On 12 Nov 98 at 9:58, Ashok Bhiman wrote:

>   I have an old CD Drive which is not working properly. When the
> data cable is plugged in, there is no display at all i.e. I cannot
> boot the system. If the data cable is removed, the system boots and
> the CD Drive is energised i.e. the light comes on and I can both
> open and close it. Of courseit cannot be used since the data cable
> is not connected. I am stumped. Any help would be welcome.

  Unfortunately, the IDE/EIDE/ATAPI standard is not the only 40-pin
interface used on CD-ROM drives.  It's about all you'll find *now*,
but you describe this as an "old" drive and so it may have a
proprietary interface from Sony, Mitsubishi, Panasonic or others.
When such a drive is connected to an IDE/EIDE controller, the
machine's refusal to boot is about the best result you could hope
for.
  Your best bets are either (a) find an old sound card that offers
three or four interfaces, and determine which one your drive actually
needs, or (b) donate the drive to some worthy cause.

David G

                Curious about the people moderating your
                   messages? Visit our staff web site:
                     http://nospin.com/pc/staff.html