GA-770TA-UD3 SATA Problems

[pcallahan80]

I am using 64-bit Linux (Mepis 8.5...kernel is 2.6.32-1-mepis64-smp).  I apologize for the long post, but this is a messy problem.

I just installed the new GA-770TA-UD3 motherboard and started using a Western Digital 1TByte SATA3 (WD1002FAEX-0).  The WD SATA3 hard drive is great...very fast, but I've run into all kinds of problems trying to re-use the previous SATA II hard drives.

It turns out that I can only boot from the SATA3 drive when the the SATA II drives ar disconnected.

If the SATA II drive is connected, the SATA3 drive is not recognized as sda1 and Linux will not boot.  I can see in dmseg that the drive gets mounted, but it cannot find init.

So far I have tried the following:

1. Re-installed the MBR on the SATA3 drive
2. Mounted the old SATA II drives via SATA-to-USB cable, then installed new Partition Table, then formatted it for ext3...
3. Zero'd the old SATA II drive using the Western Digital tool running from a Vista machine to remove remnants
4. Tried every config in BIOS I can think of

It appears to me that the old SATA II drives are fighting with the new SATA3 drive to see who gets to be sda1.

How do I know this? When I boot from a Linux Live CD and look at the new SATA3 and the old SATA II from the Partition Manager --

- old SATA II is sda
- new SATA3 is sdb

So I am thinking this is a BIOS issue.  I see from the documentation, that the SATA3 controller needs a special driver loaded to function properly with Windows, but how do I load it from Linux?

Also, I tried to update the BIOS, but the only downloads available are .exe files.  How can I handle those in Linux?

Thanks for reading.  Hoping to get some answers so I don't have to send this back.

Paul C.

[absic]

Hi there,

To be honest I am not well up on Linux so the main problems you are facing will have to be addressed by someone with that knowledge.

However to flash bios you can use the QFlash utility which is done through BIOS . Download the driver (Here's the link: http://www.giga-byte.co.uk/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=3272 ) which comes as a 7 Zip file. Extract the folder from the download and put it onto a USB stick. (best if USB stick is formatted in FAT 32)

Leave the USB stick in your PC and reboot as you do so press the "END" key on your keyboard (Just the same as pressing the "DEL" key to enter BIOS) which will take you into the QFlash utility. Locate the folder on the USB Stick and follow the on screen instructions. Once you have flashed BIOS shut down and re-boot. Go into BIOS again and load optimised defaults. Save & Exit and you have updated BIOS.

You can set Hard Disk priority and boot order from within BIOS under the Advance BIOS Features heading.

I hope this helps a bit.

[pcallahan80]

Thank you for your kind reply.

I followed your instructions...and downloaded the Beta BIOS...re-flashed using a USB Drive formatted with FAT32...

Then:

1) Changed the boot order so the SATA3 drive is first...and the SATA II drive is last
2) Set SATA II drive to Slave under IDE...also set SATA II to be recognized as SCSI

Still no joy.  The SATA3 drive starts to boot but hangs.  Remove the SATA II drive and it boots fine.  I even loaded up another WD 160 with PATA and the SATA3 drive boots....At least with the PATA WD 160 I can back up my /home partition.

Sigh...This puppy is a goin' back to Newegg...or sold on Craig's List.  I'm sure somebody using XP/Vista/W7 will find it useful.  Mixed SATA in a Linux environment is a non-starter.

Thanks for trying.

[absic]

Sorry it didn't help, but as I said my knowledge of Linux is very limited and maybe somebody else on the forum will be able to help you out with installing the necessary driver for your OS and where to locate it.

You could try sending a PM to runn3r as he works for gigabyte and may have the answer.

ATB

[pcallahan80]

@absic115

Thanks for the suggestion.  I just sent a PM.

-pc

[Sevren]

If the SATA II drive is going to be there for a while, just update your boot manager so that it boots on /dev/sdb1 instead of /dev/sda1.