emachines 360 - Install additional HDD as secondary slave - problem

[Fred Scheit]

The emachines handbook says to set the jumper on the additional HDD to
cable select, install in the empty bay underneath the CD-ROM drive,
plug the HDD into the slave connector on the ribbon that connects the
CD-ROM drive to the secondary IDE connector.

However, when I do this, and boot to Maxblast 3 from floppy, it says
that the CD-ROM drive and the additional HDD are not installed.

When I remove the additional HDD and reboot again to Maxblast 3, the
CD-ROM drive is recognised.

Have tried other permutations of the jumper, but always with the same
result: CD-ROM drive and the additional HDD are not installed.

Anyone any suggestions?

Many thanks,


Fred

 

[default]

The emachines handbook says to set the jumper on the additional HDD to
cable select, install in the empty bay underneath the CD-ROM drive,
plug the HDD into the slave connector on the ribbon that connects the
CD-ROM drive to the secondary IDE connector.

However, when I do this, and boot to Maxblast 3 from floppy, it says
that the CD-ROM drive and the additional HDD are not installed.

When I remove the additional HDD and reboot again to Maxblast 3, the
CD-ROM drive is recognised.

Have tried other permutations of the jumper, but always with the same
result: CD-ROM drive and the additional HDD are not installed.

Anyone any suggestions?

Many thanks,


Fred

Does the BIOS recognize the drive?

With older machines and larger hard drives you may encounter the 32GB
llimit. The bios won't recognize the drive. Some drives have a 32GB
jumper that is installed to limit the drive size to 32 (you can use it
with that limit or then install an overlay that will bring up the rest
of the capacity - the bios goes along seeing a 32gb drive but windows
will see the full capacity)

 

[Rod Speed]

Does the BIOS recognize the drive?

With older machines and larger hard drives you may
encounter the 32GB llimit. The bios won't recognize the drive.

In fact the system normally locks up if thats the problem.

 

[default]

pruned

In fact the system normally locks up if thats the problem.

I couldn't imagine it working as the boot drive - but my system worked
fine with an unrecognized drive plugged into the primary IDE as slave.

 

[Rod Speed]

I couldn't imagine it working as the boot drive

Yeah, tad hard for it to work if it locks up at boot time.

- but my system worked fine with an unrecognized
drive plugged into the primary IDE as slave.

Separate issue entirely. Thats always been one way of getting
around a read 32GB problem. Its unlikely thats HIS problem tho.

 

[Fred Scheit]

I have not looked at the BIOS, I assumed that Maxblast 3 needed to be
used first to install the HDD??

This additional HDD is Maxtor 15GB, that I have taken out of my old
Windows 95 PC, where it worked successfully as a primary slave.

My current PC has Windows XP Home OS.

I would like to install the additional HDD, re-format it, and install
Lindows Linux OS on it, then have a dual boot system: Windows XP Home
& Lindows, on separate HDD's.

Any help most appreciated!

Many thanks,


Fred

 

[Fred Scheit]

I have not looked at the BIOS, I assumed that Maxblast 3 needed to be
used first to install the HDD??

This additional HDD is Maxtor 15GB, that I have taken out of my old
Windows 95 PC, where it worked successfully as a primary slave.

My current PC has Windows XP Home OS.

I would like to install the additional HDD, re-format it, and install
Lindows Linux OS on it, then have a dual boot system: Windows XP Home
& Lindows, on separate HDD's.

Any help most appreciated!

Many thanks,


Fred

 

[default]

I have not looked at the BIOS, I assumed that Maxblast 3 needed to be
used first to install the HDD??

This additional HDD is Maxtor 15GB, that I have taken out of my old
Windows 95 PC, where it worked successfully as a primary slave.

My current PC has Windows XP Home OS.

I would like to install the additional HDD, re-format it, and install
Lindows Linux OS on it, then have a dual boot system: Windows XP Home
& Lindows, on separate HDD's.

Any help most appreciated!

Many thanks,


Fred

The bios MUST detect the drive (FIRST) before the operating system
can begin to work with it. Without the bios seeing the drive, you
can't even partition or format the drive.

