Bad component

les

New Member
i have this box with 3 hdd
one is fixed for softwares and OS
and the other two are on removable tray one for audio and the other for backup (at least that's the plan)

for a while now everytime i tried to copy stuff to the backup folder my computer will just restart (instead of a blue screen of death it just restart) for the most part its not safe to open a file from that HDD

up until yesterday i thought i had some bad hard drives (two of them) but after checking with this diagnostc tool from Maxtor i'm beginning to think its something to do with where the tray is plugged into the mobo

is there some kind of software that test for IDE plugs or can i upgrade my bios
 

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
Disable the DMA access to that drive and see what happens. If the error disappears then the IDE chip on the mobo could be defective.
 

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
In the device manager, in "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" select the primary or secondary channel (depending on what channel is that hdd) and go to advanced settings tab.
 

les

New Member
i figured it out ( the DMA thing that is)
but when i Device Manager i get confused because
under IDE ATA the primary IDE has both device 0 and 1 transfer mode to DMA if available and the
current transfer mode is Ultra DMA MOde 5
now the Second IDE
has Device O transfer mode on PIO Only
and Device 1 Transfer MOde at DMA if Available
and both Current TRansfer MOde at PIO Mode

the confusion is that i open the box and i can't tell which drive is connected to which since in there neatness they tie wrapped all the ribbons in a not too easily figured way
 

les

New Member
i did and as soon as i tried to open a file from that drive the computer shut down

now i'll try putting both devices on the secondary on PIO and see
 

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
Now it could be that the drive has some seriously messed CRC errors on it although that usually shows up by freezing rather than restarting. Also consider your memory too.... oh and... how's the power getting to the drives? :)
 

les

New Member
what crc errors
as for memory i'm running on 512 rams
each drive has its own power connector
on a 430w power supply
 

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
- CRC = cyclic redundancy error = some form of make-sure-the-drive-works check
- Having memory doesnt mean its working memory :)
- Each drive having its own connector, naturally, but how many drives are connected on a rail? (wire thingy)
 

les

New Member
it's definitely something on the mobo and not the hard drive
when i switch it to another tray it works fine
as for power they're all seem to be connected to this one string of connectors
 

les

New Member
cool i'm gonna try to use another connector

btw i see the thread was moved but i don't know where to
 
Top