Clocker? Vb123? Anybody? Help?

[raiserblade2003]

my new pc is almost done. only need a hdd, so i decided im gonna take out the hdd (primary, the one w/ everyting on it...windowxp is preinstalled on this hdd) in my comp. im using to type this up, and put it in the one im building to see if it work.....it didnt. w/o the hdd, it would boot to the bios, but w/ the hdd installed, it would turn on, power up and everything but the screen is blank, and the monitor indicator light is yellow (not active). i checked the jumper on the hdd and everything is right. but one other odd thing is when i turn on the power, i dont get any lights from the led. the comp led dont light up and the hdd led is the same. what am i doing wrong.

[raiserblade2003]

oh and i know its normal for window to read you have 382mb of ram instead of 384mb, but is it normal when its reading 391mb?

[SciManAl]

what graphics card??

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by SciManAl@14 December 2003 - 04:21
what graphics card??
what does this have to do w/ anything?

[SciManAl]

ok trust me on this it helps, what is the configuration inclkuding vid card thanks yousa!

[raiserblade2003]

umm okay?!!!!

amd xp 2200+
256mb ddr pc2100
shuttle nforce2 ultra 400
the hdd was a western digital
pci mx440 64mb (from old machine)

do i need to list keyboard and mouse <_< ;)

but is it becuz the hdd was the one w/ my windows and drivers for my other mobo on it? or is there something wrong w/ my system.

[boyzeee]

silly question but have you checked that you are putting the ribbon cable in the right way round? unplug everything else you dont need to boot ie cdroms/modem etc and try and boot. also try clearing the cmos. And if it is able to boot to bios screen without the hardrive in i would think it is nothing to do with your graphics card ;)

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by boyzeee@14 December 2003 - 04:33
silly question but have you checked that you are putting the ribbon cable in the right way round? unplug everything else you dont need to boot ie cdroms/modem etc and try and boot. also try clearing the cmos. And if it is able to boot to bios screen without the hardrive in i would think it is nothing to do with your graphics card ;)
i though it(ribbon) could only go in one way...yea, i have no clue what he want gfx card for either.

all the ohter non needed stuff is not connected, i disconnected them one by one, unless the cold cathode light is the source of this....then i have no clue waht to do.

[boyzeee]

Originally posted by raiserblade2003@14 December 2003 - 04:32

pci mx440 64mb (from old machine)

do i need to list keyboard and mouse <_< ;)

it could be your mouse or keyboard preventing boot, set it in bios to halt on no errors or eveything but keyboard mouse then unplug them and try and boot, also check in bios that it is setup for using pci graphics card and not agp ;)

[SciManAl]

that was one reason i wanted to know vid card... <_<

but the real reason, is that ATI cards can be incompatible with the system.. resulting in same results... can&#39;t rule it out, and that would be expensive error to fix...

[Virtualbody1234]

So you say that it boots up fine without the drive connected?
And doesn&#39;t as soon as it is?

Is the drive set to Master, Slave or Cable Select?

Have you tried with another IDE cable and be sure that pin #1 is connected to the same side as the stripe on the cable. Check it at both ends.

[raiserblade2003]

the gfx is set to pci, and i have no clue how to set the mouse and keyboard thing... :(

maybe i could try not pluggin in keyboard and mouse and reboot?

reason i want answer first becuz i dont feel like taking out my current hdd every single suggestion somebody suggest just to installed it back in a say "nope it didnt work" :lol:

[boyzeee]

yeh most ribbon cables do go in only one way, I only asked because some cables dont have the locating nibs on them making it possible to put the cable in either way, if they are that type of cable just red stripe to pin1 on drive or swapping it round is the answer obviously :P as to it not booting because its setup for your old machine, you may get issues when you DO get it to boot but its not even getting to the bios screen with it installed so it hasnt even accessed the drive yet so i wouldnt worry bout setting up yet you just need to worry bout getting the darn thing to boot ;) the only reasons i can think of that it wont boot at all are:- cables round wrong way(covered ;) ), faulty mouse/keyboard..but you usually get past bios with that fault, or something not correctly seated ie memory/pci cards etc, but if it memory or processor issues you will get beeps&#33; or some boards have jumpers factory set to clear cmos and they need to set to boot( but you can get it to boot without drive so it aint that ;)) sorry couldnt be more help but i will do a little digging on your board etc ;)

[raiserblade2003]

my ribbon cables only fit one way so its not that. i try disconnecting mouse and keyboard b4 start up and that didnt work. hdd is set to master.

