1. You are viewing our forum as a guest. For full access please Register. WindowsBBS.com is completely free, paid for by advertisers and donations.

Installing HD as slave off DVD Burner

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by jasondragon, 2004/12/25.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
Page 1 of 2
  1. 2004/12/25
    jasondragon

    jasondragon Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2004/12/25
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    New Dell 8400.

    I installed the HD as a slave off the DVD Burner and have the jumpers set as slave.

    Everything was working fine until I installed a game with multiple CDs. Upon switching CD's, the eject button does not work. I rechecked the IDE cables and they are pushed in all the way.

    After rebooting the DVD drive works as does the eject, but on each attempt to reinstall the game, after switching the next disc, the drive dissapears in my computer.

    What might I have done wrong in the install? Do I need to setup the DVD drive and make sure its set at master? If so, how might I find out what the correct jumper settings look like? Or am I just completely wrong? :)
     
    jasondragon,
    #1
  2. 2004/12/26
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    Hi jasondragon,
    welcome to the Windows BBS ...... :) ...... !

    How many drives do You have? I wouldn't think that You only have the two mentioned!

    If You have two HDDs and two opticals, try separating by connecting the HDDs to IDE0 and the opticals to IDE1. The boot HDD and Burner as Master on the respective channel.

    (I jumper all my IDE drives as Cable Select. Then, I can shift them around as I like without rejumpering. The Master goes on the end of the cable.)

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #2


  3. to hide this advert.

  4. 2004/12/26
    jasondragon

    jasondragon Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2004/12/25
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Thanks Chris!

    I've got a 80gb HD, it is on a blue small cable connected to the motherboard. I'm not sure what kind of connection that is.

    Then the dvd drive is connected to the new HD. I changed the new HD to cable select and that seems to have fixed it.

    Many thanks!!
     
    jasondragon,
    #3
  5. 2004/12/26
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    I checked the Dell homepage for the Dimension 8400 and as I understand it;

    - the 80 GB harddisk is a SATA (Serial ATA)

    - You have added the new harddisk which is a PATA (Parallel ATA)

    - the above means that You can forget what I said about connecting the two harddisks on the same cable since it is not possible (SATA = small, PATA = flat)

    I'm ...... :) ...... that You fixed it!

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #4
  6. 2005/01/15
    jasondragon

    jasondragon Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2004/12/25
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Thanks for the help Chris!
     
    jasondragon,
    #5
  7. 2005/01/15
    jasondragon

    jasondragon Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2004/12/25
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    HD Speed is unbearably slow

    I have a SATA HD 80gb, and a PATA 300gb HD that is cable select off my DVD drive.

    The problem is using a HD speed program, my SATA HD reads around 50mb/s whereas the 300gb reads at 1.5mb/s.

    What can I do to speed this up? Why is it reading so slow? Because it is a slave to the DVD drive?

    edit: I've learned I need to get the HD off the optical drive as it will slow HD speeds. so my next question is.

    IDE to SATA or a PCI IDE? Can anyone recommend? I'd rather almost have the IDE to SATA due to only 1 pci slot left in my Dell 8400.
     
    Last edited: 2005/01/15
    jasondragon,
    #6
  8. 2005/01/16
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

    Joined:
    2002/05/10
    Messages:
    28,896
    Likes Received:
    389
    I have no experience of SATA, but on my mobo the Sata connections are separate from the std EIDE controllers. Can you not plug the 300 GB directly to EIDE 1 on the mobo?

    Alternatively set the drive as Master and the DVD as slave?
     
    PeteC,
    #7
  9. 2005/01/16
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

    Joined:
    2002/05/10
    Messages:
    28,896
    Likes Received:
    389
    This thread relate to your other on the same subject - Merging
     
    PeteC,
    #8
  10. 2005/01/16
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    Is the cable connecting the burner and PATA to the motherboard a 40-pin 40-conductor cable or a 40-pin 80-conductor cable?

    Since manufacturers are cheap, it wouldn't surprize me if it is the former.

    The latter is needed for full performance of the PATA but not for full performance of the burner.

    Go to System properties > Hardware > Device manager > IDE controllers > Primary (?) > Advanced settings and check which DMA mode is active. The PATA should run at "Ultra DMA mode 5" if it is an ATA100.

    I have run mixed opticals (ATA33) and harddisks (ATA100) and the optical was running at "Ultra DMA mode 2" while the harddisk was running at "Ultra DMA mode 5 ".
    Running under Windows, the proper drivers are loaded to allow independent device timing but when running under DOS, what You say in my quote is true.

    (There have been discussions about what independent device timing actually is but the above is according to my experience, using AIDA 32 to bench my drives.)

