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Hot swappable IDE harddrives

Discussion in 'Legacy Windows' started by kencl, 2003/12/15.

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  1. 2003/12/15
    kencl

    kencl Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi Folks,

    Wondering if anyone knows how to force windows explorer to refresh the folder view in such a way that it redetects connected IDE harddrives and reenumerates drive letters?

    I have a Genica GN210 Removable harddrive bay (2 actually) and a bunch of trays with different HDs in them. In System Properties -> Device Manager -> Disk Drives -> Appropriate IDE drive -> Properties -> Settings (whew) I have the "Removable" checkbox checked. However, it seems that in order for Windows to recognize that I have swapped HD's and reenumerate drive letters, I must reboot. (Some HD's have one partition while others have 2 or more).

    I have tried setting the IDE controller connected to the drive bay to "AUTO" detect HD settings in CMOS and also to "NONE" (yes, I'm aware that setting it to NONE means it isn't visible in DOS). The only difference seems to be that the CDRom is assigned a drive letter below the removable drive's partitions when it's set to "NONE" in the bios, while it's set to the highest assigned drive letter when set to "AUTO ".

    I'd even be happy with a simply utility which works similarly to Linux's "mount" and "unmount" commands. An explorer shell extension which adds itself to the context menu would be ideal :)

    Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
     
    kencl,
    #1
  2. 2003/12/15
    merlin

    merlin Inactive

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    Hi kencl, I use these racked HDDs also but I have never found
    Windows see a new one without a re-boot.
    Maybe the reason is that memory is not refreshed when a new
    disk is inserted ? I do not change them too often so a reboot is
    not a big problem here.
    I do not know of any 3rd party app that will get round the problem.
    regards
     
    merlin,
    #2


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  4. 2003/12/15
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    From the link you provided:

    Plug the IDE cable into the hard drive. Locate the power lead inside the removable hard drive rack. Plug the power lead into the hard drive. Set the hard drive into the removable hard drive rack, align the ***** points on the drive to the mounting points on the removable hard drive rack. Secure the hard drive into the removable hard drive rack with at least four screws.

    Insert the removable hard drive rack into the removable hard drive bay. Use the included keys to place the keylock in the "locked" position .
    Turn on the computer. The hard drive will be automatically recognized; however, to enable hot swapping features†, some minor changes will need to be made through the software.

    Setting up the Drive in the BIOS
    Enter the BIOS‡ of the computer, and set the drive installed to the removable hard drive tray to "AUTO-DETECTâ€. This will allow the computer system to automatically detect the type and size of the hard drive. Exit the BIOS and save the changes.

    Configuring Windows 98/98SE for Hot-Swapping with the Removable Hard Drive Tray
    Once the system has booted into Windows, click the Start button, click "Settingsâ€, and then click "Control Panelâ€. Once the control panel has opened, double click the icon labeled "Systemâ€. In the System window, click the "Device Manager" tab. A listing of all hardware installed to the system is listed here. Locate the listing for "Disk Drivesâ€. Click the plus sign (+) to expand the listings here. Determine which of the listed drives is the drive installed to the removable hard drive tray. Highlight this hard drive by single clicking the listing, and then click the "Properties" button. In the properties window, click the "Settings" tab, and place a check mark next to the "Removable" option. Press the "OK" button to save the changes.

    * The drive MUST be installed to the secondary channel for operation.

    ** If you are unsure how to change the options jumpers to Cable Select, please consult the documentation that shipped with the hard drive.

    *** If you are unsure of the location of pin-1 on the hard drive, please consult the documentation that shipped with the hard drive.
    If you do not place the keylock in the "locked" position, the computer will not recognize the hard drive.

    † Please note that hot-swapping is not supported under Windows NT/Me/XP.
     
    Steve R Jones,
    #3
  5. 2003/12/15
    kencl

    kencl Inactive Thread Starter

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    Thanks for taking the time to post Steve. I have, however, done everything "by the book ". The issue isn't can I access a new swapped in drive, but can I access all partitions on that drive. IE, if the drive in the bay on bootup has only 1 partition, I can hot swap to another drive and explore it's first partition, but no other partitions. That's really why I need the rerecognition of attached drives and it's associated reenumeration of (more) drive letters.

    A second, less important reason is that if I remove the drive (or just turn off the power key), the drive letter assignment remains in explorer, so if I accidentally look into that drive, the computer freezes until I put a drive back in and turn on the power.

    As a work around for now what I'll do is always insert the drive with the most partitions on boot up then swap in the drive I want.
     
    kencl,
    #4
  6. 2003/12/15
    merlin

    merlin Inactive

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    I still think you can try forever with this - and then reboot ...
    regards
     
    merlin,
    #5
  7. 2003/12/27
    Profgab101

    Profgab101 Inactive

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    This was recommended to me.

    Try this Swap Manager - it is simular to "BayManager" software used to swap items in laptops. - @ $6.99 it might be worth it.

    Here is the mfg's websight with product info on SwapManager.

    EDIT:
     
    Last edited: 2003/12/27
    Profgab101,
    #6
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