[levey]

Like the topic title says...I'm a PC moron. So if you decide to give me some help, please be patient. Thanks in advance.

Ok. Here is my problem. Earlier today I decided to look at some old photos that I had burned to a CD. I put the CD in my DVD rom, but nothing happened. So, I clicked on 'my computer' to find out that the DVD icon wasn't in there. So, I decided to check my bios.

In my bios, the DVD rom is detected, but it's not in my device manager. On boot up, I get this message. Keep in mind, it's not an error message.

Primary Master- wdcwd400jb-00f5a077.07w77
Primary Slave- none

Secondary Master-hl-dt-st dvdram gsa-4163balo3
Secondary Slave- none

Primary IDE channel no 80 conductor cable not installed.

Any Ideas?

[Elbatrop1]

I would try turning off the computer, unplugging the IDE cable and power cable to your burner, then booting up into Windows. Once in Windows, shut down your computer, and reconnect the cables and boot up again. This should force Windows to detect the hardware and install it's drivers for it.

By the way, welcome to TF!

[levey]

I tried that. Didn't help.
Oh.Thanks for the welcome.

[MrZucchiniHead]

i had this same problem, but i didnt think of re connecting it (wink wink) and just bought a new one.

i actually did think of it, i just wanted a dvd drive.

[levey]

Anybody?
Sorry for my haste. It's just that anything messing up on my PC, peaves me off to no end. I'm sure most of you can relate to that.

[shdwsclan]

Try disabling/enabling plug-and-play os.......in the bios....
This option is really poorly named because what it really does is control the device handoff to the OS...
Either....it hands off everything in the bios to the OS
OR'
It lets the OS find everything by itself......

I actually have it disabled, because it reeked havok with my sound blaster.....

But otherwise than that......it may somehow be damaged...or the cables are somehow damaged....

Windows may somehow be damaged.....
A lot of manufacturers are not messing up windows ADt.....notably toshiba and sony, so it becomes almost impossible to uninstall some software....its best to put a clean installation of xp on a store bought machine....

But ive seen this once, and to this day it remains unresolved....
A make and model of the computer would help us...

[levey]

It's an older PC. I bought it used. I just called the guy I bought it from, and he said this happened to him before. He said it was a mobo issue, but wasn't sure how the shop fixed it.
How can I find out what kind of mobo is in my PC? Again...Please realize that you are dealing with a PC retard.

Some system info.

[baronvongogo]

you didnt do a very good job blocking out your details there i can still read them lol.

anyway download this software it`ll tell you your motherboard and all the details you need.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181

when installed click report, and choose hardware or all its up to you. then when its done it`ll give you a list of everything in your pc, some is very technical so ignore just look for motherboard name, ram etc etc.

[FlashDude]

Take the dvd drive out and make sure the jumper is set to master not cable select. also when you are in device manager try the scan for new hardware and see if it detects the drive. I had this same issue with an older emachines and I cured the problem by updating the bios.

[Apokalipse]

Originally posted by levey
Primary Master- wdcwd400jb-00f5a077.07w77
Primary Slave- none

Secondary Master-hl-dt-st dvdram gsa-4163balo3
Secondary Slave- none

Primary IDE channel no 80 conductor cable not installed.

that error actually has nothing to do with your DVD drive. it affects the primary IDE channel, which your hard drive is on.

basically, there are two kinds of IDE cables. 40 wire and 80 wire.
40 wire IDE cables only allow a transfer speed of 33MB/S, however 80 wire IDE cables allow up to 133MB/S
most hard drives over about 10-20GB use 100MB/S transfer speeds

so you can increase hard drive access by getting an 80 wire IDE cable


anyway, you could try updating your IDE controller's drivers, and see if that works.
you could also try resetting your BIOS, or even trying another IDE cable