HDD Issue BIOS

[mhubbard]

I have a Microtel PC in my shop, Sempron 2200, ASRock mobo, maxtor hdd.....
BIOS detects the hdd sometimes, sometimes not. When it recognizes the hdd, the pc presents no abnormal behavior whatsoever, boots into xp just fine. But later in the day I shut the pc down, tried to boot back up, BIOS doesnt recognize the drive. I checked all connections, tried to reboot numerous times to the same result. I call it a day and go home and will mess with it in the morning. Morning arrives, and shazaam, hdd recognized in BIOS, pc boots normally. Should I suspect the hdd? Just for fun, I am now loading xp on a new hdd to see if it becomes more stable.

Thanks for any help as always.....

[Platypus]

Should I suspect the hdd?

Or maybe the IDE cable.

If available, try with Fast POST disabled. Fast POST expects a device to ID on the first request, regular POST issues several re-tries. This can reveal a slow device.

[mhubbard]

Thanks.....

Forgot to mention that I swapped the ide cable with a new one already.

I will disable fast post and see what happens.

[Platypus]

Look for bulging/split/leaking capacitors on the motherboard (and in the PSU too if you're up for opening it up).

[InTheWayBoy]

Yeah, I would suspect power supply first.

Something to check if you can...when the drive isn't detected in the BIOS, is it still running? Like can you hear it power and run or feel it vibrating? Cause if it is and it's not getting detected then it's probably more a HD or MB issue I would think. If it's not on then it's a power supply.