BIG prolem.....my hard drive is blank....i boot up my computer and it takes sooo long just for the computer to detect my hard drive.....second problem is that my old computer (the one with the problem) has a 6x CD-ROM which i not able to boot a CD from startup....so i installed my dvd-rom drive but when i do it doesnt power on..it only powers on with the data cable detached and doesnt with it attached....wtf?....bad motherboard?....bad cable?...help...i need this to boot to the windows xp cd-rom to install it so my dad can do thing for work since he got laid off.....ASAP!!!!!!!!!

ps.

if it takes to long hes taking my computer downstairs!!!

Hello kluth,

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You're post gets a bit confusing...are we talking about two separate issues, One: the slow booting computer, Two: the old computer that won't fire up the CD?

yes..there are two different problems....

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I am afraid I can't sort out what you are saying, so I can't be much help at the moment. It sounds like you are saying there are 2 computers and you can't get a CDROM or DVDROM to work on either of them??? Please post more detail and separate out what is what computer. Let us know specs for the computer in question, when the problem started, why you are having to reinstall, what troubleshooting you have already done and so on. The more you tell us, the more we may be able to help.

Also, if you are unable to boot into the CDROM, it is not going to help to put in a DVDROM, it is likely that the computer is just not set that way. Did you set the BIOS to boot to CD?? If you didn't that would be the first thing to try with the old CDROM in place. If the computer doesn't boot with the CDROM, you probably have a bigger problem. Let us know and we will come up with ideas.

the CD drive only works w/p the IDE cable plugged in...

I wasn't sure if there was a speed requirement for the CD to install XP. I just checked MS and they made no mention.

In that case you might want to put back the CD drive and enter the BIOS. You would want to select the boot sequence to do the CD drive first.

Are you sure that the older computer meets all the requirments to be able to handle XP? Are you sure that the Hardware on the old machine is compatible?

Huh?????

Again, if we are going to be able to help you, you will need to be clearer about the problem and about the specs of your computers.

Hehe...Budred...ships passing in the night! :rolleyes:

I'll bow out and let you sort things out...it's getting a bit confusing...;)

Oops, here's a link for XP minimum requirement:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/evaluation/sysreqs.asp

Hey Whyzman,

Don't go away, when we get more info you may be more able to help than I can, especially since I think you know XP better than me. The main thing is that we need to understand what the problem is and what equipment it is on....

ok im restartin my post....

i have 2 computer only one has the problem, the old one....i had windowx xp installed on it and it was working fine.....this computer (the old one) had two hard drive in it...an IBM deskstar 75gxp and a WD 10gb....i wanted to remove the 10gb to put in my newer computer to place my songs on...i proceeded to do so but i realized i have over 10gb of songs so i decided to put it back in the old computer....i got all the settings right such as the jumpers...and when i booted it booted up reallly slowly and took over a minute...once it did it gave me an invalid partition method....so i removed the master IBM drive and put it in my newer computer and proceeded to open partition magic 8...there was nothing on the drive so i deleted all partitions and formatted it....then i put it back in the old computer and set the BIOS to boot up CD-ROM drive first...i then restarted and placed the windows XP pro CD in the drive and it wouldnt recognize it...i asked my neighbor why and he said it could possibly be becuase it is an older CDROM and some older cd-roms dont allow you to boot from a cd...so i took my newer DVD-rom and installed it...but when i did it wouldnt power on...so i removed the data cable and it powered on....waht is goind on here....it will only work without the data cable attached....i tried to use the windows xp setup disks that can be created using a program from microsoft so you dont have to boot using the CD but something was wrong with some of the files...

problem 1: incredibly slow hard drive dectet time
problem 2: cd-rom wont work with data cable attached

OLD PC SPECIFICATIONS:

400mhz celeron
512mb ram
ATI Radeon 7500
10GB Western Digital Hard Drive
6x cd-rom....dvd-rom and brand new CD\RW available to switch into it

i am experienced with computer so dont talk in a amatuer language :) ...i have fixed almost all my problems but this is strange...all i want to do is installed windows xp, microsoft office, have a working cd-rom...thats it...so i need to get past this plateau...