So you say that it boots up fine without the drive connected?
And doesn&#39;t as soon as it is?

if by boot, you mean the system power up then it boot even w/ the hdd installed, but if u mean boot like the bios come up, then no.

w/ the hdd installed, i press the power button, and the system power up, cpu running, hsf spinning, lights is well...lighting but nothing come up on the screen. took out hdd, and viola i have access to the bios.

[adamp2p]

hold on, I am confused. You know why? It sounds to me like you are trying to install a hard drive with an OS on it from an entirely different system

That wont work...you need to reinstall Windows altogether.

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by adamp2p@14 December 2003 - 06:11
hold on, I am confused. You know why? It sounds to me like you are trying to install a hard drive with an OS on it from an entirely different system

That wont work...you need to reinstall Windows altogether.
that is exactly what im doing :o i though i made that clear in the first post. i though everbody who responded knows about it and think that wouldnt be a problem. adam so if i get a brand new hdd, it would work?

[clocker]

Originally posted by raiserblade2003+13 December 2003 - 23:56--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (raiserblade2003 @ 13 December 2003 - 23:56)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-adamp2p@14 December 2003 - 06:11
hold on, I am confused.&nbsp; You know why?&nbsp; It sounds to me like you are trying to install a hard drive with an OS on it from an entirely different system

That wont work...you need to reinstall Windows altogether.
that is exactly what im doing :o i though i made that clear in the first post. i though everbody who responded knows about it and think that wouldnt be a problem. adam so if i get a brand new hdd, it would work? [/b][/quote]
I think that a new HDD will solve your problem, raiser.
Although I can&#39;t explain why it won&#39;t even access BIOS with the old HDD installed.
Your old HDD is already polluted with all the applicable info (HAL- hardware application layer) for your other board, chip, vid drivers, etc.
That would just drive your new hardware crazy.

I&#39;ll bet your new HDD boots right up.

At least you can take comfort in the fact that everything else seems okay.

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by clocker+14 December 2003 - 07:45--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (clocker @ 14 December 2003 - 07:45)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by raiserblade2003@13 December 2003 - 23:56
<!--QuoteBegin-adamp2p@14 December 2003 - 06:11
hold on, I am confused. You know why? It sounds to me like you are trying to install a hard drive with an OS on it from an entirely different system

That wont work...you need to reinstall Windows altogether.
that is exactly what im doing :o i though i made that clear in the first post. i though everbody who responded knows about it and think that wouldnt be a problem. adam so if i get a brand new hdd, it would work?
I think that a new HDD will solve your problem, raiser.
Although I can&#39;t explain why it won&#39;t even access BIOS with the old HDD installed.
Your old HDD is already polluted with all the applicable info (HAL- hardware application layer) for your other board, chip, vid drivers, etc.
That would just drive your new hardware crazy.

I&#39;ll bet your new HDD boots right up.

At least you can take comfort in the fact that everything else seems okay. [/b][/quote]
yea, but now im just piss off about my stupid ati tv wonder not working.....wrong driver my ass

[clocker]

Originally posted by raiserblade2003@14 December 2003 - 00:53

yea, but now im just piss off about my stupid ati tv wonder not working.....wrong driver my ass
Did I miss something?

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by clocker+14 December 2003 - 07:59--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (clocker @ 14 December 2003 - 07:59)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-raiserblade2003@14 December 2003 - 00:53

yea, but now im just piss off about my stupid ati tv wonder not working.....wrong driver my ass
Did I miss something? [/b][/quote]
:lol: :lol: no just me letting my anger out on ati on this forum instead of on my computer

[Smurfette]

Hold on a minute before you junk the HDD.

WTF has drive content got to do with getting to the BIOS?
It doesn&#39;t matter what is on the HDD, it should still get to BIOS.

Can you tell us what CD/DVD drives you have installed?
What about which IDE channels the devices are on, and which are master/slave?
What&#39;s the exact model of the mobo & gfx card?

[Smurfette]

Originally posted by clocker@14 December 2003 - 07:45
Your old HDD is already polluted with all the applicable info (HAL- hardware application layer) for your other board, chip, vid drivers, etc.
That would just drive your new hardware crazy.
Clocker, you must know better than this with all you done with hardware. I&#39;m sure you&#39;re ill or something.

