My computer doesn't like non-OEM drives?

  • Thread starter Thread starter tooslow
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tooslow

Hello,

I have an odd issue with two older Gateway PCs that I received
from work. I tried adding a CD-RW drive to both systems, and when
you power them on, the light on the CD-RW will stay solid, and the
tray will not eject. I tried variations of jumper settings, cables
etc but nothing seems to make a difference. So I tried installing a
DVD drive and a 44x generic drive, and they all do the same thing.
Could I be overloading the p/s maybe? The problem occurs even if I
disconnect the ide cable and leave only the power connected. The
systems in question are a Gateway Essential 450mhz and a Gateway
(3200?) 733mhz.

TIA
 
sounds like the data cable is on backwards
check the bios and make sure the ide is enabled
then check to see if they are recognized in the device manager
 
Thanks BigJim. The cable that comes with the system (that works wit
the OEM drive) is keyed on each end, I'll try one that's not keye
and see if it makes any difference. When I boot with a non-OE
drive, the light on the drive stays solid, the bios autodetect take
about 2x longer to load, and it does not detect the non-OEM driv
through the bios or windows

As an experiment, I took one of the OEM drives and swapped it into th
second computer (again both Gateways that have the same issue) and i
worked. But if I put a non-OEM drive into the Gateway, then th
drive light stays solid and it will not detect in the bios. I wonde
if it was a proprietary pinout on the power or ide cables that requir
an adapter
 
tooslow said:
Thanks BigJim. The cable that comes with the system (that works with
the OEM drive) is keyed on each end, I'll try one that's not keyed
and see if it makes any difference.
Click to expand...

I've seen drives that are keyed wrongly. Check and line up pin 1 with
the red stripe on the cable for both the motherboard and the drive.
That's your first step in troubleshooting this.
When I boot with a non-OEM
drive, the light on the drive stays solid, the bios autodetect takes
about 2x longer to load, and it does not detect the non-OEM drive
through the bios or windows.

As an experiment, I took one of the OEM drives and swapped it into the
second computer (again both Gateways that have the same issue) and it
worked. But if I put a non-OEM drive into the Gateway, then the
drive light stays solid and it will not detect in the bios. I wonder
if it was a proprietary pinout on the power or ide cables that require
an adapter?
Click to expand...

Even for Gateway that's going a bit far. You may have a dead IDE
controller. I assume you've confirmed the jumper settings?

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/
 
spodosauruswrote
[I've seen drives that are keyed wrongly. Check and line up pin with
the red stripe on the cable for both the motherboard and the drive
Click to expand...
That's your first step in troubleshooting this

I understand. I have a cable with no tabs that I'l
Click to expand...
try. I also did not note whether the ide pins on the cdrom drive
had the plastic "guide" around them to protect against this. Th
only reason I suspect this isn't the issue, is that the drives behav
the same way, whether the ide cable is plugged into them or not. If
plug just the power into one of the non-OEM drives from my Compa
1.8ghz, then they power up and the eject works. If I plug the powe
into them from one of the Gateway systems, then the "read" light o
the drive stays solid, and refuses to respond to the ejec
button
When I boot with a non-OE
drive, the light on the drive stays solid, the bios autodetec take
about 2x longer to load, and it does not detect the non-OEM driv
through the bios or windows

As an experiment, I took one of the OEM drives and swapped it int th
second computer (again both Gateways that have the same issue) an i
worked. But if I put a non-OEM drive into the Gateway, then th
drive light stays solid and it will not detect in the bios. wonde
if it was a proprietary pinout on the power or ide cables tha requir
an adapter
Click to expand...
Even for Gateway that's going a bit far. You may have a dead IDE
controller. I assume you've confirmed the jumper settings

[b:db81b480a7]Tried master, slave and carrier select on two of th
non-OEM drives, no difference. The IDE controller is good because
plug the OEM drive back into the same controller and it work
fine.[/b:db81b480a7
 
Try setting the ide to NONE in the bios (for the optical drives) instead of
auto. You won't be able to boot to the drives, but windows should still see
it.
 
