I attempted to download the manual but with no luck.

On the South Bridge Chipset Configuration screen it shows the following:

AC97 & Azalia Link A [Azalia only]

Serial ATA Controller [Enabled]

Onboard SATA Boot ROM [Enabled]

Onboard LAN [Enabled]

Onboard LAN Boot ROM [Disabled]


Would buying a new hard drive solve this problem because it seems like nothing is working ? That is something I would consider if it meant I could use my PC! My brother is going back to university in less than 2 weeks and he will be taking this PC with him!

My feeling is that this is a configuration problem and not a hardware problem.

In a worse case scenario you could get an IDE/ATA drive which would bypass any SATA configuration issues. (if you do this put your DVD/CD to Secondary Master and the new drive to Primary Master.)

Here is another place to check in the BIOS:

Open the Boot tab.

Scroll down to Highlight the Hard Disk Drives entry.

Hit Enter. This should show all hard drives detected by the BIOS.

Do you see your SATA drive listed?

If so highlight it and hit Enter.

Save changes and Exit.

Once again I do not have the same options that you are referring too. Ready for another list ? (sorry but its about the most useful thing I can do!) When I go into the Boot tab, there are only 3 options:

Boot Device Priority

Boot Settings Configuration

Security


I entered the Boot Settings Configuration and there doesn't appear to be anything useful:

Quick Boot [Enabled]

Full Screen Logo [Disabled]

AddOn ROM Display Mode [Force BIOS]

Bootup Num-Lock [On]

PS/2 Mouse Support [Auto]

Wait For F1 If Error [Enabled]

Hit 'Del' Message Display [Enabled]

Interrupt 19 Capture [Disabled]

I have had a lot of problems with ASUS motherboards BIOS and SATA drives.

Even though they are detected in the POST they often get lost at the boot stage.

I have had so many similar problems as I switch between booting SATA (XP) and IDE (Vista).

Seeing you on-line I just thought I'd post and let you know I am still trying to find some solution here. Having my own experience it makes this issue very intriguing.

Again: if you do have access to an IDE drive that might be the most expedient tack but I still hope you can find the configuration issue.

In general I would go through all your BIOS settings looking for that SATA drive. Sorry I cannot be more specific at this time.

Also:

Is that ULi SATA 32bit Driver Disk a bootable floppy?

Also is this the BIOS that you have:

P5RD1-V BIOS version 0907 (latest)

http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=en-us

I purchased a new IDE hard drive and my PC is up and running thank God !

Thanks very much for your continued help, I am so glad its fixed !

Just out of curiosity: can you see the SATA drive from the IDE (XP)?