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by Smurfette@14 December 2003 - 08:20
Can you tell us what CD/DVD drives you have installed?
What about which IDE channels the devices are on, and which are master/slave?
What&#39;s the exact model of the mobo & gfx card?

amd xp 2200+
256mb ddr pc2100
shuttle nforce2 ultra 400
the hdd was a western digital
pci mx440 64mb (from old machine)



all the ohter non needed stuff is not connected, i disconnected them one by one, unless the cold cathode light is the source of this....then i have no clue waht to do.


if you want me to qoute some more stuff from the first few post....just say so..... <_<

[adamp2p]

raiser blade, all you need to do is configure your bios to boot from CD.

Then just reformat the disk altogether (as long as you don&#39;t care about the data)

[ck-uk]

It is abit strange mate..

With the hd does it still post.(do you hear any test beeps when you turn it on.)You can find the meaning of the beep codes on google.

are you using the correct/or same cables on both pcs

is it pluged in to ide1

Have you gone through all the setting in the bios are correct

[Virtualbody1234]

Did you read my post on the previous page?

You have not answered my questions.


So you say that it boots up fine without the drive connected?
And doesn&#39;t as soon as it is?

Is the drive set to Master, Slave or Cable Select?

Have you tried with another IDE cable and be sure that pin #1 is connected to the same side as the stripe on the cable. Check it at both ends.

[bigdawgfoxx]

Originally posted by adamp2p@14 December 2003 - 03:33
raiser blade, all you need to do is configure your bios to boot from CD.

Then just reformat the disk altogether (as long as you don&#39;t care about the data)
GOOD LORD&#33; I&#39;ve been thinking this all along&#33; And when he even stated it more clearly noone seemed to answer except Adam. You CANNOT take a HDD with another OS and data from another computer...and put it on a NEW ONE&#33; It will have all of the wrong drivers&#33; YES&#33; THAT IS YOUR PROBLEM

Go in your bios and make it boot from CD and have a WINDOWS O/S CD in there...FORMAT your harddrive and then INSTALL WINOWS&#33; Everything will now work

[Virtualbody1234]

@bigdawgfoxx, from my understanding... You have missed one small detail. He is trying to boot PC with the HD in and it won&#39;t even get to the BIOS. So how would a CD launch if it doesn&#39;t even Power On Self Test ?

[bigdawgfoxx]

Um..i duno what that means really...but I think it would at least boot to a CD with his HDD in...he needs to at least try that..cuz he has to reformat it again...

So just switch it to CD, then put the O/S cd in, put your HDD back in, and see if it will boot to cd. If not then I duno

[clocker]

Originally posted by Smurfette@14 December 2003 - 01:23

Clocker, you must know better than this with all you done with hardware. I&#39;m sure you&#39;re ill or something.
No, not ill.
Confused, maybe.

I did say in my first post that I had no explanation about not being able to enter BIOS with the HDD installed.
You have to give raiser some credit re: cable orientation, etc...after all, he has been swapping the HDD between PCs to try our suggestions and then reinstalling into the machine he was posting on.
So I doubt that it&#39;s as easy as a bad cable or loose power connection, eh?

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by Virtualbody1234@14 December 2003 - 14:09
So you say that it boots up fine without the drive connected?
And doesn&#39;t as soon as it is?

Is the drive set to Master, Slave or Cable Select?

Have you tried with another IDE cable and be sure that pin #1 is connected to the same side as the stripe on the cable. Check it at both ends.
yes, it boot ups fine w/o hdd
when hdd is installed, the computer would power up, but nothing on screen
drive is set to master
i try the other ide cable from my old comp and still same problem.
my cable only goes in one way so no need to worry about pin


post? my computer never beeps when i turn it on. my old machines doesnt beep when its turn on either

[clocker]

Do either of these machines have a speaker?
If so, is it connected?

[raiserblade2003]

yea, speakers are connected

[bigdawgfoxx]

You cant use a HDD with an O/S and Drivers from another system on a NEW system, unless you reformat the HDD...and thats exactly what hes trying to do so im thinking thats why its not working...

[clocker]

I tend to agree...what&#39;s confusing is the off/on ability to enter BIOS and the lack of a POST report.

