HDD problems

[KyleMac]

I decided to put my spare parts into my brothers computer, worst idea ever. Especially on a week night.

Old mobo:
AOpen AX59 PRO

New mobo:
MSI 6191

HDD:
Maxtor D740X 40gb (can't remember exact model number right now)

Nothing else changed could effect the HDD I don't think (processor, ram, psu).

Copied from quick explaination to a friend:

<KyleMac> my brothers computer is being goddamn stupid
<KyleMac> i decided to put my old stuff in it
<KyleMac> it was all in but when the bios checked the ide devices it gave a "80 conductor thingy ma jig not installed on primary"
<KyleMac> so i put an 80 conductor ide cable in
<KyleMac> and then it wouldnt boot at all
<KyleMac> so i put a 40 conductor back in
<KyleMac> and it still wouldnt boot at all
<KyleMac> and it basically hasnt booted for the last 2 hours
<KyleMac> the maxtor site says that my brothers hdd wont work at all without an 80 conductor cable, he used to use it on a 40 conductor fine
<KyleMac> anything that enters my brothers case is cursed


Nothing goes into my brothers computer and works first time, NOTHING.

 

[Pacinamac23]

Triple check those jumpers!

 

[KyleMac]

Already done that five times cubed. Tried it on master and cable select.

 

[HappyPuppy]

When you're stumped anything is better than nothing, so try clearing the cmos.

 

[KyleMac]

Already tried clearing the cmos.

 

[KyleMac]

The HDD does still work. I can put it in my comp and boot up fine. The mobo worked fine a week ago but I havn't used it since then. I tried using my IDE cables which work in my comp and no difference. Definately not the HDD, definately not the cables, and I don't see how the mobo could have screwed up in a week of sitting in a box.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Can you get into the bios and manually detect/set the HDD?

One other thought. Check the IDE pins on the mobo to be sure one isn't bent or broken.

 

[KyleMac]

No IDE pins are bent or broken.

Before I put the 80 conductor cable in I could get into the BIOS, now I can't. Currently when I press the power button everything powers up, HDD clicks a bit, and nothing else happens.

 

[HappyPuppy]

It's a long shot, but maybe the PSU is too weak to spin the Maxtor drive. Do you have another PSU handy you could try?

 

[KyleMac]

The PSU is strong enough, I've done it before.

I need to get something clear.

Before I used the 80 conductor IDE cable:
Everything powered up, BIOS checked IDE devices, everything was fine except "whatever 80 conductor not installed whatever", and then after it "drive is S. M. A. R. T. capable but disabled" or something along those lines. Windows booted up but gave me loads of crap. I thought I better get rid of the messages in the BIOS before I reinstalled windows, so I tried to do so.

After I used the 80 conductor IDE cable:
Absolutely nothing happens even when putting a 40 conductor IDE cable back in.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Hmmm. The game is afoot, Watson.

I'm out of ideas, but maybe this cheesy bump will help keep you on top long enough for someone else to toss in some ideas.

Good luck.

 

[Willoughbyva]

Take everything out except cpu and heatsink/fan, memory, and vidcard. Reseat the memory and vidcard, then try turnning on the computer.

Did you take anything out with the power on? Sometimes that will mess the bios up. If the above doesn't work try switching out the memory, cpu and vid card. Double check jumpers for cpu.

Good luck with it.

Will

 

[Willoughbyva]

BTW if it still does'nt work try taking the cmos battery out for a couple hours.


EDIT: When taking the cmos battery out make sure the motherboard is not getting power from any other source, so disconnect the powersupply feed to the mb.

Will

 

[KyleMac]

I can't try anything right now so I'll have to wait until tomorrow. How exactly would you reseat an AGP videocard on a motherboard with 1 AGP socket?

Is there any difference between taking the cmos battery out for a couple of hours and just simply reseting the cmos?

 

[Willoughbyva]

In a few cases I have heard that taking the cmos battery out and having nothing else giving the board power had lead to the board booting afterwards. It seems that there might still be some traces of energy left in the cmos and it not totally being cleared by just shorting it out. It is probably a long shot, but it might be one more thing that you can try. If you try everything else you might as well try that too since it has a slight possiability of working.

Hopefully after you strip all of the stuff off the board except the bare essentials it will post. In a lot of the cases it does work.

Reseating the vid card and memory is just where you take it out and make sure that it is properly in place "seated" when you put it back in. Sometimes when moving a computer or other time when you have done nothing, the parts will just slip out a little and it causes it not to work.

Good luck with it.

Will

 

[KyleMac]

I've done everything mentioned now with no success.

I've tried 2 HDDs, 2 PSUs, about 30 cables and 1 motherboard. I think the mobo screwed itself up in the 2 weeks it was sitting in a box.

 

[KyleMac]

Now, me and my mate have stripped the whole thing down and re-assembled. NOTHING. We are completly out of ideas and are becoming annoyed. Any idea, no matter how stupid is worth a shot. Pleae help!!

 

[KyleMac]

I didn't type the above reply but it does basically summarise the whole situation. I've spent the last 3 hours trying to fix it.

At one point we got the comp to boot by pushing the IDE cables in very hardly. However we got the "no 80 conductor blah" thing again (we had a 40 conductor IDE cable in). So I said that I was pretty sure changing the cables would fix it, but we knew the risks. Of course afterwards it wouldn't boot again. We rebuilt the whole computer almost hammering everything in and still no success.