multiple HDs

[djtizzy]

i have used multiple hard drives on my system many times in the past. HDA is usually my primary hard drive, but i have been having many problems with it. i am trying to install it as a secondary hard drive so i can retrieve some files from it, but when i boot my system i get "BOOT DISK FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND HIT ENTER". what's going on here? what kind of changes need to be made in BIOS? any other info???

[Soopafresh]

Don't physically install it until you're done with the installation of the OS on your new primary drive.

If you've already done that, then perhaps it is the jumper pin setting on the old drive.

Set it to "CS" (cable select) and that should allow you to hang the drive off of any IDE connection.


Go into your bios before booting into your OS and see if the drives all show up. You might have to tell the bios to detect the drives, rather than "Auto" settings.

Good luck. I'll bet you already have figured out the answer

[Josef K]

i get "BOOT DISK FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND HIT ENTER". what's going on here?

You have no working OS. It's the same message you would see if you booted with a blank floppy. Install an OS on your second drive, making sure its jumper is set to master and it's on the primary channel and you attach the very end of the cable to the drive (though on some systems this may not matter).

what kind of changes need to be made in BIOS? any other info???

None, other than to make sure the drives are detected correctly. If you don't have an installed OS your system won't boot, no matter what you do in the BIOS.

[djtizzy]

If you've already done that, then perhaps it is the jumper pin setting on the old drive.

Set it to "CS" (cable select) and that should allow you to hang the drive off of any IDE connection.

Jumper pin setting? What's that, and how do I change it?

When I only have the primary drive (the new one) connected, BIOS detects it. But then when I connect the seconday drive (the old one im having problems with) BIOS wont detect either of the drives..

Install an OS on your second drive, making sure its jumper is set to master and it's on the primary channel and you attach the very end of the cable to the drive (though on some systems this may not matter).

I already have an OS on this drive, it's the one i'm using now.. how do i set its jumper to master? it's already attached to the very end of the cable..

[adam]

There is a place for jumpers on the backside of the hard drive. Its usually like four or six pairs of pins and they labels like M (Master), S (Slave), CS (Cable Select).

There is a little jumper switch, usually black, which will be positioned on two of the pins. Your old hdd is still set to Master most likely, which is why the operating system is accessing that one, or having a conflict with the new one. You need to change the jumper to either slave or cable select. Sometimes the pin descriptions are written on the back or top of the drive, otherwise you will have to look in your hdd manual or use trial and error. Use a pen tip or screwdriver to pry off the little black jumper and then reset on the correct pins.

[djtizzy]

adam, you are my savior! problem solved.

thanks everyone for the input.