I just bought a new syntax motherboard (s635mp) as well as a new 40 gb western digital hard drive. I'm tryin to install the drive as a single and I have the jumper settings correct (no jumper shunts). I also have tried many 80 pin ribbon cables. However, my bios is never able to identify the drive. It says "not installed" in the BIOS. I have also tried to let it auto detect the drive as well as manually configure the settings, but the drive is never recognized. When I switch the cable back to my old 2 gb hard drive it is able to identify it. I have also tried installing the new hard drive in another comp to verify that it is not defective and it works just fine in the alternate computer. Because of this fact, WD support say they cannot help me because they have verified that the drive isn't defective. I am assuming that I have an updated version of BIOS since I just purchased my motherboard 2 months ago. The release date of the BIOS is 10/2003. Note that I have also tried installing the drive as a slave (with correct jumper settings) and BIOS still doesn't recognize it. It recognizes the old 2 gb just fine in this case as well. I really have no idea what's goin on here.

Start with both IDE cables disconnected from the MB. Set the jumper on the WD drive to master. Connect the cable to the promary controller. See if BIOS detects the drive. If it does then you know the connection works. If it does not then change the jumper to cable select and check BIOS again. If it works this time then note that your MB wants drives in CS only (I have seen some newer boards that work this way). Disconnect the cable from the promary and connect it to the secondary (we are checking to see if both controllers are working correctly). If the drive works on the secondary and not the primary then you need a new MB. A 40GB drive should not have any problems with the newer MB's. Richard

You probably have a cable select 80 wire data cable (or several of them)- very common - are the connectors three different colors? If so you need to jumper your drive (and all drives on that cable) CS (cable select), not master, the drive used as "master" must connect to the end connector, "slave" must connect to the middle connector, the other end connects to the mboard, the mboard end usually farther from the middle connector. Your 2gb drive is set to CS if you use the same cable and it works, not master.

Is it possible that you need to go into your bios settings and make sure you enable ultra DMA? Maybe that is why it does not see it? I would check all my settings in the bios with your manual to make sure all possible settings are correct for anything to do with the ide or ultra dma. P.S. The first thing I do with new mboard is get an update.They may have an update for the very problem you are having. Good Luck

Cable select has nothing to do with the mboard. A cable select cable can be used on any mboard IDE connector. The cable is missing the connection for the slave drive at the "master" end connector, missing the connection for master at the middle "slave" connector, and the mboard end has all the connections a "normal" ide cable does.

Thanks for everybody's help. Turns out my primary ide controller is bad because the hard drive works when connected to the secondary controller. It still seems a little odd to me that my old hard drive works on the primary controller. Anyway, I am not able to send the MB back since I already mailed in for a rebate, but I'm fine with just using the HD off the secondary controller. Thanks again!