[boyzeee]

Originally posted by bigdawgfoxx@14 December 2003 - 17:59
You cant use a HDD with an O/S and Drivers from another system on a NEW system, unless you reformat the HDD...and thats exactly what hes trying to do so im thinking thats why its not working...
I covered this way back, it isnt even accessing the drive so it cant be that, and you can put a drive from another system in a new one, older versions of windows find the new hardware or you go into safe mode remove the old h/ware and reboot and it finds it, its xp that wont boot, but it WILL at least try&#33; you have to either repair or reinstall, but it WILL try and boot. his isnt even posting :rolleyes:

[ck-uk]

Mate posting is a test it runs to check all your components are communicating with each other.If its not posting one of your parts is failing or being prevented from talking to another part like mobo>ram>cpu>devices.I know you say you&#39;ve tried everything but its just got to be there some where,i&#39;d have a fiddle in the bios and every jumper setting esp&#39;jumpers for power related. :)

[raiserblade2003]

should i try doing what others said and reformat my hdd in the new system im building?

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by ck&#045;uk@14 December 2003 - 18:29
Mate posting is a test it runs to check all your components are communicating with each other.If its not posting one of your parts is failing or being prevented from talking to another part like mobo>ram>cpu>devices.I know you say you&#39;ve tried everything but its just got to be there some where,i&#39;d have a fiddle in the bios and every jumper setting esp&#39;jumpers for power related. :)
i knwo what a post test is. i didtn say i didnt. haven mess w/ bios yet, but jumper are set correctly so its not taht. maybe i should try reseting the cmos

[lynx]

Originally posted by raiserblade2003+14 December 2003 - 18:43--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (raiserblade2003 @ 14 December 2003 - 18:43)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-ck&#045;uk@14 December 2003 - 18:29
Mate posting is a test it runs to check all your components are communicating with each other.If its not posting one of your parts is failing or being prevented from talking to another part like mobo>ram>cpu>devices.I know you say you&#39;ve tried everything but its just got to be there some where,i&#39;d have a fiddle in the bios and every jumper setting esp&#39;jumpers for power related. :)
i knwo what a post test is. i didtn say i didnt. haven mess w/ bios yet, but jumper are set correctly so its not taht. maybe i should try reseting the cmos [/b][/quote]
Good, now that we know that you know what a post test is, perhaps you can tell us if it is doing it?

If it is not doing a post test, the problem is not directly related to the hdd. It may be a power problem or something related to plugging the cable into the motherboard.

[Virtualbody1234]

What about the power cable to the drive. Perhaps the connector or wire is no good. Can you try another one from the power supply?

[atiVidia]

Originally posted by Smurfette@14 December 2003 - 03:20
Hold on a minute before you junk the HDD.

WTF has drive content got to do with getting to the BIOS?
It doesn&#39;t matter what is on the HDD, it should still get to BIOS.

Can you tell us what CD/DVD drives you have installed?
What about which IDE channels the devices are on, and which are master/slave?
What&#39;s the exact model of the mobo & gfx card?
this may have already been sed

HDD crap CAN mutate the bios

ati&#39;s smartGart is known 4 this (scimanAl, good call)

check the jumpers, check the ribbon cable, and last but not least, PLEASE be sure that you are NOT plugging ur HDD in as a slave with no master on the cable. thats just st00pid, and if thats what ur doing, then thats probly the source of ur shit

[atiVidia]

Originally posted by lynx+14 December 2003 - 15:32--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (lynx @ 14 December 2003 - 15:32)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by raiserblade2003@14 December 2003 - 18:43
<!--QuoteBegin-ck&#045;uk@14 December 2003 - 18:29
Mate posting is a test it runs to check all your components are communicating with each other.If its not posting one of your parts is failing or being prevented from talking to another part like mobo>ram>cpu>devices.I know you say you&#39;ve tried everything but its just got to be there some where,i&#39;d have a fiddle in the bios and every jumper setting esp&#39;jumpers for power related. :)
i knwo what a post test is. i didtn say i didnt. haven mess w/ bios yet, but jumper are set correctly so its not taht. maybe i should try reseting the cmos
Good, now that we know that you know what a post test is, perhaps you can tell us if it is doing it?

If it is not doing a post test, the problem is not directly related to the hdd. It may be a power problem or something related to plugging the cable into the motherboard. [/b][/quote]
what&#39;s ur psu?

[raiserblade2003]

its post but it wont go to bios or anything,,,,just a stupid blank screen. hdd is connected to the master connector in ribbon cable. set to master or single in jumper. connected to eide 1 port.


well at least while i was messing around to see whats goin on w/ this, i discover my cpu jumpers is set to 100 instead of 133mhz. ;)

well im off to do some more fiddling.

