Bad controller?

[Frank D]

I have a white-box PC, 700 MHz AMD Duron, 192 MB RAM, with Windows XP Pro SP1, fine-tuned and up-to-date. 32 KB primary memory cache; 64 KB secondary.
System Model/Board: Micro-Star International, MS-6330. Bus clock: 100 MHz.
BIOS: Award Software International 6.00 PG 03/06/01.

I have two Western Digital HDs: HD0=40GB (WD400BB-32CXA0); HD1=80GB (WD800JB-00ETA0). Both share the same 80-conductor ribbon cable to the motherboard. I use the 40GB HD as the primary master; the 80GB HD as the slave. On the other ribbon cable I have two CD burners.

The 40GB HD has one partition, FAT, as Drive C:. The 80GB HD has two 40-GB partitions, the first, bootable, FAT, as Drive D:, the second partition NTFS, as Drive E:. I use the 40GB HD (HD0) for all my work. I use the first partition of the 80GB HD (HD1) to hold a bootable, replicated copy of the the 40GB HD, and the second partition of the 80GB HD to hold weekly backups of the 40GB HD.

For over 8 months, until a few days ago, the system was working fine. Then one day last week while I was using it normally, the PC self-rebooted. When it came back up, after very long self-checking, the second HD (HD1) wasn't listed in the start-up screen, and Drives D: and E: weren't shown in My Computer. The drive wasn't being detected in the BIOS either.

I tried a lot of things like taking the drives out, unplugging and replugging the cables and power connections, swapping positions, switching master and slave jumpers, autodetecting the drives in the BIOS, etc. I was successful at getting them both to work again, but after one day the same thing happened. I tried each of them as the only drive on the cable and was successful at getting each to work, but I couldn't get both of them to work at the same time.

Question: Is there something that is obvious from the foregoing as to what may be wrong or defective, and what it will take to get both drives up and working together again? My own suspicion is that the drives are good and the controller is bad, but I don't know how to prove it or fix it. Short of taking it to the shop, could someone advise me how to do the lowest-cost, least technical DIY repair or replacement? Thank you.

Frank Dauenhauer

 

[Rich Barry]

Frank, you may have a flaky power supply. Go here and download
Motherboard Monitor. It will keep a
check on your main voltages and temps. You could try one HD on the
Primary and the other on the
Secondary IDE channel. Both set as Master. Leave the CD burners
disconnected temporarily.
I have a white-box PC, 700 MHz AMD Duron, 192 MB RAM, with Windows XP Pro
SP1, fine-tuned and up-to-date. 32 KB primary memory cache; 64 KB secondary.
System Model/Board: Micro-Star International, MS-6330. Bus clock: 100 MHz.
BIOS: Award Software International 6.00 PG 03/06/01.

I have two Western Digital HDs: HD0=40GB (WD400BB-32CXA0); HD1=80GB
(WD800JB-00ETA0). Both share the same 80-conductor ribbon cable to the
motherboard. I use the 40GB HD as the primary master; the 80GB HD as the
slave. On the other ribbon cable I have two CD burners.

The 40GB HD has one partition, FAT, as Drive C:. The 80GB HD has two 40-GB
partitions, the first, bootable, FAT, as Drive D:, the second partition
NTFS, as Drive E:. I use the 40GB HD (HD0) for all my work. I use the first
partition of the 80GB HD (HD1) to hold a bootable, replicated copy of the
the 40GB HD, and the second partition of the 80GB HD to hold weekly backups
of the 40GB HD.

For over 8 months, until a few days ago, the system was working fine. Then
one day last week while I was using it normally, the PC self-rebooted. When
it came back up, after very long self-checking, the second HD (HD1) wasn't
listed in the start-up screen, and Drives D: and E: weren't shown in My
Computer. The drive wasn't being detected in the BIOS either.

I tried a lot of things like taking the drives out, unplugging and
replugging the cables and power connections, swapping positions, switching
master and slave jumpers, autodetecting the drives in the BIOS, etc. I was
successful at getting them both to work again, but after one day the same
thing happened. I tried each of them as the only drive on the cable and was
successful at getting each to work, but I couldn't get both of them to work
at the same time.

Question: Is there something that is obvious from the foregoing as to what
may be wrong or defective, and what it will take to get both drives up and
working together again? My own suspicion is that the drives are good and the
controller is bad, but I don't know how to prove it or fix it. Short of
taking it to the shop, could someone advise me how to do the lowest-cost,
least technical DIY repair or replacement? Thank you.

Frank Dauenhauer

 

[Frank D]

Rich,

Your suggestion was a good one!

I made the 80GB HD the master on the secondary controller and made one of the CD burners the slave on the primary controller. It took some serious manipulation to get the ribbon cables around each other, but the switch did the trick! I have no idea why it worked (comments anyone?), but both of my hard drives and both CD burners are back there in the BIOS and in My Computer.

I'm back in business! Thank you!!!

Frank

BTW: I also downloaded Motherboard Monitor from Major Geeks and installed it. The voltages and temperatures all check out well within acceptable limits.

| Frank, you may have a flaky power supply. Go here and download
| Motherboard Monitor. It will keep a
| check on your main voltages and temps. You could try one HD on the
| Primary and the other on the
| Secondary IDE channel. Both set as Master. Leave the CD burners
| disconnected temporarily.
| | I have a white-box PC, 700 MHz AMD Duron, 192 MB RAM, with Windows XP Pro
| SP1, fine-tuned and up-to-date. 32 KB primary memory cache; 64 KB secondary.
| System Model/Board: Micro-Star International, MS-6330. Bus clock: 100 MHz.
| BIOS: Award Software International 6.00 PG 03/06/01.
|
| I have two Western Digital HDs: HD0=40GB (WD400BB-32CXA0); HD1=80GB
| (WD800JB-00ETA0). Both share the same 80-conductor ribbon cable to the
| motherboard. I use the 40GB HD as the primary master; the 80GB HD as the
| slave. On the other ribbon cable I have two CD burners.
|
| The 40GB HD has one partition, FAT, as Drive C:. The 80GB HD has two 40-GB
| partitions, the first, bootable, FAT, as Drive D:, the second partition
| NTFS, as Drive E:. I use the 40GB HD (HD0) for all my work. I use the first
| partition of the 80GB HD (HD1) to hold a bootable, replicated copy of the
| the 40GB HD, and the second partition of the 80GB HD to hold weekly backups
| of the 40GB HD.
|
| For over 8 months, until a few days ago, the system was working fine. Then
| one day last week while I was using it normally, the PC self-rebooted. When
| it came back up, after very long self-checking, the second HD (HD1) wasn't
| listed in the start-up screen, and Drives D: and E: weren't shown in My
| Computer. The drive wasn't being detected in the BIOS either.
|
| I tried a lot of things like taking the drives out, unplugging and
| replugging the cables and power connections, swapping positions, switching
| master and slave jumpers, autodetecting the drives in the BIOS, etc. I was
| successful at getting them both to work again, but after one day the same
| thing happened. I tried each of them as the only drive on the cable and was
| successful at getting each to work, but I couldn't get both of them to work
| at the same time.
|
| Question: Is there something that is obvious from the foregoing as to what
| may be wrong or defective, and what it will take to get both drives up and
| working together again? My own suspicion is that the drives are good and the
| controller is bad, but I don't know how to prove it or fix it. Short of
| taking it to the shop, could someone advise me how to do the lowest-cost,
| least technical DIY repair or replacement? Thank you.
|
| Frank Dauenhauer
|
|
|