the compaq deskpro 4000 which I am (trying to) set up came with a 8x CD rom, which I used initially to set up w98se.
but having set up the pc there were conflicts in device manager and whilst trying to install drivers the CD rom failed to work,

eventually I set up the pc again using a spare hdd which I 'ghosted' an image onto from another compaq (same model) deskpro 4000

I replaced the CD rom with a 24x (pre used) which worked only occasionally, but when it did I was able to install autoroute and run it for a couple of hours without problem, but on taking out the CD it failed to read any CD's.

if I use the 24x (as master on secondary IDE) then it is shown in my computer also in device manager with no faults or conflicts, but it (for the most part) fails to read the CD.

if I use the 8x (as master on secondary IDE) then it is not shown either in my computer or device manager but I get a fault icon on 'secondary IDE controller (dual fifa)'

with 24x set as master and 8x set as slave, then both are shown in my computer (as D and E) and in device manager, there are no faults or conflicts, with this configuration I ran w98se setup again from the 8x without any problem.
but the 8x will not read/run the autoroute (which I reinstalled to take care of the change of drive letter) it will read other (data) CD's but the 24x will only read a modem setup disc and no others (at the moment)


any ideas. ?

Have you tried a new IDE cable?

yep: first thing I tried, there was an old single on which I changed for a double, this allowed me to use a spare hdd to ghost the stuff over, and to now have both CD roms connected.