I have a 30GB 10000rpm disc and a 500GB 7200rpm disc on my machine. I had Windows 7 and Fedora 12 installed on the faster disc with the larger one as storage (for videos etc etc). Today I tried to install Fedora 13 on the fast one wiping off Windows 7 and Fedora 12 in the process. So I told Anaconda just to install on the smaller disc and the install seemed to be going perfectly until it had installed about 900 of the 1200 or so of the packages it was supposed to be going to install when the monitor screen went blank (black) and the monitor could not detect any video and switched itself off. Trying to switch the monitor on again it still found nothing. Watching the hard-drive and DVD drive lights I waited until it had finished installing (when, of course, it also ejected the disc). I then tried to reboot the computer without the disc and it stopped at the motherboard flash screen as it did (and does) when I try to boot with the Fedora 13 install disc (and also with my old Fedora 12 install disc). If I keep hitting "Tab" as soon as I switch the machine on I get a screen with: Press DEL to run Setup Press F8 for BBS POPUP .... .... Initializing USB Controllers .. Done 2048MB OK Auto-Detecting Pri Master..ATAPI CD-ROM Auto-Detecting 3rd Master..IDE Hard Disk Auto-Detecting 4th Master..IDE Hard Disk Pri Master: LITE-ON DVDRW SHM-165P6S MS0M Ultra DMA Mode 4 3rd Master: WDC WD360ADFD-00NRL1 20.07P20 Ultra DMA Mode 5, S.M.A.R.T. Capable and Status OK If I hit Del "Press DEL to run Setup" changes to "Entering SETUP ..." but nothing further happens. My hard drives, certainly my newer large 500GB, are in fact SATA. I have not touched the hardware in any way. Before I downloaded Fedora 13 (and after I'd backed everything up) I had opened the case to check how much dust was in the CPU cooler fins but since there was little I just very gently brushed and Hoovered - the machine worked for a couple of hours thereafter while I downloaded Fedora 13 burned it to a DVD and for most of the install as above. Anyone any ideas - this not doing my triskaidekaphobia any good!
I just tried updating the BIOS with ASUS EZ Flash and now I don't get the: Press DEL to run Setup if I keep hitting Tab or Del from when I switch on and otherwise still sticks on the motherboard flash page. Something similar here (though I haven't tried disconnecting the hard drive or done any other "fiddling" inside the case): http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/273392-12-unable-enter-bios-segate-sata
OK, so I've gone into the case and tried disconnecting each of the hard drives in turn and it seems that when I disconnect the 10000 rpm 36GB drive the Fedora install disc will offer to let me shrink the partition on the 72000 rpm 500GB drive and presumably allow me to install there. But if it's the faster disc failing how did the OS continue to install until it ejected the DVD when I was first trying to install it?
DBAN will not even boot: Other possibly related post: http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware-devices/13952-upgrade-install-windows-7-kills-hard-disk.html
Today I tried connecting the "faulty" disc to the motherboard and power supply using the leads normally connected to the "working" disc. Still no joy. How could the computer have continued to install to the faulty disc? Is there a BIOS or whatever bug which could have caused this? – of the genre try uninstalling Windows and see what happens to your hard drive? I've now installed Fedora 13 on the slower 500GB disc with the faster disc left unconnected in the box. If I try to connect it I cannot get past the motherboard flash screen again so there's no way I can try and "see" it from my current operating system.
