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May 7th, 2025 09:44
Dell 3891 mt sata hdd problem
Having very odd problem with sata hdd not being recognised in bios.
am an experienced user and bought a used 3891 mt with a 1tb sata hdd. Inserted an m2 nvme, installed windows and all worked fine. Updated to latest bios and all drivers with support assist, swapped the sata hdd for a sata ssd and all working fine.
then tried to install the original sata hdd for extra storage, not recognised in bios or windows. Assumed the drive was faulty but it functioned ok in a dell 3670! Tried another sata hdd, same story, not recognised even though they work fine in other machines.
removed all drives, sata hdd not recognised. Tries every sata port on mboard and lots of different bios options, still not recognising sata hd. The sata ssd recognised no problems. Also tried pcie nvme, recognised no problems.
tried to downgrade bios but pc won’t let me.
what am I doing wrong?
has me baffled, I would like to use an internal sata hdd for media storage.
Henry
redxps630
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May 9th, 2025 20:53
did you leave the Dell bios sata operation as RAID on (Dell default)? if so change it to AHCI, but you need to use some trick first so it can still boot from NVMe ssd.
Henryrym104197
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May 26th, 2025 13:19
@redxps630
thanks, only just back from holiday, why late reply.
i have switched from raid to ahci to no sata backwards and forwards several times but still the same problem of sata hdd not being recognised but sata ssd having no problems.
any help appreciated.
redxps630
9 Legend
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14.4K Posts
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May 26th, 2025 23:05
perhaps the sata power cable for the sata hdd is having issue if same cable works for sata ssd and same sata data cable works for sata ssd. only difference between hdd and ssd is former is mechanical and needs a bit more power.
Henryrym104197
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June 3rd, 2025 10:43
@redxps630 think you may be onto something.
i bought an Atx psu and 24 to 6 pin adapter from Amazon and tried it out.
using the internal sata power cable hdd not recognised, BUT using one of the atxs sata leads, the hdd WAS recognised.
it does look like a ps or lead problem.
when I have more time will fully check leads and sata power socket for issues, at the moment it works.
sata ps leads look fine and no hdd recognised no matter which connector I use. Where can I find a pin out for the mb sata power socket so that I can check voltages.
thanks
Henry