Thanks BigJim. The cable that comes with the system (that works with
the OEM drive) is keyed on each end, I'll try one that's not keyed
and see if it makes any difference. When I boot with a non-OEM
drive, the light on the drive stays solid, the bios autodetect takes
about 2x longer to load, and it does not detect the non-OEM drive
through the bios or windows.

As an experiment, I took one of the OEM drives and swapped it into the
second computer (again both Gateways that have the same issue) and it
worked. But if I put a non-OEM drive into the Gateway, then the
drive light stays solid and it will not detect in the bios. I wonder
if it was a proprietary pinout on the power or ide cables that require
an adapter?
Click to expand...
Have you checked in the BIOS to ensure the drives are set to be AUTO
detected?
 
Peter - Not sure what you are asking, but if I hook up an OEM drive,
it detects and acts as it should. If I connect a non-OEM drive, the
drive light (on the cdrom) stays solid, it will not eject the tray,
and the bios (nor the OS) will pick up the cdrom. Thanks!
 
The
only reason I suspect this isn't the issue, is that the drives behave
the same way, whether the ide cable is plugged into them or not. If I
plug just the power into one of the non-OEM drives from my Compaq
1.8ghz, then they power up and the eject works. If I plug the power
into them from one of the Gateway systems, then the "read" light on
the drive stays solid, and refuses to respond to the eject
button.
Click to expand...

Compare the the drive power leads between the Compaq and Gateway boxes.
Perhaps they are wired differently.. Should be able to tell by visual
comparison..
Maybe the Gateway only has one ground (black) wire, instead of the normal
two.
Maybe the Gateway only has 5V(red) or 12V(yellow) wires, but not both.
Maybe the Gateway drives require only one voltage rail, or only one ground
wire, whereas the standard generic drives require BOTH ground wires and BOTH
supply rails....

Cheers,

John S.
 
tooslow said:
Peter - Not sure what you are asking, but if I hook up an OEM drive,
it detects and acts as it should. If I connect a non-OEM drive, the
drive light (on the cdrom) stays solid, it will not eject the tray,
and the bios (nor the OS) will pick up the cdrom. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Perhaps you could clarfify exactly what you mean by OEM here. Are you
referring to the general term OEM, or only to Gateway branded/supplied
drives?

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/
 
spodosaurus - By OEM i'm referring to the cd-rom drive that came with
each Gateway system.

Muttley - Power leads are exactly the same and match the ones for the
hard drives as well. BTW, I tried plugging in a non-oem drive into
the same plug used for the hard disk, same symptoms.

BigJim - Checked the P1 to P1 pinout and tested each drive again,
using the OEM cable and a seperate un-keyed cable. All the same
result.

Tweek - Set it as you requested, and Windows (98SE) does not pick up
the drive at all, in My Computer or device manager.

I had a feeling that Muttley was onto something, so I dragged over an
older case that had an ATX p/s in it but would not boot to the post
screen. In fact last time I had tried it, it smoked a bit. So I was
going to try giving the non-OEM drive IDE connectivity through the
Gateway PC but power via this other generic case and p/s. However
when I turned it on to test it, it sparked, popped, and smoke started
billowing out of the bios chip. So I chose to quit while I was ahead
(better to keep a roof over my head)! I am grabbing an old p/s from
a 200mhz computer here at work and will try it tonight. I'll keep
you informed.
 
Well I brought home an old AT p/s and hooked it up to one of my
non-oem drives. Powered it up and the tray ejected fine. Connected
the IDE cable to the Gateway and booted it up, and I can use the
drive just fine. So it's something to do with the wiring of the
power connectors on the Gateway systems. So now I have two options,
either connect the drive externally via USB or firewire, or get out a
volt/ohm meter, re-learn how electricity works and customize a new
connector. I checked the wiring and the cables are all the same
color and in the same locations. I didn't check to see whether I
could maybe swap out the power supply entirely... hmmmm.
 
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