I had several multi I/O cards.  Some of them do require driver to turn on
the second IDE port (though the jumper is set to turn on already.)  I
didn't realize that before, and I had my CD-ROM connect to the second IDE
port.  Sometimes I need to reboot multiple times to get my CD-ROM driver to
loaded.  It worked every time after I load the I/O card's driver.  For some
card, driver is not only for enable 32-bit access, it is also required to
turn on the second IDE port.

But, if you do have a soundcard that has a IDE port conflicting with your
secondary IDE.  You do need to find a way to disable it.  Or, if you don't
have whole lot harddrives. just disable the secondary IDE on the multi I/O
card (I think that should be easier) and use the IDE port on the soundcard.
 But, if you do so, you will not be able to run harddrive off the sound
card.

Constance Chang

>
> On  4 May 98 at 20:43, Dale wrote:
>
> > I have never had to deal with the multi I/O boards that are used
> > in 486 computers. (2 serial, 1 parallel, 2 IDE ports). Is there any
> > driver software that has to be loaded for these boards?
>
>   The only driver I have needed with these was to enable 32-bit
> file/disk I/O.  If you don't have the diskette that came with the
> board, try the manufacturer's home page or a driver search site such
> as Frank Condron's.
>
> > I have a friends 486 that they tried to re-installed W3.11 on, and
> > now the CD-Rom drive doesn't work. It is attached to one of the IDE
> > ports.
> >
> > The sound board installed on the computer has an CDrom IDE
> > connector on it also. Would I need driver software and how would I
> > configure the sound board to handle the CD-Rom ?
>
>   First of all, ensure that this port and the CD-ROM are both really
> EIDE.  There were several other CD-ROM interfaces in the 486 era....
>
>   The "usual" question is "How do I *disable* the sound card's
> interface to keep it from conflicting with the second IDE channel on
> my board?"  I think that's most likely your problem, and the answer
> will depend on the sound card.  Some use a jumper or switch, some use
> a software utility.
>
> David G