inherited old(ish) system won't see CD-Rom in drive

fiddler · 19th Sep 2007, 08:22 PM

I've inherited a system which is not so old that it shouldn't be possible to get working, then George can take it to Uni next year (he's halfway over the Pacific as I write this - 8 months gap year in NZ!)

Asus A7V333, Via KT333 chipset, CPU unknown coz I don't wish to damage it by unpinning the clasps but I think 1.6MHz, 512MB ram.
It did have XP installed, but the previous owner "erased" the HD. I'm unsure what that meant - I think a format.
Anyway, the BIOS shows a primary master HD OK (Maxtor 6L080J4) and secondary master (CD drive) and secondary slave (DVD drive) but despite reverting to default settings it won't read the OS disc after exiting the BIOS even thought the lights on the drive show up.
When I boot up, it will set itself in safe mode because it says on previous boot the system hung for improper settings. I've set it to default BIOS settings and saved, but it always reverts to this safe mode setting, and seems to hang on exiting the BIOS. I tried removing the CMOS battery, waiting 30 mins and putting it back - no good.
Any ideas what the problem might be?

fiddler

The_YongGrand · 19th Sep 2007, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiddler

I've inherited a system which is not so old that it shouldn't be possible to get working, then George can take it to Uni next year (he's halfway over the Pacific as I write this - 8 months gap year in NZ!)

Asus A7V333, Via KT333 chipset, CPU unknown coz I don't wish to damage it by unpinning the clasps but I think 1.6MHz, 512MB ram.
It did have XP installed, but the previous owner "erased" the HD. I'm unsure what that meant - I think a format.
Anyway, the BIOS shows a primary master HD OK (Maxtor 6L080J4) and secondary master (CD drive) and secondary slave (DVD drive) but despite reverting to default settings it won't read the OS disc after exiting the BIOS even thought the lights on the drive show up.
When I boot up, it will set itself in safe mode because it says on previous boot the system hung for improper settings. I've set it to default BIOS settings and saved, but it always reverts to this safe mode setting, and seems to hang on exiting the BIOS. I tried removing the CMOS battery, waiting 30 mins and putting it back - no good.
Any ideas what the problem might be?

fiddler

Is it because of that busted CD-ROM drive? Faulty CD-ROM drive always show these kind of symptoms.

If not, try doing this - the jumpers in all the drives are set to CS (cable select). Then connect the 80-wire cable to the drives to the board as usual.

hope that helps.

Adrian Wong · 20th Sep 2007, 12:12 AM

Okay, if the PC won't read the CD, it's likely to be a CD-ROM problem. You can confirm by replacing it with another drive and see if it reads.

But if you save BIOS settings and it keeps getting reset to default settings, then it's likely the BIOS battery is bust. You will need to change it.

zy · 20th Sep 2007, 05:34 AM

are you trying to boot into the CD?

if yes, you need to set up the boot priority.

fiddler · 21st Sep 2007, 05:32 AM

Hey, thanks for all the support guys. I'll post a joke to express my appreciation

I tried several different boot priorities, as well as putting the XP CD-rom in the DVD drive instead of the CD drive. No joy.
I'll try replacing the CMOS battery.

fiddler

Adrian Wong · 21st Sep 2007, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiddler

Hey, thanks for all the support guys. I'll post a joke to express my appreciation

I tried several different boot priorities, as well as putting the XP CD-rom in the DVD drive instead of the CD drive. No joy.
I'll try replacing the CMOS battery.

fiddler

Haha.. Saw that. It was hilarious!

Hmm.. Can't be a reader problem then. You will have to check your CMOS battery.

fiddler · 21st Sep 2007, 08:34 PM

Installed a fresh battery (£6!) but no joy. Then thought it could be a driver issue, remembered I had made 6 XP recovery floppies ages ago, so ran them. Good progress. Inserted the "Recovery CD" that came with the system (Evesham Computers) which ran OK, and I split the 80GB HD into 2 partitions, but then it asked for Service Pack 1 CD-Rom, which didn't come with the computer, so it looks like I'll have to get a fresh XP CD.
Anyway at least all the components seem to be running OK.
Thanks for the suggestions guys.

fiddler

Dashken · 22nd Sep 2007, 04:11 PM

So, your cdrom and dvdrom both cannot ready the disc? How about changing the IDE cable?

