From: "Peter Darrach" :Sent: Saturday, August 12, 2000 1:50 PM
Subject: [PCBUILD] CD drive not recognized
> Hi People!
>
> Until I decided to add a spare HD [2GB] to my backup computer it was
> working fine within the limits of its 500 MB HD and 16 MB of RAM.
>
> It was setup, in a new AT case with a 200 watt power supply, as follows:
> Houston i430VX motherboard, Award BIOS, with an Evergreen MXPro 200 MHz
CPU.
> The 500 MB HD set as Master on the Primary IDE
> Two 8 MB 72 pin SIMM modules.
> A 32X CD drive on the Secondary IDE [Don't ask why but it was set as Slave
> and worked. An apparent unintentional error on my part.]
> A 3 1/2 floppy drive on the FDC
> Win 95, first edition and software for Internet, fax, correspondence, etc.
> to the limit of the HD capacity.
>
> When I upgraded the HD in my main computer I decided to install the old 2
> GB HD in the backup machine. Hardware changes are:
> Master HD on Primary IDE: 2 GB IBM Deskstar AT HD
> Slave HD on Primary IDE: 500 MB Seagate AT HD
> The 32X CD drive now set as Master on the Secondary IDE
>
> After installation I set the CMOS to Auto detect for the Primary and
> Secondary IDEs and then FDISKed and Formatted both drives. They were
> correctly recognized. The CD was not! I tried, I think, all the detection
> options to no avail.
>
> I then started installing the operating system hoping something would
> correct the problem. Since DOS 5 was my original full system I started
> there and then installed the upgrades - DOS 6, DOS 6.11, Win 3.1 and Win
> for Workgroups. I am stalled there because I need a CD drive to install
Win 95.
>
> On the hardware side I tried disconnecting the secondary HD and then
> setting the CD as Slave on the Primary IDE. I also tried it in its
> original configuration as Slave on the Secondary IDE. In all cases the
> activity light indicates that the CD is being accessed during boot up but
> when I insert an audio or data CD it will spin up but then stop.
>
> I have also checked and rechecked all my connections and changed the
ribbon
> cable. I installed the CD drive in my main computer and it is
automatically
> detected and works properly.
>
> Comment to read if you have nothing better to do: To speak politely, the
> Houston board is probably the source of the problem- since I never make
> mistakes! It has been crappy from day one. The manual was poor [probably
> written for a different board entirely] and I finally had to get a new
> board when, despite supposedly supporting SDRAM 168 pin DIMMx2 it would
> not. On top of that the lithium battery cell is cleverly soldered in a
> black box, not identified on the component location chart and costs about
> $40 to replace. I spent $1.98 on a new battery and did a delicate
> soldering job. My normal fix it all tool is a sledge hammer....
>
> Anyway, I'm lost! Can anyone lead me out of the wilderness? How can I get
> the CD recognized?
>
> Have a good weekend and thanks in advance.
>
> Peter Darrach
>
Peter,
You do not mention whether you ever installed the drivers for the CD Rom or
not. Dos and Windows 3.1, and Windows for Workgroups need real mode drivers
installed for the CD Rom to work. If you have the CD Rom drivers that came
with your cod you should install them for your Cod Rom to be recognized. If
you do not have the drivers that came with the CD Rom you can find a
universal CD Rom driver on the NOSPIN site that should work:
http://nospin.com/pc/files001.html . Scroll down to the Universal IDE CD
Rom Driver and download it. You will need a Zip program to open the file.
The readme.txt contains the instructions on how to modify a boot disk. You
can then boot from your modified boot disk, which will load the CD Rom
drivers and change drives to your CD Rom drive and install Win95.
Hope this helps
Mary Wolden
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