Hard Drive access causes system hang [Update: Solved, May Help Others w/ HDD hangs]

[keensyntax]

I am running Windows 2000. Primary HDD is on an onboard ATA 66 Controller(Abit BE6), secondary HDD is set up as master on Primary controller. This configuration worked perfectly when my secondary HDD was an IBM 8GB. I replaced it with an IBM 10GB and lately, if I access this second HDD, my system will hang. Sometimes it will happen as soon as I access it, sometimes I can stream MP3s off it for an hour before my system freezes entirely. Obvious answer is that HDD is screwed somehow but it worked in my old system w/o problem. Anyone ever had/fixed this kinda problem before?

[Update: Problem Solved, See Below]

 

[BushBaby]

I may be having the same problems and it is getting progressively worse, cannot even see files on the drive now. Does it take a really long time to access files on your drive?

 

[keensyntax]

No problem with the speed of access to the drive... until it hangs. It seems as quick as it always was in my old system when it was the primary hard drive. I would suspect a BIOS, power setting or IDE config except that it worked w/ the 8GB in the same place. I imagine I simply need to open my case up and unplug the drive and reconnect and see if that helps. If that fails... I guess that something happened when I was setting up the new system while it was lying around. I'll just have to put the 8GB back in and eventually just buy a new drive.

I wished I knew of some kind of utility to do a battery of physical/connection tests on a HDD.

 

[Methos1995]

Try updating the BIOS. Older BIOS have an 8.4 gig cap. You may need an updated BIOS that will recognize HDD greater than 8.4 gigs.

Your explanation is a little confusing. How can you set up a secondary HDD as master on Primary controller? What do you mean by secondary? Explain which HDD you want as your Primary and which you want as Secondary. You might be setting both drives to master on the same channel, and that's no good.

Also, list what hardware you have and your set up. CD-ROM, vid, modem, audio cards, etc.?

 

[Methos1995]

I just thought of something else. You might have bad L1/L2 cache. Try disabling these in your BIOS, leave your computer on/use it until it crashes or up to five hours (which ever comes first). Bad cache can cause error messages that are not true.
Note: Disabling cache will slow system down, but this is just a test to rule out the cache.
If the cache is the problem, try re-enabling one of them and use your computer for a few hours again to see exactly which cache is causing the problem. Then, if you still have a warranty, you can get a free replacement. If not, your SOL. You'll have to buy a new one.

 

[keensyntax]

Methos1995, Thanks for thinking about my problem and coming up with some ideas. However... I am thrilled to say I have figured out what was causing my system to hang on HDD access. This may effect others out there so I'll share what I discovered.

When I opened up my case I saw that I had plugged a case fan inline with my secondary HDD. The fan plugged into power cable from power supply and then HDD plugged into that. After I put in a power Y-adapter and plugged the HDD up to one, the fan to the other... my system has not locked up. I've been streaming MP3s off the HDD for days now without any problems.

I guess having the fan inline was introducing some form of interference in the power stream. You got me. The thing that tipped me off to a possible power problem was that at odd times, sometimes without a system hang, my secondary HDD would spin up, down, up, down... like it was having power problems. This may help others out there now or in the future. Thanks again man!