IDE on GA-P55A-UD3 problem

[Robai]

Problem 1:

When I've bought a new computer 2 years ago having GA-P55A-UD3 motherboard inside I couldn't install WinXp on IDE hard drives (on any of the three IDE hard drives I have).

That wasn't too big problem since I mainly used a new hard drive SATA 2.0 (WD15EARS, 1.5 TB, 3 Gbit/s) and WinXp perfectly was installed on it. This HDD worked fine for these 2 years (1 year with bad sectors  ). The only annoying part was "Green" part (I think you know what I mean  ).

But now my SATA HDD is no longer working (bad sectors, etc., partially works, but VERY slow - it takes about 20 min to start WinXp).

So, I tried my old IDE hard drives again.
Here is what I did:
1) connected one IDE HDD (SATA HDD is not connected, all the time)
2) checked if BIOS see it (yes, it correctly shows HDD having 80GB, for example)
3) I put WinXp+SP2 installation DVD and the installation begins, it copies needed files to Windows directory
4) at some point there is a step, which requires to restart computer
5) but after restart the installation can't continue (IDE HDD doesn't boot up)
6) in BIOS I can force to boot from CD/DVD, but it doesn't continue installation, it starts from beginning (I tried to repair/recover too - the same story, IDE doesn't boot)
7) IDE controller in BIOS is enabled by default, and everything with IDE looks enabled by default, but I did many various tests (more than 20)  trying to enable/disable things there (including disabling everything related to SATA). I always get to the same point - IDE can't boot.

I have 3 IDE hard disks (Seagate 80 GB, Maxtor 80 GB, Maxtor 40 GB). The same story for all of them.

If I boot from SATA disk then I can copy files from IDE, or to IDE in WinXp.

My WinXp install shouldn't be a problem since the same DVD disk worked earlier on SATA disk.

Problem 2:

Anyway, I did tests with Linux Ubuntu too.
I've made Ubuntu installation DVD and successfully booted from it, then installed it and, similarly to WinXp installation, there was a point where I had to restart computer. After restart IDE didn't boot up! If I boot from DVD then installation starts from the beginning (i.e. doesn't continue).

Problem 3:

I have Puppy Linux installed on my bootable USB Flash. It perfectly works for my Laptop (it does boot up, I can use internet, etc.), but it doesn't boot up in my main computer (i.e. GA-P55A-UD3). I tried ALL options in BIOS (USB HDD, USB floppy, USB ZIP., DVD, etc., just everything), didn't work.

Conclusion:

By the way, my DVD is SATA too.
So, my only conclusion is that GA-P55A-UD3 doesn't allow booting from anything that is not connected through SATA cable, i.e. bugged.

Help:

Any help would be appreciated.

[Robai]

It seems that a very similar problem is also here:
http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,4336.0

My Configuration is very similar too:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 (rev 1.0, BIOS version F4)
RAM: CORSAIR DDR3-1600 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 (2*2GB)
CPU: Intel Core i5 750
Video Card: SAPPHIRE HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 PCIE
PSU:  Cooler Master Silent Pro M850, 850W

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome.

Firstly just in case you are not aware your SATA HDD is under warranty and you can RMA it to be repaired or replaced. Contact your retailer for help.

The troubles you are facing in regard to the IDE disks would seem to be either the boot sequence or the controller mode. I would suggest checking in the BIOSD to see what your HDD boot priorities are and your boot sequence.

Make sure that you have the IDE drives set to the correct master or slave settings. and that the channel is set to Auto detection.

Next make sure that you have the correct drive sequence listed in the HDD Boot Priority It needs top be at the top of the list.

Disable Quick Boot.

Make sure that you have the hard drive listed as first in the First/Second/Third Boot Device

Ensure that the eXtreme Hard Drive is disabled.

That should set the hard drive settings as you require for a start. Try that and to boot from the optical drive for running setup just press F12 when booting like you would press DEL to enter the BIOS.