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    Sony Vaio, Sandisk solid state drive and BIOS conflict

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by Johnram, Nov 22, 2008.

  1. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey guys, I need your help on something that has troubled me for the past 3 days! I bought on-line a 32GB SANDISK solid state UATA 1.8" for my Vaio laptop (model: vgn-txn27n) and the problem starts when I connect the new hard drive to the computer the BIOS will not see any more my CD/DVD drive. Thus neither Windows Vista Business will. I have to say, at first I thought that perhaps dUring the installation I was careless and had damaged the CD/DVD drive and as I wanted to be sure, I reconnected the old hard drive which is a "Toshiba MK1011GAH" and guess what...everything was perfect. The BIOS would recognize both, the old hard disc and the CD/DVD drive. I started looking on-line for possible causes and read somewhere that a possible solution would be to change the hard drive's jumper settings (in case it wasn't master) which is impossible as the drive comes jumperless from the factory and preconfigured as master (like my old drive). I looked for a BIOS firmware update but no newer version is available out there (I 'm using Phoenix TrustedCore version R0052N3). So I 've come up with this as where the problem focuses: Obviously, there is a hardware conflict between the new hard drive and the CD/DVD drive in the BIOS. I either need a firmware update for BIOS, a firmware update for the solid state hard drive, or a firmware update for the CD/DVD drive. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any for any of the three.

    Here are the things I have tried so far:

    Reset BIOS to factory settings (as SONY suggested it would fix the problem) ---Did not fix the conflict---

    Removed BIOS battery for ten minutes --- did not fix the problem---

    Checked with the manufacturers to make sure that both hard drives are set to master mode: Both drives are in master mode (CD/DVD is in slave).

    Searched for a newer version for BIOS -current: R0052N3- didn't find one.

    Searched for a firmware update for CD/DVD drive -having difficulty in locating the exact model- : Didn't find an applicable firmware.

    Contacted Sandisk for support: they don't offer support to end users!

    Contacted SONY for support: the help thet offered online didn't fix the problem.

    Here are the components' models:

    Old hard drive: Toshiba 1.8" MK1011GAH (100GB)
    New hard drive: Sandisk 1.8" 5000 UATA (32GB)
    CD/DVD drive: PCC/SMQL/9.5/852M/RDN (S) SuperMiulti /9.5/x8/+ - DL_Reideen (I am 80% sure that it's a Panasonic)

    In conclusion, it is very strange as both drives are of the same specifications and doesn't make any sense for the conflict to exist.


    Since the computer has already an optical drive installed it would be such a shame not be able to use it, PLEASE HELP!!!


    Thank you in advance!
     
    Johnram, Nov 22, 2008
    #1
  2. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have managed to identify properly my DVD drive: MAT****A DVD-RAM UJ-852S

    Any ideas?
     
    Johnram, Nov 22, 2008
    #2
  3. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    Still looking for a solution...Anyone guys???
     
    Johnram, Nov 23, 2008
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  4. Lattice

    Lattice Notebook Evangelist

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    A bit of a long shot, but maybe try ghosting the drive from your old hard drive to your new hard drive to see if the exact same software settings will still cause the problem?
     
    Lattice, Nov 23, 2008
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  5. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks for your help Lattice, the only thing that puzzles me is that even if I do that, I 'm not sure how this is going to affect BIOS...after all the problem starts from there, BIOS does not see the CD/DVD and so windows follow...I 'm confident that if somehow BIOS would see the DVD drive then everything would be ok!!! :confused:
     
    Johnram, Nov 23, 2008
    #5
  6. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    I found that SANDISK released a few months ago a firmware update for the drive but I can't find it anywhere...Anyone can help???
     
    Johnram, Nov 24, 2008
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  7. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ok, I discovered that my sandisk is set as slave...any ideas of how to change that???
     
    Johnram, Nov 26, 2008
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  8. InfyMcGirk

    InfyMcGirk while(!(succeed=try()));

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    I'm afraid I couldn't find a method to change the settings on your Sandisk SSD, and neither could these poor folks. :(

    Do keep us updated if you find a solution...
     
    InfyMcGirk, Nov 27, 2008
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  9. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    Johnram, Nov 27, 2008
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  10. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    Have you found the solution yet? I've been considering a Vaio FW but I wanted to know of ssd issues I may have before buying.
     
    Mandrake, Nov 29, 2008
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  11. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    Johnram, Nov 30, 2008
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  12. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    Anyone with Linux knowledge out there who can help???
     
    Johnram, Dec 2, 2008
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  13. azureice55

    azureice55 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Haven't played with SSD drives, but... do they have jumpers like older hard drives to select master/slave/cs? That would cause a problem like described. :)
     
    azureice55, Dec 2, 2008
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  14. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yes, that would be great but unfortunately, no jumpers present!!!
     
    Johnram, Dec 2, 2008
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  15. Johnram

    Johnram Notebook Enthusiast

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    Found it...In order to change a hard drive from master to slave is to connect pin 40 via a 10K resistor to a 3.3 v source (either pin 38 or 39)...Have to get the resistor :)
     
    Johnram, Dec 7, 2008
    #15