Re: Computer question-help

Harold,

Until your system detects the CDROM during POST, you're not going to get
very far, no matter what you do. This must be resolved.

BIOS can be set to specify the type of each of the four IDE devices. Any one
or more of them can also be set to 'Not Installed', or 'Disabled'. Check to
make sure they are set correctly. Most BIOS have an "Auto" setting for each
of the devices, and that's usually the best way to go.

Additionally, in another BIOS setup screen, there is often an enable/disable
setting for each of the two IDE controllers. Be sure both are enabled.

You might also consider using the 'reset to defaults' function in BIOS, and
then re-enabling USB Keyboard support afterward.

Also be sure the CDROM is set to the appropriate Master, Slave, or Cable
Select setting. If using a 40-conductor IDE cable, the drive is usually set
to either Master or Slave. If using an 80-wire cable, the drive is set to
Cable Select, and it is the cable connector that determines whether the
drive is Master or Slave.

Setting Master/Slave with an 80-wire can result in a non-detect. Likewise,
having two devices on the same cable, both set to Master or Slave, can cause
a non-detect for both devices (or a detect of only the non-ATAPI one). For
ATAPI devices, setting Cable Select with a 40-wire cable can also result in
a non-detect.

Hard drives have two types of structures to be concerned with - the
Partition Table, and the FAT or NTFS table. The one Partiton Table defines
the logical volumes (drives) on the HDD, and each of those logical volumes
has a FAT or NTFS table. A 'format' re-writes the FAT/NTFS for the formatted
volume, but does not change the Partition Table, or the FAT/NTFS tables for
any other volumes on the drive.

A true 'wipe' of a drive rewrites the Partition table as well. In 9x, the
partition table is manipulated with 'fdisk'. There is no command-line
equivalent in XP. If you truly want to start fresh, boot a 9x Startup Disk
and delete all parttions, DOS and non-DOS, found on the drive. XP setup will
then give you the option of re-defining all the logical volumes on the
drive.

Using the HDD mfgr's install software (usually on a bootable CD, but can be
downloaded form their site), will also wipe the Partition Table and allow
you to re-define the volumes on the drive. It's usually the easiest way to
go for a 'wipe'. Many also have utilities that will low-level format the
drive as well. Low-levelling the first cylinder will wipe the Partition
table and allow you to 'start over'.

Any further suggestions depend heavily on what the drive is. Assuming your
drive is a 7200 rpm drive of at least 20 Gig (I'd replace it if not), I'd
use Partition Magic to resize C to half the volume, and create a second
partition in the unallocated space, copy C to it, then reinstall XP to C,
after replacing all the components. You'd have a new system on C, yet all of
your old system and data would still be on D.

If you don't have a 7200, you need to get one. They are about 60% faster
than 5400 drives. CompUSA has a Hitachi (IBM) 80 Gig 7200 for $30 after
rebate, MicroCenter has a 100 Gig 7200 for $35, and Best Buy has a 120 Gig
7200 for $40, In any of those cases, I'd partiton the drive 50-50 into two
volumes (C and D). You could then use your old drive as a second physical
drive (and third logical drive - E), and all your old data would still be on
it.

But fist, resolve the CDROM issue. No matter if you get around the problem,
it WILL come back and bite you, likely as a Catch-22 that you won't be able
to get out of.

Allan

"Hãrõlð" <hiletroyNOTTHIS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:tsjvm1pg63ip7t4t63bncu35g7sflqkb6r@xxxxxxxxxx
> On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 09:49:35 -0500, "Allan Smith"
> <netsmith@(nospam).com> wrote:
>
>>Harold,
>>
>>I thought you were asking if 'disabled' was the default. It almost always
>>is. That's why 'been there done that'.
>>
>>Check your 'Boot order' or 'Boot device' settings in BIOS. Most written in
>>the last six years will have a 'CD' or 'ATAPI' option in the list, though
>>many older ones didn't use it as a default.
>>
>>Most BIOS dated in the last two years, on detecting a bootable CD in a
>>drive, will give you the option to to boot from the CD (usually by
>>pressing
>>a key within three to five seconds) before booting from the C drive.
>>
>>More recent ones will also allow you to boot from a USB flashdrive.
>>
>>Allan
>
> Ok, my BIOS shows the USB Controller Enabled, with the USB Keyboard
> Support Set to BIOS. That's the only way I get keyboard access.
> Setting disabled or OS support makes it stop working.
>
> My first boot device is the Floppy, 2nd is CDROM, third is HDD-1.
> Problem was, it would fail during boot, claiming ATAPI failure to
> detect CDROM device. I've moved the cd-rom, replaced CD-Rom with
> another one, replaced cabling, reinstalled drivers, etc, but have
> always had the problem of it not detecting the CD-ROM during boot,
> therefore making me hesitant to go ahead and format and install fresh
> XPHome, suspecting that I will probably wipe the drive with a format,
> then not be able to load the OS back, because it didn't detect the
> CD-ROM device during the previous boot. That make sense? If the
> ATAPI device settings and failure are in the BIOS, then the format
> wipes nothing there, but only on the formatted sector of the drive, if
> I understand that right. If the ATAPI detect failure is in the BIOS,
> then the new MB and processor will replace anything corrupted with the
> old MB/BIOS, correct? Anyway, I'm probably gonna go ahead and do it
> anyway, then take it from there, if it is screwed up. I suppose I can
> always just start fresh with a fresh, new hard drive to install onto,
> right? LOL
>
> Thanks
> --
> Hãrõlð
> "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups"
> E-Mail munged--Remove the obvious


.

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