Ultra BIOS not found / Operating system not found

Remade all connections

Yes! He even took the card right out, then reseated it. He unplugged and reconnected the ribbon-cable at both ends (ie at the drive and at the card). He experimentally rebooted the computer with the card in place but the drive unplugged. It rebooted perfectly with no error messsages. Experimentally he also rebooted the PC with the drive plugged in to the other socket on the card - usual errors. So this doesn't help. The ribbon-cable is now back where it was
David

 

Can we be so sure it in not the drive?

Rockster2U
With a cold reboot the errors disappeared when the Promise controller card was still plugged in but the disk drive was disconnected from it. Does this suggest that the second drive might be faulty? How could I check this?
David

 

You have me a little confused. Lets rehash - drive 0 was your IBM and contained your Operating System, Drive 1 (unknown) had partitions D & E and contained mostly irreplaceable data. Now you disconnected drive 0 from the promise controller card and did what with it prior to your cold boot? Can I assume it was re-cabled to an IDE header on the MoBo? Is that what you booted to? And, what about the other drive - drive 1? I may have missed it, but what OS are you running? Need some more info here before commenting. You previously said SiSoft Sandra gave Drive 0 a Clean Bill of Health.

PS - replacement packed, not yet shipped - will be going out today.

 

No Pints left in Staffordshire?

 

Which HD is which

My master disk (which runs from a controller on the mobo) is drive 0 and according to Software Sandra is IBM-DFDPA-372050 SCSI disk device. My second disk (drive 1) is a Seagate Barracuda ST340016A SCSI disk device and I can only "see" it with Karen's Computer Profiler. (Nothing else can see it). The ribbon cable from it goes to a Promise controller card. My O/S is on 0 and this is how my computer is working now. I have not changed the designation of any drive. and if it runs at all it is from drive 0.
The experiment we did was as follows: leave everthing as it had been but with computer off just unplug the second drive. Then cold start and look for any error messages. Result: none at all and a clean boot. Karen's CP was still displaying the second drive details so this utility was not reading the drive details afresh.
Does this experiment prove anything?
David

 

Yes, most definately does. I think what we are all wondering is what would happen if you leave Drive 0 as it is and then connect Drive 1 to a regular IDE header (jumpered appropriately). This would help answer whether or not the problem is the Promise controller card and or its drivers versus whether or not your hard drive is hosed. If the drive is readable when cabled to a MoBo IDE header, then its definately the card or drivers and if its not readable, then the drive can potentially be isolated as at least one of your problems. Don't rule out the possibility that the file system on the drive could be hosed due to the controller and yet, physically, the drive might be just fine.

 

I'll try it when the new card is in place

Rockseter2U
I'll certainly try this when the new controller from you comes in 5 - 7 days time and post the results when my son is able to install it -- say, nearer the end of May. Meanwhile I keep fingers crossed that my C drive continues to hold the fort.
David

 

No reason you can't get your son to help you do the above (my previous post) in the meantime - point being, you want to isolate and identify the problem.

 

THE problem

Rockster2U
Sure do! Any suggestions HOW apart from the exercise to decide whether it's a disk problem or a controller card? Or is this the first priority?
David

 

David:
You can do anything you want to do. I'm certainly no "end all" - other folks may have other ideas. There's not necessarily any "first priority" - I just gave you a suggestion that may help isolate and identify the problem. Thats what I would do, but others may have other ideas and you may want to try another approach. Simply put, that would be my next step - whether or not its yours - thats your call.

 

No other ideas.

davidgibbons,

I have lots of experience with this sort of problem and I completely agree with Rockster2U's suggestions. Diagnosis is the basis of successful repair.