"ATA Initialization...ERROR" Response

only raid configuration can solve your problem.but raid configuration can only used when installing new OS.

first try replacing IDE cable
if that did not work check the bios setting for HDD operation mode , IT must be ATA or Legacy or PATA mode

you should be able to install any manufactures HDD , if yours is
a SATA then you must put an SATA in as goers the same for an
ATA so whatever company you choose you need to obtain that
companies formatting tool utility , it is true that seatools Seagate
and Maxblast Maxtor will work with other companies , and the
best of those two would be Maxblast in my opinion it has the
ease of use , also you should be able to use any HDD no matter
the size , and remember to NEVER install an OS on your static
external HDD it will only cause the HDD to become corrupt and
enable it to contract viruses , I use 1 internal 500 and 1 external
250 backed by 1 non-powered (not used till needed) 250, its the
only way to really be protected in case something happens to
the storage drive , age and use are the number one reasons
for HDD failure and in some cases external HDD closers come with some kind of proprietary software such as one touch back
up , which you can archive to hidden in the folder properties
or simply erase , I never trust auto backing , I do all my backups
manually .

why would you need one ? Maxtor has a jumper label
on their face that is all the info you'll need to operate
this HDD , the rest is in the OS set up NTFS or
FAT32 , stick with the NTFS and you'll have no
problems , the jumper label indicates using as a
master , Slave or a Cable select , the IDE cable
in your computer if using an ATA HDD has two
connections the top one is the master the lower
one is the slave , if the HDD is a SATA it has its
own special connection which is marked SATA

Hi,
I have the same problem, but no solution for me. Have you fix the problem? Could you use the remote successfully?
Thx

Hard drives do not generate audio tones for error messages or POST codes. Any problems should be reported by the BIOS on boot. The disk may not be showing up under Windows Explorer for other reasons, so...

Open up Disk Management (right-click on My Computer for XP, Computer for Vista) and select Manage from the context menu then select Disk Management from the left-hand pane. In the middle pane, scroll down until you find a disk that is Not Initialized or Offline.

If it is marked as Not Initalized, right-click on it and select Initialize Disk. After the disk has been initialized, you need to create a parition by right-clicking on unallocated space of the disk and selecting New Partition from the context menu. Follow the wizard to create the partition. Once the partition is created, right-click on your new partition and select Format from the context menu and follow the wizard to format the newly allocated space. Once this is done, you will be able to utilize the disk.

If it is marked as Offline, right-click on the disk and select Reactivate Disk from the context menu. If the disk is partitioned and formatted already, you should be able to use the disk immediately, otherwise follow the instructions above for partitioning and formatting the drive.

ANY SEAGATE HDD,OR MAXTOR

Mark,
You can use any size HDD in your computer as a slave and it does not have to be an exact match for the maxtor. You will however need the make sure that the connections on the new drive match. For example SATA drives will not attache to an IDE cable and vice versa. The drive that you mentioned is an IDE style drive so unless your MOBO has SATA connectors on it you will need to buy an IDE/EIDE drive.

set the jumper on the maxtor to cable select and see if that fix's things ?

Placed them IN a computer or enclosure?