DVD-ROM Troubles - IDE problem?

T

tonyr1988

Geek Trainee
Our Gateway PC had two drives when we bought it (CD-ROM and CD-RW). After a while, the CD-ROM broke. It still had power and would open/close, but it wasn't listed in My Computer (It had A, C, and E drives, but no D), and the CDs wouldn't auto-run.

So we bought a DVD-ROM to replace the CD-ROM (LiteOn model COHD-16P9SV). I took out the old one, put in this one and plugged in the Power and IDE cords.

When I booted the computer up again, the power works, but it still isn't listed in My Computer, and is the exact same thing as with the old CD-ROM.

Is there a problem with the IDE Cable? I didn't pay a lot of attention when the computer was open, but it looked to me like there was only one IDE cable connecting to the two drives - first into the CD-RW, and then into the DVD-ROM. Is that possible?

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102436&cp=&kw=ide&parentPage=search

Would that one work as a replacement? If so, do I just unplug the old one and throw in this new one?

Thanks a lot everybody, and I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.
 
Your problem may be the jumpers. They should look something like the attached diagram.
 

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I'll look again later, but I'm almost positive that's the way it works. The biggest thing that gets me is that it worked before when the CD-ROM was hooked up, and then suddenly just stopped one day. Where should the little Master/Slave jumper thing be on the DVD-ROM? I set it to CS, because that's what the CD-ROM was set to.
 
tonyr1988 said:
Where should the little Master/Slave jumper thing be on the DVD-ROM? I set it to CS, because that's what the CD-ROM was set to.
Click to expand...
There's a little diagram on the CDROM itself, but it's the same pinout you used when you set it to CS. I've noticed that on some optical drives, the CS setting will cause the drive to just 'vanish' on occassion. That's why I recommend setting the master/slave designation manually instead of letting the drives decide. Master on the end of the chain, slave in the middle. Your problem could still be the cable or the chipset drivers/settings in Windows, but manually setting the jumpers is a good place to start.
 
I'm going to go ahead and change the jumpers now, but in case it doesn't work, what chipset drivers/settings would I have to change, and how in the world do I do that?

I'll report back in 5ish minutes. Thanks for all of your help - I'd hate to get out and buy a new cord if it's not even gonna help any.
 
tonyr1988 said:
...what chipset drivers/settings would I have to change, and how in the world do I do that?
Click to expand...
You would go to your motherboard manufacturer's website (or PC manufacturer's website in the case of an OEM PC like a Dell or HP), and download the latest chipset drivers for your respective motherboard and OS. You'd then install the drivers, reboot, and check the chipset's DMA settings from within the Device Manager. Make sure that DMA is enabled on all devices if at all possible.
 
Changing the jumpers worked perfectly (although it appears that maybe AutoRun isn't working for it...but it's no biggie at all). Thank you so much again. You saved me tons of frustration, a trip to Office Depot, and $8 for something I didn't need. Now all I have to do is sell my old CD-ROM on eBay, now that I know it works!
 
No problem, glad to help. :) You know, it's funny but I argue with older techs all the time about the effectiveness of setting the jumpers manually as opposed to the CS setting, and they rarely believe me. Oh well, at least there's one more believer in the world. ;)
 
I agree with you on that. The main reason I stick with master/slave is because i get confused where to put the drives on the cable.
 
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