Just to be sure....

[eagle1]

Hi ppl:

A friend of mine came to me with a pc problem and I tried to help him as much as I could but... I want to make sure.

The thing is that the computer boots and says non system disk... etc.
So we booted with a floppy. When we wrote: "c:", it came with a invalid drive specification.
Then I tried to run fdisk and it said that there were no fixed disks present. I replaced the cable, changed it from primare IDE to secondary IDE and no luck. So finally I took the HD out and installed it in my machine and it worked.

So.... my question is: are the onboard IDE channels busted or is it another thing????

What could he do? A controller card or something? Any help will be appreciated.!!


Eagle1 signing off.....

[daveleau]

Does it see the hdd during the POST? If not then it could be that the Primary IDE and Secondary IDE controllers are set to none in the BIOS. Set them to Auto and see if there is any change. otherwise, I'd say there might be something worn with the controllers ont the mobo.

Dave

In the words of the immoral Socal, "Darn keyboard!" my typing is attrocious.

[This message has been edited by daveleau (edited 08-02-2000).]

[eagle1]

The BIOS is set to auto-detect. It doesn't recognize the HD. I even put the cylinders and all that info manually but no luck. So I guess it's really the IDE channels.

Where could I find a controller card, or which is the best, etc..????


P.S. And you think your typing is atrocious.!???? hahahaha

[Imperion1]

In the Bios, along with the HD parameters did you also set it to LBA?

[spark25]

First i would try to clear the comos. There is usually a jumper on your mobo for this. If not ,just remove the battery,that will reset the bios,reinstall battery and set bios to auto detect and then see if your drive is then recognized.

[This message has been edited by spark25 (edited 08-03-2000).]

[GroundZero3]

i had the same problem on my first computer too. what i didn't do was have bios recongize my harddrive. try that what size is it?
JaYsin

[eagle1]

Well, I tried everything. Imperion, the BIOS is set to LBA=on, PIO mode=auto. So that should not give any problems (I think). I cleared the cmos, but nothing.

The drive is a seagate 2gig HD.

[eagle1]

I found out about Promise controller cards. Are they any good? Are they tricky to install or configure?

Any other suggestion?

[KAknight]

I had a friend that had a lot of trouble getting his Promise card to work. You might want to try another brand.

[spark25]

I don't think a card is his answer.Try replacing the IDE cables first and use a different power plug off the wiring harness.

[Mungla]

Yea, I would defently try using a different cable. It could also be the power plug, try using a different one. If neither of those two methods work, then I don't know what to tell you. The Promise UDMA/66 cards are not all that bad in price if I remember correctly. If the motherboard he has only supports UDMA/33, the Promise controller might be something you would want anyways.

[BFlurie]

Check the male pins on either end of the HD connector-pin array. Sometimes from the way the connector is pulled out, a pin on one end will get bent slightly & doesn't make proper contact, even tho it goes into the female connector.

[This message has been edited by BFlurie (edited 08-04-2000).]

[Beemers]

Don't you hate when your pin does't fit the female connector?