I have tried 4 different machines, all react the same. Windows recognizes the CDRW drive on boot, giving it a number (1 behind the number for the CD-Rom (0). But windows will not load. The first one tried was an Acer, took that back as a possible bad drive and purchased HP CD-Writer Plus 9310i. Since my computer is a Hewlett Packard, I surmised that an HP CDRW would have to work. No such luck. Windows stops booting after all the pre-boot stuff scrolls by and it gets to the place where Windows is supposed to start. When we removed the CD Writer, windows boots with not problem. We have been in Bios, checked connection cables -no good. My computer is a Vectra 500 Series Model 515. Some time ago, I received a reply to my request for a part and the documentation for the computer, from an upper level executive at HP that after extensive research they had discoverd that my computer was made in a foreign country for a foreign market. He wondered how it made its way to the U.S. to Tiger Direct from where it was purchased. There telephone tech after trying for over two hours to help me install the writer that the reason it would not let windows start was because it was probably configured for foreign use and would not accept the US made writer. I have complied with all the minimum requirement even to the point of buying a faster processor ( a 133 MHz to a 233 MHZ). I am waiting for a reply from HP regarding several options I layed out for correcting my problem. My reason for posting here is that perhaps this is not the reason and someone could suggest something HP did not consider while trying to help me. I want to use the writer to back-up my complete hard drive to a CD.

I am willing to try any reasonable suggestion. O yes, I am running Windows 98SE.

Please help me before I throw this CPU out the window.

Duchess

Read this section it may answer some of your questions

"IBM harddrive not seen in DOS but
seen in Windows 98 Second edition"

Dan

First issue is this: how are you configuring the drive? Is it jumpered as master or slave, and which channel is it on? Is it sharing a channel with the hard disk or the CD-ROM drive? Have you tried jumpering it the same way that the CD-ROM is jumpered and putting it in place of the CD-ROM as a test?

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Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...

Originally posted by DANQU:
Duchess

Read this section it may answer some of your questions

"IBM harddrive not seen in DOS but
seen in Windows 98 Second edition"

Dan
Thank You Dan, but forgive me, I don't see anything to click on to take me to the article you so kindly mentioned. Where should I go to see the article?

Duchess

Duchess, you can get to it by clicking here (http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/Forum11/HTML/000006.html). It has some relevance to your situation, though I would start by checking the jumpers and what channel the drive is on.

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Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...

Originally posted by ixl:
First issue is this: how are you configuring the drive? Is it jumpered as master or slave, and which channel is it on? Is it sharing a channel with the hard disk or the CD-ROM drive? Have you tried jumpering it the same way that the CD-ROM is jumpered and putting it in place of the CD-ROM as a test?


The writer is jumpered as the slave with the CD-ROM as the master.

It is sharing the channel with the CD-ROM.

Changing places with the Cd-ROM was tried but it made no difference.

My installer says that he doesn't understand the question "How are you configuring the drive." He says configuring means different things to different people. Please clarify or rephrase the question.

Thanks for trying to help and I hope I answered most of your questions.

I meant master/slave, etc. Have you tried it solo on that channel, jumpered as master, with no CD-ROM there?

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Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...

Yes, it was installed all alone with the cd-rom totally removed from the CPU. Same o Same o results.

Duchess

Hmm. OK, first of all, when you said "4 machines" in your first post, did you mean 4 different PCs or 4 writers in the same machine? I thought at first 4 different PCs but if you tried 4 writers and they are all not working properly, it's obviously an issue with the machine itself.
I would, if possible, try to see if you can get that HP drive to work in another machine s confirmation.
Now, it sounds like this is a "gray market" machine, the stuff about it being designed for "foreign use" or whatever. But that shouldn't affect the way it works.
One thing I was thinking was that sometimes HP sets up their machines to use Cable Select instead of Master/Slave. But you said the original CD-ROM was already jumpered as either master or slave on the secondary, is that right?
Another thought: perhaps a BIOS upgrade might help? Sorry, this one is really strange...

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Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...