Adrian Wong · 24th Sep 2007, 01:16 AM

Sorry to hear it wasn't the battery. Yeah, what about changing the IDE cable? I've had some CD/DVD drives "die" on me merely because of the cable.

fiddler · 24th Sep 2007, 07:03 AM

I think it's reading the drives OK guys, because the Evesham Computers XP recovery CD-rom was recognised and it ran the partitioning and format of the HD.
I'm going to stop wasting time with their Tech Support and have ordered a new XP with SP2 (£66) to install - no messing about with SP1 SP1a and SP2.
I'm confident this will work, and will let you know.

fiddler

19th Sep 2007, 08:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
fiddler Warming up Join Date: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Herts, UK Posts: 118 Reputation: 641 Rep Power: 11	inherited old(ish) system won't see CD-Rom in drive I've inherited a system which is not so old that it shouldn't be possible to get working, then George can take it to Uni next year (he's halfway over the Pacific as I write this - 8 months gap year in NZ!) Asus A7V333, Via KT333 chipset, CPU unknown coz I don't wish to damage it by unpinning the clasps but I think 1.6MHz, 512MB ram. It did have XP installed, but the previous owner "erased" the HD. I'm unsure what that meant - I think a format. Anyway, the BIOS shows a primary master HD OK (Maxtor 6L080J4) and secondary master (CD drive) and secondary slave (DVD drive) but despite reverting to default settings it won't read the OS disc after exiting the BIOS even thought the lights on the drive show up. When I boot up, it will set itself in safe mode because it says on previous boot the system hung for improper settings. I've set it to default BIOS settings and saved, but it always reverts to this safe mode setting, and seems to hang on exiting the BIOS. I tried removing the CMOS battery, waiting 30 mins and putting it back - no good. Any ideas what the problem might be? fiddler

20th Sep 2007, 12:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my ASUS F8V notebook! Posts: 33,118 Reputation: 3730 Rep Power: 78	Okay, if the PC won't read the CD, it's likely to be a CD-ROM problem. You can confirm by replacing it with another drive and see if it reads. But if you save BIOS settings and it keeps getting reset to default settings, then it's likely the BIOS battery is bust. You will need to change it. __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

20th Sep 2007, 05:34 AM	#4 (permalink)
zy zynine.com Join Date: 16 Dec 2002 Location: Buffalo NY Posts: 13,490 Reputation: 2276 Rep Power: 43	are you trying to boot into the CD? if yes, you need to set up the boot priority. __________________

22nd Sep 2007, 04:11 PM	#8 (permalink)
Dashken Administrator! Join Date: 21 Apr 2003 Location: Penang Posts: 30,271 Reputation: 2417 Rep Power: 61	So, your cdrom and dvdrom both cannot ready the disc? How about changing the IDE cable? __________________ \| Intel C2Q Q9450 \| MSI P45 Neo3-FR \| 2 x 2GB OCZ / 2 x 1GB G.SKILL DDR2 800 \| 1 x Seagate 250GB HDD \| 2 x Seagate 750GB HDD \| 3 x Seagate 1TB HDD \| NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT \| Cooler Master CM690 chassis \| Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 550W PSU \| Dell E248WFP 24" Widescreen \| Windows 7 Ultimate x64 \| Blog : Dashken's I-Blog Gallery : Dashken's I-Paintings

24th Sep 2007, 01:16 AM	#9 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my ASUS F8V notebook! Posts: 33,118 Reputation: 3730 Rep Power: 78	Sorry to hear it wasn't the battery. Yeah, what about changing the IDE cable? I've had some CD/DVD drives "die" on me merely because of the cable. __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

21st Sep 2007, 05:32 AM	#5 (permalink)
fiddler Warming up Join Date: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Herts, UK Posts: 118 Reputation: 641 Rep Power: 11	Hey, thanks for all the support guys. I'll post a joke to express my appreciation I tried several different boot priorities, as well as putting the XP CD-rom in the DVD drive instead of the CD drive. No joy. I'll try replacing the CMOS battery. fiddler

21st Sep 2007, 08:34 PM	#7 (permalink)
fiddler Warming up Join Date: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Herts, UK Posts: 118 Reputation: 641 Rep Power: 11	Installed a fresh battery (£6!) but no joy. Then thought it could be a driver issue, remembered I had made 6 XP recovery floppies ages ago, so ran them. Good progress. Inserted the "Recovery CD" that came with the system (Evesham Computers) which ran OK, and I split the 80GB HD into 2 partitions, but then it asked for Service Pack 1 CD-Rom, which didn't come with the computer, so it looks like I'll have to get a fresh XP CD. Anyway at least all the components seem to be running OK. Thanks for the suggestions guys. fiddler

24th Sep 2007, 07:03 AM	#10 (permalink)
fiddler Warming up Join Date: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Herts, UK Posts: 118 Reputation: 641 Rep Power: 11	I think it's reading the drives OK guys, because the Evesham Computers XP recovery CD-rom was recognised and it ran the partitioning and format of the HD. I'm going to stop wasting time with their Tech Support and have ordered a new XP with SP2 (£66) to install - no messing about with SP1 SP1a and SP2. I'm confident this will work, and will let you know. fiddler