Many users know almost nothing about how to watch a hard drive in BIOS, believing that the parameters of the primary system set by default should never be changed. But sometimes it’s possible to meet quite specific situations when you really need to determine the model of your own hard drive, install the operating system, use the means of checking the status of the disk, or set some specific options when connecting a new HDD or creating a RAID array. Read about this and much more in the material below.
How to watch a hard drive in BIOS: instructions for preliminary actions
So, first you need to enter the interface of the primary input / output system, which, in fact, is the BIOS (as well as its advanced modification of UEFI). On stationary PC-class terminals, the Del key is usually used for this, which must be pressed when the start screen appears when the computer is turned on.
As a rule, either at the bottom or in the middle of the window a special line will appear indicating the input method (Press Del to enter BIOS Setup or something like that).
With laptops, the situation is somewhat more complicated, since each manufacturer independently sets the keys used for the input or their combination. Most often, function buttons (F2, F12, F9) are used, sometimes combinations based on the Fn key can be used, and on some models the call buttons of the primary system can generally be brought to the main keyboard panel (for example, the ASSIST button on Sony VAIO notebooks). In general, it is best to immediately pay attention to the line with a description of the login method, which was described above, or read the technical documentation for the laptop.
Where to see the hard drive in BIOS?
Now we assume that the entry into the primary system is complete. How to see the hard drive in BIOS on a laptop or desktop PC? Everything is simple here. In the main window with the parameters (Main tab), where the system time and date are indicated at the top, pay attention to the Primary IDE Master item.
It just corresponds to the main HDD that is installed on the computer device (the name of the hard drive by manufacturer is usually displayed to the right of the parameter). If you go down to this point using the keyboard arrows at the moment when the item is active, on the right you can see the maximum information on this device.
Please note that if you connect two or more media and set jumpers to set priority in legacy PCs, secondary media can be automatically detected, which usually corresponds to the Primary IDE Slave or Secondary IDE Master item (when two or more hard drives are installed, they are combined into the so-called RAID array).
Select computer boot options
Now, it’s worth separately saying a few words about how to look at the hard drive in BIOS, if it comes to setting boot priorities. For example, modern UEFI systems connected to computers and laptops flash drives are automatically set first as the main boot devices, which is very convenient when installing operating systems, but causes user confusion when he simply forgot to remove the USB flash drive from the USB port, and at the stage starting the boot, the system suddenly reports that the system drive with the OS installed on it is missing.
In this situation, it is necessary to check the section responsible for setting such priorities. Usually the main section is called Boot, and it contains the items Boot Sequence, Boot Device Priority, etc., but the name directly depends on the manufacturer of the motherboard and the developer of the BIOS interface. But how to look at the hard drive in BIOS to install it as the first device?
To do this, select the First Boot Device item and use the PgUp / PgDown keys to scroll through the list until your main HDD appears in the graph (but usually by default it is already installed first).
Important SATA Controller Information
How to look through the BIOS hard drive, a little figured out. Now let's move on to some specific parameters, which may need to be changed in certain situations (most often associated with installing the operating system in outdated PCs). This is where the special SATA controllers come in.
They can be set to different modes of operation, among which SCSI and IDE are most often used. The newest primary systems, when detecting boot devices (optical disks and flash drives), switch modes automatically, and, as a rule, the option column is set to Auto. But in morally obsolete computer systems, changing the modes is sometimes necessary independently.
How to use options when installing the OS?
So which mode to choose? It is believed that if automatic switching is not provided, when booting from a removable drive with the subsequent installation of the OS on the hard drive, the controller should work exclusively in IDE mode. But at the end of the installation, if, again, the automatic change of mode did not occur, the installed OS can only be loaded if the controller responsible for the HDD works in SCSI mode.
What to do if the HDD in BIOS is not displayed?
This is a summary of how to see the hard drive in BIOS. Finally, it is worthwhile to dwell briefly on those deplorable situations when the HDD in the primary system is not detected or the loading of the operating system is impossible.
First of all, you need to check the correct connection of the hard drive cables to the motherboard and the power wires, as well as to install jumpers in the desired positions (Master / Slave), if this is provided by the design of the hard drive.
On the other hand, it is often possible to meet situations where the hard drive is not recognized only because it has not been initialized (although there should not be such problems in the case of purchasing an HDD at an official point of sale of computer equipment). In this case, it is necessary to initialize the disk in the working system, using at least the disk management tools that are available in the Windows systems themselves, connecting the HDD to your own PC (with the main hard drive) or connecting to another terminal that has a working OS.
Finally, another problem may be the lack of motherboard drivers (chipset), but such situations are extremely rare. If such a problem occurs, you will first need to install the drivers, using original media for this, which are mandatory when you buy a computer or laptop. Well, and in the last turn, one cannot exclude the moment that the hard disk itself may be faulty, or the connecting loops and cables have physical damage.
Note: on some computers and laptops in the BIOS, you can perform a self-test of the HDD, therefore, if the hard drive is detected, so to speak, once, it is better to use such diagnostic tools.