Primary/Secondary IDE problems

McWord · January 20th, 2003, 01:03 PM

Hello, everybody.

Here's an odd problem. I have a 15Gb HDD on my Primary IDE channel (0). If it's alone and I configure it as a single, everything's fine. No boot problems.

However, if I add a Zip 100Mb drive in (1) on the Primary channel (as a Slave) and configure the HDD as Master, I can't Hard Boot the system successfully. I get a "HDD Diagnois Fail" error message.

Here's the kicker: if I soft boot from the error screen (Ctl-Alt-Del), my system boots normally and everything's hunkey dorey. I have access to all drives without any problems.

I have tried to add the Zip drive to the Secondary channel (in position 1, as I have a CD-ROM in position 0). I still cannot hardboot the system. I can still soft boot, but my drive integrity is lost. I can no longer see the Zip.

I have adjusted the BIOS (1012, the most current non-Beta version) for each configuration, and I know that it is set properly.

I have heard that there is a Beta version 1014 out there, but I hesitate using it because I'm running Windows XP. XP does not provide access to DOS, except as an emulation.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thx

McWord

**EvilRick** · January 20th, 2003, 01:35 PM

To update your BIOS you would have to use a bootdisk, not from a DOS prompt or "emulation" window.

You gave good info, except for what the mobo was. You say you have all the BIOS settins set correctly, does it recognize the Zip drive in the BIOS or during bootup?

At least let us know what kind of mobo it is. Thnx.

Wizzard~Of~Ozz · January 20th, 2003, 01:41 PM

Have you tried you zip drive as secondary master with CDrom as slave?

bill1971 · January 20th, 2003, 02:01 PM

I agree w/ ER and Wizz:
Typically, when you update the BIOS, the operating system doesn't come into play at all. I updated a BIOS on a new PC build with no drives attached at all, except for the floppy.

Now, some of the more recent boards,(e.g. Giga-byte, among others) do seem to have a feature whereby the BIOS can be updated from w/in the OS, so you can just download the updated
BIOS and install, however, I've not used it yet.

Let me add a question: If you remove the Zip drive altogether, does your system boot normally?
Also, you mention the drive set in "single" mode. Is it a Western Digital drive? Is your PC custom built or is it a Dell, HP,Gateway, or the like?
More info is always good. . .oh, and welcome to TechIMO ; these guys are good, and more than helpful.

- Bill

McWord · January 20th, 2003, 02:28 PM

Lots of good info, guys. Thx!

First, it is an Asus P2B (400MHz) board that has an auto-detect that works normally. In the CMOS, I have turned off all detection except for the Primary Master (the HDD). However, this does not matter as, if I turned the Primary Slave, Secondary Master, etc. to Auto, the same boot problem exists.

Now, at one point I removed the Zip from the system totally and, as long as the HDD is set to "Single" (it is a WD drive), the system boots normally.

I don't know if this ASUS board supports a BIOS update via the OS (I don't even know is XP is capable of that), but I hesitate updating with a Beta version of the BIOS.

One thing I didn't try was Mastering the Zip on the secondary channel with the CD-ROM as slave. I shall give that a whirl, though.

Thx for the help!!

McWord

bill1971 · January 20th, 2003, 02:57 PM

McW:
OK, that's a slightly older board, and definitely requires a bootdisk to upgrade the BIOS, as Rick said.

Could be that the I/O does not support Zip drives, or LS-120s, and the like. I have a board about 4-5 years old that doesn't support those.

What evidence do you have that you have updated the BIOS successfully? If you haven't used the bootdisk method to execute the flash utility program, and then installed the new BIOS version, my guess is that you haven't updated the BIOS at all.

I'll check the Asus site and do a little digging. . .
Looking at the manual(briefly), the Zip drive should be supported.
I have a very similar board(Biostar) using the same Intel 440BX chipset,so you shouldn't need a BIOS update at all.

- Bill

McWord · January 24th, 2003, 09:25 PM

Hello, everyone.

Here's the latest on this wierd problem. I removed the Zip from the Primary channel and put on the secondary channel with my CD-ROM.

I alternated Master/Slave for each of the components and in no case was the Zip recognized. When the system booted up, the Zip was not in My Computer window.

I returned everything back to the way it was (HDD Primary Master, Zip Primary Slave and CD-ROM Secondary Master).

At least I can get the system to boot up!

Thx for all the help!!

stroyal · January 24th, 2003, 10:14 PM

I reciently had a tyan BX board that recognized a 250 MB Zip normaly and worked just fine, but when I tried to run fdisk and format C: I would get dumper back to the A: prompt. I later found that if I put a disk in the zip everything worked normaly

McWord · January 25th, 2003, 12:52 PM

Good idea! I put a disk in the Zip drive and gave it a try. Unfortunately, on hard boot, I experienced a Hard Disc(s) Diagnosis Failure. On soft boot (from that screen), however, everything works fine.

Thx for the help!!

McWord

herura · January 25th, 2003, 03:36 PM

I had a similar problem and it turned out to be the battery. If the battery cannot keep the BIOS updated it forgets its settings every time you turn it off. Then when you turn it on again it tries to discover all hardware attached to the MB. If it does not recognize the Zip as a removable disk device, like a floppy, then it will try to determine the drive geometry. That will fail, due to the device not having a disk in, and will give you an error message. Since you have an older MB, I suggest replacing the battery, they are cheap and it might just fix your problem.
Good Luck