Abit IC7 + Raptor 150 = no go.

Shutdown.  Unplug 74 GB Western Digital Raptor.  Plug in 150 GB Western Digital Raptor.  Boot up.

No hard disks detected.

I was scratching my head in disbelief when I saw the above error message after installing a Western Digital Raptor 150 GB in my system.  It spun up and wasn’t detected.  I thought, ‘OK, maybe this thing needs more juice.”  Then, I thought, ‘Hey, wait a minute, my Antec TrueBlue 480W powered two 74 GB Raptor’s in RAID 0.’  Let’s try another Serial ATA port.

Shutdown.  Unplug Raptor.  Plug Raptor into Serial ATA port 1.  Boot up.

No hard disks detected.

At this point I’ve become a roaring lion.  Not literally, but you get a picture.  I conclude it’s either the hard drive or the motherboard, with the hard drive being the likely culprit.  Google time (on another PC): ‘IC7 Raptor 150‘.

Bingo.

There’s a compatibility problem with the Abit IC7 motherboard and the WD Raptor 150!? Not good.  What to part with: aging IC7 motherboard or state-of-the-art Raptor 150.  Hmm.  Buh-bye IC7!  Hello new, cheapo ASRock S478 motherboard for short-term until Conroe is released.

Bottom-line: In the tech world, Google is indeed your friend.  It helped pinpoint the problem in a matter of minutes.  One less grey hair.  Phew.