Hi,
my son has a Compaq Presario 5080. I installed one of my old CDRWs in it and it doesn't work. There is another CD-ROM in the computer and it is set to "cable select". I did the same with the CDRW, have both on the same cable, but the CD-ROM works and the CDRW doesn't even come on, no lights, nothing. I tried configuring both as master and slave, nothing. When I take the IDE cable off, leave the power cable on the CDRW and boot the computer, the lights on the CDRW come on, I can open the tray, so I know it works. Also I used the CDRW before in my PC and it always worked okay. But as soon as I put the IDE cable on, the CDRW doesn't even get power. The other CD-ROM works fine no matter what configuration I use.
Thanks for your help,
Tina.

Try setting the existing cd-rom to master (and attach it to the end connection on the IDE cable) and the cd-rw to slave (and attach it to the "middle" connection). If I understand correctly, CSEL is a nifty convenience if your system (motherboard) supports it, but if it causes headaches, you can always go back to the manual jumper selection method.

Still nothing? I don't know if this will help, but it won't hurt, and it might be worth a shot...

Go into your BIOS settings and choose "IDE Auto-Detect" (or whatever sounds very similar to that on your BIOS screen). Some BIOSes will report your cd-rom or cd-rw drive there, others only show info there if a hard drive is found. If the cd-rom shows but the cd-rw doesn't, I don't know what to tell you.

If both show or if both don't show, go to - I think it's called "BIOS settings." It's where you change the date and time. Make sure the place where you're installing it (sounds like secondary slave) is set to "auto."

EDIT: I wrote the last part first, and then inserted the beginning afterwards - lemme know if something doesn't make sense...

------------------
...
Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

[This message has been edited by pentachris (edited 02-12-2002).]

Hey Tina,

Are you absolutely sure that the CDRW is an IDE device? Or, is it a SCSI device? Is it plugged into a controller card on your old computer? Does the IDE cable look like it fits right? Are you lining up pin one correctly?

Just some ideas.

BB 66

------------------
This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

"Once I thought I made a mistake, but turns out it was the other guy."
Myself

Thanks for your help.
The CD-RW is an IDE drive. I also tried master and slave settings before and it didn't work, but I'll look into the BIOS settings.
I'll let you know if it worked.
Thanks again.
Tina

If all else fails, try a new ribbon cable. They do malfunction...

------------------
Support the right to keep and arm bears.
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.dreamwater.com/paleopete/computer.htm) has been moved, please update your bookmarks.