Question 1

Drive not detected?

Accepted Answer

Reseat the SATA data and power cables, try another SATA port/cable, and confirm the WD1002FAEX appears in BIOS/UEFI. If Windows Setup still misses it, load the motherboard’s AHCI/RAID storage driver and check Disk Management for an uninitialized disk.

Question 2

Install fails or setup can’t see the disk?

Accepted Answer

Match the BIOS SATA mode (AHCI vs RAID/IDE) to the driver you load. For a single WD1002FAEX, use AHCI; load Intel RST/AMD storage drivers only if your board requires them.

Question 3

Version/controller conflicts?

Accepted Answer

Remove duplicate or old SATA/AHCI controller drivers, install the latest motherboard chipset/storage driver, and avoid forcing RAID drivers for a single drive. Reboot and rescan hardware.

WDC WD1002FAEX 00Y9A0 Driver