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  1. Member
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    Ive been having problems with my new computers drives. It came preinstalled with a dvd/cd combo drive and i installed a dvd burner myself, but the computer detects neither. There are no shortcuts under "my computer" to any either of the drives. The drives are properly installed and have power running to them, but when i put in disk, there is a flash of a loading symbol next to the cursor, but nothing else happens. If someone could help me, it would be appreciated.
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  2. Member xzarkad's Avatar
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    Hi,

    are the drives identified in your BIOS? (you usually can enter the bios when the pc boots by pressing delete or F2)
    The Dutchman
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    I went to the BIOS, but i dont know what needs to be turned on or off.
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  4. Member xzarkad's Avatar
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    when you are in your BIOS you usually can see your 1st master & slave and your second master & slave. You can try this: check if both drives which causes problems are connected to the same IDE cable. If that is the case then one should be set as master and one as slave.
    The Dutchman
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    Both drives are connected to the same IDE cable. How do i set one to master and the other to slave?
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  6. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    If you look at the back of the drives, there is a jumper block beside the IDE cable socket. On the back of the drive or on the top is usually a diagram to show you what positions the jumpers should be set for master or slave.

    Generally at the end of the IDE cable that drive is set to master and the drive in the middle of the cable is set to slave. Most drives come from the factory set to slave.

    If these are both correct, go into BIOS as mentioned. It's usually the first entry on the page. It should show your hard drive and the two optical drives.
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    I see the text saying slave and masters, but it is located over an empty socket, not a switch.
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  8. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    If you could supply the following information, I could tell you the jumper settings:

    1. Make and model of new DVD rewriter.
    2. Make and model of the DVD/CD combo drive.
    3. Where each drive is attached to the IDE cable.
    4. Are both drives on the same IDE cable?

    No real bearing on the problem, but if you know the brand and model of your computer, it may help.

    I'm not sure the jumper setting are the problem, but it's best to eliminate potential causes to arrive at a solution.

    Have you tried temporarily unplugging the new drive? That will tell you everything else is working. Again, eliminating causes.

    If you can answer the above 4 questions, we can move on. BTW, every drive I have seen comes with jumpers. They may be in a plastic envelope, but they should be there.

    Some computers come with the drives set to 'cable select'. If your DVD/CD combo is set to that and you didn't change it's position on the IDE cable, the second drive should use the same jumper settings, 'cable select'.

    Last, but probably what I should have mentioned first, is: Are you sure all IDE connectors are fully seated in their sockets? It is easy to pull one loose from a socket while connecting. Should be the first item to check. They also have locater tabs on them. It's hard to do, but they can be inserted upside down. The tab should be on the top of the connector, but check the drive IDE socket to see it's position.
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  9. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    The jumpers are small plastic tabs, about 1/8 X 1/4". There are similar ones on the motherboard. If no jumper is present, that is also a setting. A couple of photos:
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    There is no jumper.How do i change the setting that u mention?
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  11. Member xzarkad's Avatar
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    Shu,

    did you do what was suggested? remove one drove from the cable again and check if the one drive selected to your cable is now found again in windows and/or BIOS?
    Anyway: if you have no jumpers then there might be a default setting activated, but I would suggest to buy 2 jumpers for a few cents in a computer store and then set one as master and one as slave. There is no guarantee that it then will work as the problem can be caused by another issue, but when both drives identify themselves as (for example) a master then the result can be that one or both are not found anymore in windows. That looks like the issue you described. If you have the jumpers set and the problem is resolved then I am glad for you. If not, then you have eliminated one cause and can look for the next one.
    The Dutchman
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