Problems with drives showing up and computer starting

[BustaBust]

I installed a new hard drive a week ago then I took it out and put the original back in. The computer came configured like this : IDE1 - Hard drive and DVD-ROM IDE2 - CDRW Well when I plug up more than one drive (hard drive and any cd device). I've tried putting a burner in IDE2 and hard drive in IDE1,DVD-ROM in IDE2 and hard drive in IDE1 and any other possible combinations with the drives. The computer won't even get passed the mode in DOS where it reads all the drives present. It just hangs. When I only start it with the hard drive in it'll load the show the hard drive and start right up. I don't understand how this could happen. My computer came with a burner in IDE2 and hard drive and dvd rom shared to IDE1 and now it won't work. I would appreciate any help.

Thanks in Advance.

 

[pyrojunkie]

Did you mess with any of the Master/Slave settings? Do you know the current settings on all the drives?

Cable select settings are postional. If one drive is set for master, and the other cable select, the drive set for cable select needs to be positioned in the slave spot of the cable(at the end).

 

[BustaBust]

I think everything is on cable select. There is no set master just auto detection. How can I tell what is and isn't in cable select, just in case?

Thanks.

 

[pyrojunkie]

You need to check the jumper settings on the drives. Usually there is a key to read the jumper settings on the drives. Sometimes you need to goto the manufacturers website to figure the jumpers out. On optical drives, its usually labeled MA,SL,CS right above the jumper. Hard drives aren't always labeled as easily.

 

[BustaBust]

Its on cable select. Now what?

 

[pyrojunkie]

If all the drives on Cable Select, make sure you set them up in the BIOS. Its usually pretty easy at most BIOS give you an option to auto-detect the drives. Things should work from then on.

 

[BustaBust]

It already is setup up that way. That's the issue here, they wont show up and whenever I have a burner or dvd drive hooked up while the hard drive is hooked up it'll just hang at detection and computer wont start up. When I take out the burner or the dvd drive and leave just the hard drive it'll load up. It'll also load up if I just leave a dvd drive or a burner in without the hard drive....but then obviously there is no operating system on it.

 

[dexmanone]

I never trust "cable select". I'd decide what you want where, of course the HD being the Primary Master, and then change the jumpers accordingly. Even the HD, change to Master and so on. This should do it.

 

[BustaBust]

yeah yeah, but if it was originally configured like this and I put it back exactly how it was.....how come it won't work!?

Damn Garbage In Garbage Out doesn't apply to this.

 

[BustaBust]

I set them up manually and still nothing. I put them all on cable select and still nothing.

Any other suggestions?

Bios:Auto detect
All drives: Cable select (I've also tried Master,slave.....)

I remember once when I was putting in my new hard drive it gave me an option to change something over to ATA 100.
Now do you think it stayed that way and the non-ATA 100 drives such as, DVD-ROM and burner are not working because they are ATA 100? Is there a way to change it back?

 

[pyrojunkie]

Clear the BIOS.

 

[BustaBust]

I already tried that. Today I got the new 250gb hard drive hooked up along with the old 120gb. They both ran but then it would never go into Windows. It said "disk read error press ctrl + alt + delete to reset"

What the hell does that mean? The 120gb had the original Windows XP on it and it was ran as a primary master. THe new 250gb had a 1:1 copy done from the 120gb and was ran as a secondary master.

Whats wrong??

I put every drive on Cable Select too....and it didn't go past detection
I can only run one cd drive or one hard drive at a time or else it won't go past detection. Obviously, running a cd drive wont load Windows because it is not a hard drive.
Somebody help.

 

[BustaBust]

Pyrojunkie?.......anybody

 

[pyrojunkie]

I have to admit, I am stumped. There is a detail I must be missing.

BTW did your new HD come with a controller card?

 

[BustaBust]

Yeah it came with a Ultra ATA Promise Card........ It doesn't need it to run and shows up fine.
What can it be!?

I've never had a problem like this before.

 

[BustaBust]

Come on people its been a month. Can someone help?

 

[BustaBust]

Anyone? Come on dammit

 

[lucky9]

tried different cables? check on the bus speed (IDE) that the opticals use/need. If the controller card is used for the hard disks? 80 conductor IDE cables?

 

[Swampster]

I have a couple of questions and suggestions . . .

What motherboard and what BIOS version do you have?
When you click on DEL (or whatever) to get into CMOS settings, what drives does it say you have, and where does it say they are.

You have two IDE channels . . . Primary and Secondary. The boot hard drive should be set to Master (or nothing, depending on which brand they are) and plugged into the end plug (probably grey) and the other end (probably blue) should be plugged into the Primary IDE port on the motherboard. Leave the middle plug empty.

Your two optical devices should be set to cable select and plugged into the two device plugs and that cable goes in the Secondary channel port on the motherboard. In all cases, make sure the tracer wire(usually red) is pointed to the power plug.

I would rather doubt if your motherboard is going to read a 240MB hard drive correctly . . . that is why it came with its own controller card. plug that in, plug the monster drive into that, and then be prepared to feed it drivers when windows boots.

 

[BustaBust]

First of all, is a 250gb hard drive. I've done what you said and my computer does read
the hard drive without the Ultra ATA card. It was limited because my LBA wasn't enabled. Again, I only had
1 drive then. Just the hard drive. No cd-rom drives.