strange error warning with new hard drive

Hi all.

I know i have another HDD thread going right now, but I do have an unrelated (mostly) problem.

I went ahead and bought the new Seagate 25TB HDD to replace the 12TB that figure for dead (though it may not be).

When I connected it to the computer and booted up, I got:

3rd Master Hard Disc Error

Press F1 to Resume

Then Windows boots like normal.

Some strange pc behavior I was seeing after boot was that some of the hard drives were disappearing.  I could run device manager scan and they came back.

I figured maybe I jostled some cables when I put the 24TB in. 

I disconnected all drives but the C:  (8 or 9 SATA HDDs, mostly medium-sizedl C: is an SSD).

There was no problem.  I added all drives back except the 24TB, no error.
I added the 24TB back, same error.

I don't know what it means and a search on Google shows that there is no consensus on what it means.  

My computer is one that I built in 2010/2011.  

It has an ASUS Rampage III Extreme mobo (the third one in all these years).

I don't know if it's an error specific to this mobo's BIOS or known more widely.

Since it is  a 24TB, I'm loath to load it up with anything or even use it for backup if the error indicates a serious issue.

I previously bought a 20TB and there was no problem.

I don't know if the size of the drive could be the problem (They are all GPT).

I'm thinking about returning it and getting a 20TB that I am more sure will work problem-free.

Does anybody have insight on this issue?
Thanks.
 

That error is usually reserved for IDE drives. I noticed in the MB manual that the SATA ports on this MB is set to IDE as default. For better performance the MB should be set to AHCI but I don't know if the computer would boot after the change if the setting was originally IDE.

Page 3-20 of the manual.

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1366/Rampage_III_Extreme/E5246_Rampage_III_Extreme_manual.zip?model=Rampage%20III%20Extreme

If I set it to AHCI and it won't boot, can I set is back to IDE or is something bricked by trying?
This mobo has two bios chips, so maybe I could then just flip the switch to the other BIOS.

What does the error mean for IDE drives?  Is it a throwback to the old days of IDE slave/masters and jumper settings?

Changing it back to IDE mode should  the computer bootable. IDE mode really reduces the performance of the hard drives. If I can remember correctly there is a method to changing to AHCI from IDE and have the computer boot correctly. I will see if I can find the article.

Edit: Here is the article. There are also videos showing the process. I would only do this after creating a full disk image of the OS using software like Macrium Reflect Free.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/switch-from-ide-to-ahci-windows-10.2429812/#post-15918033

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7xvM_pgDzA

I believe having all your HDDs on IDE mode is what is causing the conflict.

There was no problem.  I added all drives back except the 24TB, no error.
I added the 24TB back, same error.

What happens if you swap the 24TB drive with one of you other drives? Remove one of your drives and replace it with the 24TB. See if you still get the error.

Regarding the IDE error see this video showing a legacy BIOS using IDE.

Edited by JohnC_21, 20 June 2024 - 07:09 PM.