Can HD and DVD be on the same cable ?

[Micahn]

Hi
I have a problem here and I am trying to figure out what is wrong with my system.
I am almost sure that it is one of two things. The DVD and CDRW cable is bad or the Mother board controller for them has went out.
So before I order both a new MB and IDE cable I want to see just what is bad.
Here is what is going on,
Every thing else in my computer works just fine. Matter of fact I am posting this on it. However both the DVD and CDRW will not work. They have power to them and will open and close and all. They even run the checks at start up and the lights blink a few times like normal. However the MB BIOS or Windows can find them. Every thing was working fine and then just one day when I went to put a CD in nothing happened. No settings was changed and all was the same they just stopped working.

So anyway I am thinking of hooking one up with my Hard drive and seeing what happens. I have done some searching and can not see anything about that any place online so far. I know I would need to set the DVD or what ever one it is as a slave and all. But I just want to make sure that it is not the drives themselves before I go to the trouble of ordering the parts and changing them out and then having the same problem lol.

So my Question to all of you smart people is Can both a DVD drive and IDE cable ? I am not sure and do not want to mess anything else up lol.

 

[TheITguy]

Yes you can have both on one controller using one cable. Make sure one is set to slave and the other to master. I would try each drive on it's own and also switch out the cable it is more likely the cable bad than the controller but it is possible.

 

[Micahn]

Thanks that is sort of what I figured. Just wanted to check with someone else before I tried it

 

[TheITguy]

Found this on google maybe it will help

Connecting a hard drive and cd-rom

 

[ICISII]

yes you can have both of them on the same IDE cable. I would try opening the box and making sure the connections are secure (that's prob not the problem but worth a try). Also i would go to the manufacturer's website for your DVD and CDRW drivers, they may have been corrupted by a number of things (i.e. virus, improper shutdown procedures).

 

[Gamingphreek]

Well that shouldn't do anything. A lot of time they prefer CS over Master or Slave. If it is on CS then try master or slave. If it is on Master or Slave try it on CS.

They can be on the same cable however it is reccommended against because the CD-ROM drives generaly speaking slow the HDD down when on the same channel.

-Kevin

 

[bim27142]

yes that can be done, i've tried it and so far no problem... just make sure HD is the master... and oh by the way, i've read that some mobos don't advice such configuration...just check your mobo's manual if it didn't mention anything like that...

 

[jolycu]

Have you tried uninstalling them from Device Manager, then letting your OS detect them when you reboot? I had a Compaq once that I had to do that every once in awhile.
Jolycu

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Micahn
Hi
I have a problem here and I am trying to figure out what is wrong with my system.
I am almost sure that it is one of two things. The DVD and CDRW cable is bad or the Mother board controller for them has went out.
So before I order both a new MB and IDE cable I want to see just what is bad.
Here is what is going on,
Every thing else in my computer works just fine. Matter of fact I am posting this on it. However both the DVD and CDRW will not work. They have power to them and will open and close and all. They even run the checks at start up and the lights blink a few times like normal. However the MB BIOS or Windows can find them. Every thing was working fine and then just one day when I went to put a CD in nothing happened. No settings was changed and all was the same they just stopped working.

So anyway I am thinking of hooking one up with my Hard drive and seeing what happens. I have done some searching and can not see anything about that any place online so far. I know I would need to set the DVD or what ever one it is as a slave and all. But I just want to make sure that it is not the drives themselves before I go to the trouble of ordering the parts and changing them out and then having the same problem lol.

So my Question to all of you smart people is Can both a DVD drive and IDE cable ? I am not sure and do not want to mess anything else up lol.

I had a similar problem once. Turned out the 4 pin molex connectors were not actually supplying power (yes the lights came on and the doors would open & close). I confirmed this by hooking up a case fan to the same connectors. When they wouldn't spin at boot up I knew the psu was defective.

I guess they draw some power through the IDE cable or the connectors supplied just the tiniest bit of power (but not enough to even turn a wimpy case fan).

Good Luck with it.

Fern