To boot from the CDROM when it is working, you set it that way in the BIOS, the speed of the CDROM won't make a difference. If it won't boot directly, you can go to www.bootdisk.com and download a Win98SE Startup with CD support and use that to access the CD and then start the Install program on the WinXP CD.

The fact that the CDROM won't power up with the data cable attached is confusing, but I suspect that you either have the jumpers configured wrong, you are attaching the cable wrong or there is something wrong with the IDE port. I would check the first 2 and if still no joy, try the other IDE port. It is also possible you just have a bad cable, if you have another, try it and see. If you don't, you could borrow the one from the hard drive and put it back after you test. If it is the problem, you just have to go buy a new one.

Let us know how it goes and we can try to figure out something else if these ideas don't work...

what about the slloooooowwww boot time?

when i use a boot disk to startup it gives me a message saying:

cannot locate the file command.com
please specify the file to use to handle command parameters...

...not word for word

Command.com is part of the boot disk. If it's not showing up I would suspect there was a problem with the d/l or file transfer from another system...or a problem with the floppy...

All to say, I'd try the disk in another computer and if you get the same message...reload on a new floppy.

I sure hope you weren't invited to feel we were being demeaning in our answers and/or inquiries to your problem. Obviously, we never know the computer savvy of poster and often are only seeking to cover all the bases. Thanks for pointing out your experience! :)

ok i got that to work and now im trying to get my cd-rom to work...ill get back with ya

i have gotten this dvd-rom drive to work in the old computer before becuase that is where i got it from but it wont work....neither that or the CD/RW...it will only power on without the dtaa cable plugged in....ughhhh...i know it used to work becuase tha tis how i installed windows xp in the first place

i tried changing the jumper settings...butttt NO! doesnt work either..

Double check to see if you have the cable connected in correctly, have bent a pin on one of the drives, or that the drives are actually jumpered the way you think they are.

Making sure that the BIOS is set to autodetect for all IDE devices is also a good idea.

Also, I'm assuming you've your HDD as Primary Master. I would suggest, for now, isolating the CD-ROM. Consider trying it as the Secondary Master. As always, be sure to terminate...device goes on the end of the IDE cable jumpered as Master.

After checking on the possibility of a bent pin as mjc suggested consider swapping with a known good IDE cable.

did that....i tried 3 different drives and they all did not function with the data cable plugged in....as soon as i removed it all 3 worked as in powered on and the tray was able to open...they all were set as primary master...i tired several cableds and other slots on the motherboard
im starting to think its amotherboard failure becuase its takes for ever to recognize the hard drives and the cd-roms wont work properly...it just seems so weird that this could happen at the same time as everything else...

wait...crosssss that out...it functions when isolated as a secondary master...

What "it" functions"?? I believe you know what you are doing, but we can't see what you are doing and it is hard to tell from most of your posts. Have you tried resetting the BIOS to defaults?? Is BIOS set to autodetect drives? Please try to be clear and we have a better shot at figuring this out with you....

yea my bios is set to auto detect....the cd-rom drive functions when it is the only drive plugged in even with the data cable attached to it...

The CDROM works, but only if you disconnect the hard drive??? If this is true, it would lead me to suspect that the IDE ports are the problem. I would also wonder if you might have a short?

Did you reset the BIOS to defaults and try it like that?

yes i did reset the bios....it only works with the hard drive disconnected with all 3 different CD drives i tried...

If it isn't a short, the only other things I can think of is the motherboard (IDE ports) is bad or the power supply is dying...

thats what i wqas thinking too......thank you for your help....

Is the IDE cable for the Harddrive a 40 or 80 wire?

40

Has it always used the 40 wire? You might want to check and see if it needs an 80. The connectors all fit 40 or 80 but the 80 I do believe has a blue connector.

nope its red..it has always used this..

Well, just shooting in the dark....

Have you tried swapping the IDE cables?

i already posted that i did...i think i have done everything...as this computer is 6 years old i think it might be the power supply or motherboard

it just seems odd that all this happaned at the same time i tried to reomve and put back that hard drive...

Hmmmmmmm......Well, other than a possible bent pin, were you completely powered down? Do you use a wrist strap or other grounding precautions while under the hood?

'Tis indeed strange...:(