[Mïcrösöül°V³]

i think it was already posted, but you cant have a winxp or 2000 install done on one machine and moved to another, the configs will be different, due to different hardware configs and mobos, and chipsets, etc....... xp takes a sorta "fingerprint" of the comp it was installed on, if you move that drive to another comp, it wont work right, if at all. some peeps may have pulled it off once or twice, but i have never had it work. i have 2 comps, so ive tried it.

[raiserblade2003]

nm, the freakin thing work now.....dont know y though. i took a spare ribbon cables and use that and suddenly it work....only it stop at the part when windows is about to load up. i still dont know why it didnt work b4, it cant be the ide cables becuz i try 2 b4 this one. and the 2 that i try work perfectly on the one im typing this up right now but y wont it work in the new pc?

[Mïcrösöül°V³]

read back 2 posts.

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by Mïcrösöül°V³@15 December 2003 - 02:43
read back 2 posts.
read back two post....


its post but it wont go to bios or anything,,,,just a stupid blank screen. hdd is connected to the master connector in ribbon cable. set to master or single in jumper. connected to eide 1 port.


well at least while i was messing around to see whats goin on w/ this, i discover my cpu jumpers is set to 100 instead of 133mhz.

well im off to do some more fiddling.

y do u want me to read my own post <_< ;)

[Mïcrösöül°V³]

sorry read my post to see if that helps, lol :P one page back

[raiserblade2003]

yea, i know that now, but what im asking is y is this ribbon cables working but the other 2 i try didnt work for my new pc. but when used on my old pc, it work fine.

btw, if you are still a bit unclear, i got the hdd to work w/ the new system after using another eide cable

[Mïcrösöül°V³]

i have noticed, for some screwy reason, that some cables may be designed for a P4 board, and i think the cable config is different than other boards, cuz i saw the same problem you talk about. i think its messed up also. just check to see if your cables have the little guide slot on both ends that makes sure the cable goes in the drive and the board the same way, some cables dont have one, and some cables have holes that are plugged. i know , its a pain in the ass. heres a stupid example of stupid shit, "i can plug a P4 power supply into a celeron 366mhz board, and it runs fine, BUT, i cant plug that same power supply into a P3 1ghz board&#33;? the plugs dont match." i think the same applies to the eide cables of different comps. but hell, im no genious, just reporting what ive seen. :)

[raiserblade2003]

yup, my other 2 cables were form p4 system. but is there really a differenct...i mean when you buy one from the store, they didnt say which system it should be use for.

now to my other question....y isnt my frontpanle led and hdd acess led working? its just off. the wires are connected correctly but for some reason, its not working....oh well, its not that important anyways

[Mïcrösöül°V³]

if they are connected properly , they should light up. check and make sure they are. if im not mistaken, you can actually put those on the pins "backwards". that will make them not work.

[tesco]

my power LED comes on when my computer is turned off <_< dont ask why but my hdd led works.

your power LED might be like mine but id try flipping around the plugs just to see if that helps, especially since the hdd led wont work either.

[Virtualbody1234]

Good to see you got it working. :)

now to my other question....y isnt my frontpanle led and hdd acess led working? its just off. the wires are connected correctly but for some reason, its not working....oh well, its not that important anyways
The LED connectors have a correct polarity. You must have them connected backwards. Switch the connector around and the try it.

[raiserblade2003]

okay ill try that, but y dont the manufactorer make them so that it only fit one way. or have it work both ways. y would they have it so it can go backward?

[clocker]

Originally posted by raiserblade2003@14 December 2003 - 23:26
okay ill try that, but y dont the manufactorer make them so that it only fit one way. or have it work both ways. y would they have it so it can go backward?
They make them ambidextrous just to screw with you.
They are aware of how much you enjoy groping around in inaccessible crannies with tiny connectors trying to engage little pins.
What could be more fun than that?

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by clocker+15 December 2003 - 06:39--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (clocker @ 15 December 2003 - 06:39)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-raiserblade2003@14 December 2003 - 23:26
okay ill try that, but y dont the manufactorer make them so that it only fit one way. or have it work both ways. y would they have it so it can go backward?
They make them ambidextrous just to screw with you.
They are aware of how much you enjoy groping around in inaccessible crannies with tiny connectors trying to engage little pins.
What could be more fun than that? [/b][/quote]
yea especially w/ my fat fingers :lol:

[Virtualbody1234]

