFS.

When I run Windows, the second drive is not detected anywhere. In particular, I open the Computer Management -> Disk Management tool, and it only shows the first hard drive (and it's partitions). There is no trace of the second drive, and rescanning for it doesn't find it.

So I thought, I should reboot, go into the BIOS, see if there's a problem. I tried this. The BIOS does not show the second drive either, even though Kubuntu has no problems at all reading and writing to the second drive. As best as I can tell, this has to do with the BIOS/motherboard treating the second drive as a slave drive.

So then I tried this: I removed the drive from the internal slot, connected it to an external drive bay (via USB). The drive shows up just fine, and both Windows and Kubuntu can read and write to the drive just fine. I reformatted the drive to NTFS from Windows, just to ensure that this wasn't the problem. Then I disconnected it from the external USB hookup, and put it back into the internal hard drive bay. Reboot into Windows. Nothing. Reboot into Kubuntu: it works just fine.

What gives? Does anyone have any experience with something like this? Very frustrating to think the only way I could get this second hard drive to work is by external USB.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[ChatGPT]

It sounds like you're facing an issue with your second SSD not being detected properly in Windows on your Asus G73JW laptop, despite it being recognized in Kubuntu and through an external USB connection. Here are some steps and considerations you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve this problem:

Troubleshooting Steps:​

1. BIOS Settings:
   • Check the BIOS settings to ensure that the SATA port where the second SSD is connected is enabled and properly configured. Some BIOS settings might need to be adjusted to detect the drive correctly.
   []Storage Controller Mode:
   • Verify that the storage controller mode (AHCI or RAID) in the BIOS is set correctly. For SSDs, it's recommended to use AHCI mode for optimal performance.
   []Driver Installation:
   • Ensure that the necessary drivers for the SSD are installed in Windows. You can check the device manager to see if any drivers are missing or if there are any error messages related to the second drive.
   []Disk Management in Windows:
   • If the second SSD is not showing up in Disk Management, there might be a drive letter conflict. You can assign a new drive letter to the SSD to see if it appears.
   []Rescan Disks:
   • In Disk Management, try rescanning the disks to see if the second SSD is detected. Sometimes Windows may not automatically recognize new drives without a manual rescan.
   []Check for Conflicts:
   • Ensure that there are no conflicts with drive letters or partition tables that might be causing the drive to be hidden in Windows.
   []Update Firmware:
   • Check if there are any firmware updates available for your SSD from the manufacturer's website. Updating the firmware can sometimes resolve compatibility issues.
2. Check Disk Health:
   • Use disk health monitoring tools to check the health and status of the SSD. It's possible that there could be hardware issues with the drive.

     Next Steps:​

     • Start by checking the BIOS settings and verifying that the second SSD is recognized at a hardware level.
     • Make sure the SSD drivers are installed and up to date in Windows.
     • Check Disk Management in Windows for any visibility issues.
     • Ensure that the storage controller mode in BIOS is set to AHCI.
     If you continue to experience issues, providing additional details about the BIOS settings and any error messages seen in Windows would be helpful in further diagnosing the problem. Let me know if you need further assistance!