Hi, after switching to a new PC my Samsung HD400LD refused to show in the bios.I've tried it it another Pc and no luck so i'm guessing it's a problem with the drive itself, the only thing I haven't tried is a exteral enclosure.
While the data on there isn't massively important I would like to retrieve it but i'm not sure where to go from here, I can't really justify spending 100's to get the data back, is there anything I can try myself?

If drive is not recognised by bios of more than 1 pc, why should it be detected
in an external enclosure - sorry, but not logically.

Either data is important then get an estimate from a pro - pcimage is one here
in the forum - or otherwise forget this hdd an buy a new one.

+++

did you check your jumper setting? If it was working in the old system and just swap it to the new system, it may be the jumper setting or your new BIOS setting. You may have to manually add that drive in the BIOS or let the BIOS manally detect it by going in to the setup screen during the boot. (If this was the issue, using the external case will get your data back)

If not, you might want to contact a pro to get your data...

Good Luck!!!

Is the drive spinning normally?

Is it making any clicking noises?

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The drive seems to be making all the right sounds, even when I turn Pc off it sounds like the drive is shutting down.
I'm sure jumpers set correct, how would I go about adding drive manually?

Thanks for the advice so far.

0) Check cabling and configuration at BIOS level.
1) Some PCs do not support large drives - drive is not shown in BIOS.
2) Connect the drive on one IDE channel alone, with AND without jumper to see what happens.
3) For these drives the corerct behaviour is : spin up, head unpark (peculiar sound), and after one second you can hear (and feel if you have the drive in your hands) the head make a further movement, then only spinning.

I would ask if the drive gets RDY DSC on a simple HDD diagnostic like MHDD and IF the drive is seen with the PORT command.

P.S. if you feel not comfortable with tools and so on, my advice is to go to a local computer shop and have first level assistance. IF they see that drive is not recognised at all or does not become ready, then pro help is needed or RMA it if under warranty. Some basic skills for first level troubleshooting are needed.