Thanks for the feedback, I'll check the cable connections. However, I have two follow up questions-

1. Is it safe to assume then, after looking at the bootup spew, that it is a hardware problem and that I can rule out any software problem completely? Such as a magnetic scan of some sort during shipping? emptool and upgclient don't even see it. BTW, the IDE ribbon is glued in place on the disk end. not sure about the MB end.

2. I thought these things are supposed to be robust?! It seems like they are plagued by loose connections. I was planning to put this thing in a 4x4.. bad idea?

Thanks again.