The usual procedure is to press one of the function or delete key as
th bios loads (there should be a pause in the routine so you can do
so).

Once in the BIOS menus there should be an item showing the drives.
Navigate there and if there is a setting saying something like "auto
detect hard drives" choose it. You should then see the drive in the
BIOS

The max blast software is a partition/formatting aid, you still need
the bios to see the drive. The start up disk that comes with windows
will partition and format a drive as well - but is a little more
difficult to use.

I picked up a surplus emachine (700) some time ago and set it up with
Windows ME. The procedure was roughly the same as any other computer.
They aren't bad machines once you ditch their proprietary software.

I don't know about Lindows. I used Mandrake and it had software that
made my system dual boot. It modifies the master record and then asks
you each time you start the machine which OS you want to use then
loads it.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

The bios MUST detect the drive (FIRST) before the operating system
can begin to work with it.

Nope. Windows is fine with that.

[snip]

 

[Fred Scheit]

Many thanks for your assistance, I've now got the additional HDD up
and running.

I had to connect the additional HDD as a slave to the primary HDD, it
would not work as a secondary slave to the CD-ROM drive.

I've installed the Lindows Linux OS and it works OK (I'm using it
now!) with the dual boot installed by Lindows.

Now this is another question:

When I power up the PC it boots to Lindows screen with dual boot
options shown, for Lindows and Windows XP.

However, it shows Lindows as the default OS,and automatically loads
this after a few seconds.

It requires my physical input to boot to Windows XP instead.

I would prefer it the other way around, with Windows XP as the default
OS.

Any ideas how I may do this?

Many thanks again!

Fred

 

[Rod Speed]

The bios MUST detect the drive (FIRST) before
the operating system can begin to work with it.

Nope, only if its the boot drive.

Without the bios seeing the drive, you
can't even partition or format the drive.

You can with any of the Wins.

The usual procedure is to press one of the function or delete key as
the bios loads (there should be a pause in the routine so you can do so).

Once in the BIOS menus there should be an item showing
the drives. Navigate there and if there is a setting saying
something like "auto detect hard drives" choose it.

Its better to set an AUTO drive type in modern systems.

You should then see the drive in the BIOS

Not necessarily.

The max blast software is a partition/formatting
aid, you still need the bios to see the drive.
Nope.

The start up disk that comes with windows will partition and
format a drive as well - but is a little more difficult to use.

 

[default]

Many thanks for your assistance, I've now got the additional HDD up
and running.

I had to connect the additional HDD as a slave to the primary HDD, it
would not work as a secondary slave to the CD-ROM drive.

I've installed the Lindows Linux OS and it works OK (I'm using it
now!) with the dual boot installed by Lindows.

Now this is another question:

When I power up the PC it boots to Lindows screen with dual boot
options shown, for Lindows and Windows XP.

However, it shows Lindows as the default OS,and automatically loads
this after a few seconds.

It requires my physical input to boot to Windows XP instead.

I would prefer it the other way around, with Windows XP as the default
OS.

Any ideas how I may do this?

Many thanks again!

Fred

Isn't that annoying? Mandrake did the same thing.

It has been awhile since I fooled with it, but someone on a Linux
group did have hex editor fix for boot sector code that would switch
the boot OS. You'll have to search for it.

There was another work around using a floppy to tell it which OS to
open to. Adds to the boot time - but if you're not there to watch it
load that doesn't matter to you. Leave the floppy in and it boots to
windows, take it out and make a choice with a default of the Linux OS.

The fix I liked the best was to add a DPDT or 4PDT switch to the front
of the case. You wire the switch to switch to switch the master and
slave drives.

From DOS you can enter "fdisk /mbr" that will restore the boot sector
so Windows loads normally, but to get into Linux you would still need
a boot disk and command line instructions for Linux to start. Someone
had that for download, can't find it now - the drill was to leave the
floppy out and Windows boots, put the floppy in and Linux boots.

 

[Fred Scheit]

Many thanks for your tips!

The fdisk /mbr worked OK.

Restored my default boot up to Windows XP OS.

When I want to use Linux, I can use the Linux boot disk.


Fred