A7N8X-Deluxe: Secondary (Slave) HDD Issue

[Rick Sunderland]

The problem is that my board won't allow two HDDs on IDE-0. The
primary/master drive always works okay, but the secondary/slave drive
"clinks" and spins down repeatedly, sometimes locking the system. I
originally figured this issue to be a bad drive, but repeated
replacements of different models and brands confirm that this is
actually a "motherboard" issue. (or, could this also be a power
issue?)

IDE-1 (or the secondary IDE port) does not have this problem. On two
separate boards I've been able to run master/slave configurations from
this port with no problems at all.

If anyone has had this problem, please help me out! This group
contains a few other examples of people having similar issues with CD
drives as the "slave", but I have yet to find a solution.

Thanks,

Rick

 

[Dr Teeth]

but repeated
replacements of different models and brands confirm that this is
actually a "motherboard" issue. (or, could this also be a power
issue?)

Or an IDE cable issue? Try a replacement.

Cheers,

Guy

** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
** out of someone who richly deserves it.

 

[GF]

Or a cable issue ?

 

[Rick Sunderland]

Or an IDE cable issue? Try a replacement.

Thanks, that didn't even cross my mind =)

Could the "spinning down" of the second drive as well as the
occasional "clanking" (it sounds like a failing-drive type of "clank")
be an *IDE-cable* issue? What I mean is, can a bad IDE cable effect
the drive in that way?

Thanks,

 

[GF]

Only time I had that problem was when my Power Unit
was defective. I replaced it and the HD worked well.

Check your voltages. My +5V voltages were around 4,50V

 

[Ian Armstrong]

The problem is that my board won't allow two HDDs on IDE-0. The
primary/master drive always works okay, but the secondary/slave drive
"clinks" and spins down repeatedly, sometimes locking the system. I
originally figured this issue to be a bad drive, but repeated
replacements of different models and brands confirm that this is
actually a "motherboard" issue. (or, could this also be a power
issue?)

Actually sounds like a PSU problem, but have you tried a different primary
drive. I recently had a problem with my A7N8X where the slave drive started
doing weird things. After changing drives & cables, it turned out to be the
primary drive which had gone bad & was taking out the slave. Changed the
primary & the original slave drive worked fine. Took me a while to figure
out because the primary drive appeared to working fine.

 

[SpaceButler]

Thanks, that didn't even cross my mind =)

Could the "spinning down" of the second drive as well as the
occasional "clanking" (it sounds like a failing-drive type of "clank")
be an *IDE-cable* issue? What I mean is, can a bad IDE cable effect
the drive in that way?

A bad cable can give you all sorts of problems you wouldn't suspect -
anything from one-bit data errors on gigabyte copies, to bad controller
commands. I had those problems with a new cable that came with the drive.

But a 'clank' might be a bad drive or power supply.

Other wild ideas: You might check the power management settings for the
drive. Also check the sleep settings in the bios. If they are set too
short you may have trouble booting up.

 

[Ender]

If anyone has had this problem, please help me out! This group
contains a few other examples of people having similar issues with CD
drives as the "slave", but I have yet to find a solution.

Thanks,

Rick

I have seen this in one of my installations. It turned out to be a
bad crimp in a power Y connector that I had used to distribute power
to the drives. It drove me crazy until I caught it. I hope your
situation is as simple to fix as that one was!

Good luck,

Ender

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke

 

[Aldo Larrabiata]

I presently have the same problem with a Maxtor Diamond Max Plus.
Sometimes, when booting, it freezes on IDE disks detection message when it's
the Primary slave's turn.
Touching the IDE cable and rebooting, always solves the issue.
When it freezes during a session, if I immediately touch the IDE cable, it
recovers. Otherwise it doesn't.
I didn't try yet to replace the cable.
It appears to be a cable issue but it could be also a charge accumulation on
one of the 40 lines.

I replaced the PSU by a 460W one I had on the shelf, It didn't solve the
issue.

I must admitt that your post is a little bit puzzling.
Did you investigate deeper on the cable ?
Do you have a 40 or a 80 wire ribbon vable?
The 80 wires is more fragile.

 

[Dr Teeth]

It appears to be a cable issue but it could be also a charge accumulation on
one of the 40 lines.

You cannot get a charge accumulation on a conductor when it is
connected at both ends.

Cheers,

Guy

** I may not be perfect, but I'm
** English, and that's the next best thing!

 

[Rick Sunderland]

I must admitt that your post is a little bit puzzling.

Did you investigate deeper on the cable ?
Do you have a 40 or a 80 wire ribbon vable?
The 80 wires is more fragile.

Hi, and thanks to you and to everyone who replied. I am currently
testing a new cable ... it's been one day so far, no "spin downs" or
any such nonsense ... so that could have been it, BUT one day is a
little too soon to tell =). I will post again in a few days to let
everyone know for sure.

There are two drives involved. When this started, I assumed the drive
was bad and purchased another one. Then *that* drive started doing
the same thing ... thus, my post here. I've been running the original
"busted" drive on another box for three days now with the *exact*
configuration as the original (drive as secondary, same motherboard,
et cetera) with *no* issues.

Thanks again to everyone for responding so quickly. I'll let everyone
know for sure if it was the cable in a day or two, and hopefully these
posts will help someone else in the future =)

Thanks,

r

 

[Rick Sunderland]

UPDATE

Well, it's not the cable. The "slave" drive just started its spinning
issues again and I had to unplug the drive.

The other drive, however, is still working fine for four days now (the
"other" drive being the one I thought was busted when this began).

Neither "slave" drive is defective ... and it's not the cable OR power
supply. It seems like if this were a motherboard or port issue, that
it would effect more than just the secondary/"slave" drive.

So could it be a driver issue? A bios issue? Anyone have any other
ideas?

Thanks again you guys!

R