Hi all

I have a CD-R/W from a Win98 Compaq machine AMD-K6, 64MB, 15GB. I cannot dir the CD drive and at start-up there is a DOS message saying:
ATAPI IDE CD-ROM device driver not loaded version V. 1.23B

This probably means the device driver is missing or is corrupted. It is an older drive, since I canot find a hole to insert a paperclip et al to open the drive. Yesterday I have done some extensive registry cleaning, defragging, disk scanning and file trashing and repeatedly so. The computer functions slowly but surely. I have only a floppy drive to work with, no Internet connection.

How do I fix this drive?

Thanks in advance


Tech

If it is on the end of the secondary ide cable, go into BIOS, go to the secondary ide primary devicwe and click enter to re-detect it. If it finds nothing, most likely the drive is bad but you could try another ide cable before sending it to the circular file.

try another cd-rom if one is available.

Hi Fruss Tray Ted

Thanks for your information. This is what I have done, which seems to be the thing you've intended. In BIOS I have set the Primary IDE controller to Disable, Secondary IDE controller is still on Enable. Subsequently, I have swapped the cable to the drive, ie the first end of the flat cable is now inserted as opposed to the far end.

When restarting, it said something like:
The following configurations were automatically updated: CD-ROM (...4...)
where the dots are the bit that I had not been able to copy in my haste.

After a while it said:
Operating system not found on any devices. Press any key to try again.

For your information the boot order is CD/Flop/HDD.

So still no luck then. What else can I try?

Thanks in advance


Tech

Well, my guess is that the primary IDE controller has the HD on it. Try turning it back on, see what happens.

Is the CD drive the only device on the second IDE controller?

Hi i an not a nerd

Great to see people responding with such speed!

The set up is curently as follows:
- The CD-R/W is connected with the far end of the cable
- Boot order is CD/Flop/HDD
- Using the setup information in BIOS, all IDE controllers are enabled.

There are no other devices than the ones mentioned, though there is a sound/vid card and NIC which came out of the box. And by the way, how do I check which device is on which IDE controller?

The machine works, just no CD device can be accessed as if it were never there.

Thanks in advance


Tech

how do I check which device is on which IDE controller? I'm not sure about that...

Hmm, the computer doesn't see the cd drive?

Do you have the CD drive set as a slave drive (jumpers on the back of the cd drive)?

Make sure that the HD is setup as the master drive.

Thanks again, I believe the set up is currently as out of the box.

When I look into the properties of My Computer, it will say under Drives:
- Generic IDE disk type02, with status: Working properly
- Generic NEC floppy disk, with status: Working properly
and none other.

Under Disk drives it says:
- Primary IDE controller (double fifo), with status: Working correctly
- Secondary IDE controller (double fifo), with status: Working correctly
- VIA-busmaster PCI IDE controller, with status: Working correctly
For these I have asked to update the device drivers, with the result that the device drivers have been left intact as recommended.

Hope this gives some more insight into the problem. Anything I can do at this point?


Tech

Well, if the jumpers are correct, then the drive is probly dead. Sorry.

I was already afraid of that. It is the only burner in my possession and as irony will have it, it is officially pronounced deceased. Just as well...

Thanks again.


Tech

No problem, you can get a cd burner cheap today anyways.

at start-up there is a DOS message saying:
ATAPI IDE CD-ROM device driver not loaded version V. 1.23B If that appeared after attaching the drive it does imply that at least "something" was detected.

Also you mentioned a paper clip to open the drawer. If you just have the four-pin molex connecter attached (and the data ribbon cable detached) can you get the door to open and close with the button?

Can you test it back in the Compaq from whence it came? - that would seem likely to give you a definitive answer about it being a dead drive or not.

"I have done some extensive registry cleaning"
Uh-oh!
Was this done before or after the problem arose?
If before, then perhaps you should restore a copy of your configuration files, using a:\>SCANREG /RESTORE, from the time before the problem was introduced?
See next:

"ATAPI IDE CD-ROM device driver not loaded version V. 1.23B"
Was this displayed as Windows was loading?
If so, probably Windows detected that the hardware was connected, was included in the registry's hardware tree, but couldn't be enabled/initialised [probably because a setting or two had been deleted from the registry or other configuration file].
At startup, select "Step-by-step Confirmation", ok every command, opt to make a bootlog.txt file, watch for the the command that produces the error display on-screen. Once into Windows, open "c:\bootlog.txt" file using Wordpad and use the "Find" facility to look for "fail".

"In BIOS I have set the Primary IDE controller to Disable"
Beware that you don't create one problem, then in an attempt to fix it create more problems.

"how do I check which device is on which IDE controller?"
If in the BIOS Setup all your drives are set to "Auto", then your BIOS may display that detection [and the configuration of the drives] on-screen, which will identify which drives are:
Primary Master
Primary Slave
Secondary Master
Secondary Slave
If it doesn't, then you should be able to find that info somewhere within the BIOS Setup.

Wow, you guys are wayyy out of my league here. (Well, back to playing idiot games...)

i an not a nerd
Don't feel daunted.
No matter how good anyone is there is always someone better; no matter how bad there is always someone worse.
Everyone at every level is of value and should contibute as best they can.

Yay, words of confidence. Ya, my speciality isn't troubleshooting, its building computers, choosing the hardware, making a few custom watercooling blocks (just waiting for those sticks of mushkin redline ram to get here...), overclocking and modding cases.