FAQ and Technical Articles

How Do I Know my Drive is not seen by BIOS or CMOS?

Once you reboot your computer (must be 'cold reboot'!), you may see a screen like this:

• Try to press a Pause/Break key in order to "freeze" the screen - on some computers it works.

Another way to check if the drive is properly identified by computer is to get directly into BIOS setup menu. So, if you cannot catch the booting info on the screen similar to the one above, check your computer / motherboard manual to find out on how to access BIOS setup. Normally, “Del” or “F1” key needs to be pressed right after the computer start up to access BIOS setup interface. Once you are in BIOS setup, you will be able to get the same information about all connected hard drives - identical to the booting echo shown on the picture.

Then you need to compare HDD model number from BIOS to the number from your drive's label. If it is not there or not matching with numbers from the drive’s label, then your drive is definitely failed. The failed hard drive in BIOS is the conclusive sign that the drive foremost needs to be repaired at least to the extent when its becomes accessible for reading the lasted data from platters to further data reconstruction.

Checking drive in your computer's CMOS/BIOS is not providing a 100% accuracy to diagnose the hard disk's condition. However, it helps to pick out the evidently failed hard drives, and make a proper decision to apply for the professional data recovery service.