Originally posted by raiserblade2003+15 December 2003 - 02:16--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (raiserblade2003 @ 15 December 2003 - 02:16)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by clocker@15 December 2003 - 06:39
<!--QuoteBegin-raiserblade2003@14 December 2003 - 23:26
okay ill try that, but y dont the manufactorer make them so that it only fit one way. or have it work both ways. y would they have it so it can go backward?
They make them ambidextrous just to screw with you.
They are aware of how much you enjoy groping around in inaccessible crannies with tiny connectors trying to engage little pins.
What could be more fun than that?
yea especially w/ my fat fingers :lol: [/b][/quote]
Ah&#33; I see you understand perfectly now. :lol:

[Smurfette]

<sigh>

LEDs are diodes and, as such, need to be connected correctly to work. Some power LEDs are (for want of a better word) &#39;multifunctinal&#39; in that they light up a different colour when the system is in standby (as on monitors)... I haven&#39;t bothered to find out how but I suspect it may be by having a voltage passed in the other direction.

How do you tell which way round to put the connector on?
Well, pin 1 of the head is always marked (sometimes just with an arrow, sometimes with a number and sometimes it&#39;s only shown in the manual), and is positive.
Also, you may have noticed all your case LED and switch wires have one coloured wire common to all and this indicates negative. On all the cases I&#39;ve worked on, the negative wires have been white.

@ raiserblade2003: You didn&#39;t answer my questions when you quoted your original posts in your reply. That doesn&#39;t matter because you&#39;ve sorted the problem out now, but may I just explain why it&#39;s important to be specific?
- Motherboards can have problems that get posted about all over the net (eg I replaced a K7S5A mobo because it would lock up and overheat the chipset if the memory was set to 133MHz, which is a variation on a common problem it has) so someone here may have heard about the problem you&#39;re experiencing.
- The same applies to gfx cards - some are known to draw a lot of &#39;juice&#39; or need to be firmly seated in the slot.
- Just sayng you&#39;ve got a HDD and a CDRW drive and that you&#39;ve checked the jumpers isn&#39;t enough when problems can arise from certain hardware. I have an Afreey DVDROM drive that won&#39;t show in my XP system (even blocks out the CDRW on the same channel) and doesn&#39;t show on my girls&#39; ME system unless the jumper is set to CS. Some optical drives prefer to be set as master, others don&#39;t work correctly as slave to another device. FWIW, you can have a slave device without a master; my Afreey DVDROM is set to CS and appears as the secondary device because it&#39;s at the end of the cable but is the only device on that channel. Telling us what you&#39;ve got and where it is helps us help you easier.

[raiserblade2003]

Originally posted by Smurfette@16 December 2003 - 00:28
<sigh>

LEDs are diodes and, as such, need to be connected correctly to work. Some power LEDs are (for want of a better word) &#39;multifunctinal&#39; in that they light up a different colour when the system is in standby (as on monitors)... I haven&#39;t bothered to find out how but I suspect it may be by having a voltage passed in the other direction.

How do you tell which way round to put the connector on?
Well, pin 1 of the head is always marked (sometimes just with an arrow, sometimes with a number and sometimes it&#39;s only shown in the manual), and is positive.
Also, you may have noticed all your case LED and switch wires have one coloured wire common to all and this indicates negative. On all the cases I&#39;ve worked on, the negative wires have been white.

@ raiserblade2003: You didn&#39;t answer my questions when you quoted your original posts in your reply. That doesn&#39;t matter because you&#39;ve sorted the problem out now, but may I just explain why it&#39;s important to be specific?
- Motherboards can have problems that get posted about all over the net (eg I replaced a K7S5A mobo because it would lock up and overheat the chipset if the memory was set to 133MHz, which is a variation on a common problem it has) so someone here may have heard about the problem you&#39;re experiencing.
- The same applies to gfx cards - some are known to draw a lot of &#39;juice&#39; or need to be firmly seated in the slot.
- Just sayng you&#39;ve got a HDD and a CDRW drive and that you&#39;ve checked the jumpers isn&#39;t enough when problems can arise from certain hardware. I have an Afreey DVDROM drive that won&#39;t show in my XP system (even blocks out the CDRW on the same channel) and doesn&#39;t show on my girls&#39; ME system unless the jumper is set to CS. Some optical drives prefer to be set as master, others don&#39;t work correctly as slave to another device. FWIW, you can have a slave device without a master; my Afreey DVDROM is set to CS and appears as the secondary device because it&#39;s at the end of the cable but is the only device on that channel. Telling us what you&#39;ve got and where it is helps us help you easier.
okay, what was your question again? :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Smurfette]

LOL :D