    Tell us what You find in device manager and check the 40/80 cable issue.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #9
  11. 2005/01/16
    jasondragon

    jasondragon Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2004/12/25
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hmm Device 0 is running at Ultra DMA Mode 2 whereas Device 1 is running at PIO mode.

    Not sure about the 40 or 80 pin. I removed the factory IDE cable and switched it for the cable that came with the Maxtor 300gb. Will have to look this up.
     
    jasondragon,
    #10
  12. 2005/01/16
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    From an earlier post:

    The fact that You use Cable Select, indicates that it is a 80-conductor cable. CS doesn't work with a 40-conductor cable. I'm speculating here but it may be the problem if it is set to CS on a 40-conductor cable.
    (Should have read Your post a bit more carefully ...... :eek: ......)

    Then I'm sure it's a 80-conductor ...... ;) ...... manufacturers arent THAT cheap. My thought was that the original cable may be the 40-conductor variant since it was only connecting an ATA33 optical device when it left the assembly line.

    Correct me if I'm wrong but Device 0 = the DVD and Device 1 = the Maxtor. The DVD runs at its "design speed" Ultra DMA mode 2 (ATA33) but the Maxtor is at an even lower setting.

    When WinXP experiences read/write errors, it slows the transfer rate down until the errors cease to occur. In bad situations, it can end up in PIO mode.

    I have never had reason to do what I'm about to suggest but I have read suggestions to uninstall the IDE controller and restart the computer. This should force Windows to redetect the IDE controller and reinstall it. The harddisk should run at the "design speed" to begin with, since WinXP no longer has the information about the errors.

    If the transfer mode gets reduced again, it seems like a bad harddisk situation.

    Please, wait a few moments to follow my suggestion until someone confirms that it is correct!

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #11
  13. 2005/01/16
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

    Joined:
    2002/05/10
    Messages:
    28,896
    Likes Received:
    389
    The advice by Christer is sound.

    Before doing that I suggest you disconnect the DVD drive and jumper the HD as Master and test again. Ckeck in Device Manager if DMA mode is available for the HD - it should be. If this fails to solve the problem then try removing the IDE controller and rebooting.
     
    PeteC,
    #12
  14. 2005/01/16
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    Pete,
    thanks for the confirmation ...... :) ...... !

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #13
  15. 2005/01/17
    mattman

    mattman Inactive Alumni

    Joined:
    2002/06/10
    Messages:
    8,198
    Likes Received:
    63
    Yes, if it works well look at rearranging them as HD master and DVD slave.

    Maybe not necessarily so, I have seen an optical drive make other drives "disappear" because it did not "like" it's configuration. It may be due to the DVD drive rather than the HD.

    You could check at Dell if there may be a firmware update for the DVD drive (or look on the information label on the drive itself and check at the drive manufacturers website).

    The suggestions here are really good, if you get bogged down though, try the Dell Community Forums...it may be a "Dell thing" (forces beyond our control :D ).

    Matt
     
    mattman,
    #14
  16. 2005/01/18
    jasondragon

    jasondragon Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2004/12/25
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Removing the IDE driver and rebooting set both devices to PIO mode. I haven't be able to switch the jumpers yet and make the HD master and the dvd drive slave. Will report changes when I do so.

    I'm also considering just getting a PCI IDE card.
     
    jasondragon,
    #15
  17. 2005/01/19
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    This is a piece of "wait for confirmation" advice again but I believe You should uninstall the hardware, not only the driver.

    In Device Manager, I assume that the setting is "DMA if available" and not "PIO only ".

    I would try setting both to Cable Select, connect the HDD to the end connector and the DVD to the middle connector. Modern drives should work fine on CS but in rare (?) combinations they need to be set to Master and Slave.

    Christer
     
    Last edited: 2005/01/19
    Christer,
    #16
  18. 2005/01/19
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    Christer,
    #17
  19. 2005/01/19
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

    Joined:
    2002/05/10
    Messages:
    28,896
    Likes Received:
    389
    Uninstall and Uninstall driver are one and the same in this case, IMO as there is no physical hardware to remove.
     
    PeteC,
    #18
  20. 2005/01/19
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

    Joined:
    2002/12/17
    Messages:
    6,585
    Likes Received:
    74
    In Device Manager > IDE ATA/ATAPI-controllers > Primary IDE-channel >

    - if I right-click, I can choose "Uninstall "

    - if I right-click and choose Properties > Driver > I can choose "Uninstall "

    There must be a difference and the MS article I linked to says:

    I interpret that as the former of my two alternatives ...... :confused: ...... right?

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #19
  21. 2005/01/19
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

    Joined:
    2002/05/10
    Messages:
    28,896
    Likes Received:
    389
    On reflection you could well be right!
     
    PeteC,
    #20
Page 1 of 2
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Accept Learn More...