Terrible computer troubles..

[SE14man]

Hi,

There is something, seriously, seriously wrong with this computer.
It was all running well until i disconnected the dvd writer, plugged in a hard disk for a few hours, unplugged the hard disk and plugged the same writer back in. I made no changes to any hardware what so ever. No jumper changes, nothing.
I could chuck in literally 6 different dvd writers into this pc, i now get the occasional dumping physical memory error either that or accessing anything to do with the drive, any program sich as nero or 'my computer' that associates anything to do with my dvd writer the whole pc just locks up completely for almost up to an hour.
This is mental. Never ever has this happened before.
Can someone please save me so i can save this pc? lol

Cheers.

[guns1inger]

Given how little meaningful detail you have provided, it could be anything.

The best I could suggest at the moment is that you may have damaged the cable, or at best, loosened it. Worse would be if you have damaged the connectors on the motherboard, or the controllers.

[SE14man]

Hi mate,

I have replaced the data cable.
Still the same.
Havent even touched the connector apart from to change the data cable.
What other info would you need?

Thank you.

[Bjs]

Verify that you havent accidentally bent the pins on the drive.

Remember, a 40pin ide cable can be reversed, an 80pin ide cable cannot.

----

First thing to try is go into control panel > system > hardware > device manager
Unistall all device drivers for the following

Cd/dvd
Ide ata/atapi

Reboot system, if drivers requested, have driver's install cd ready

Reboot system once more

----

Note ms updates can cause all kinds of issue's that the owner may or may not be aware of, can you confirm if any updates have been applied during this time.

Psu's can develope issues unknown to the owner at any time, try another power connector to the affected unit, and see if this resolves the problem, if so, new psu is required.

[Guru Sonic]

If the DVD writer is on it's own IDE channel (not on a channel that has another unit on it); make sure that the pins on the logic board where it connects are not bent or shorting out each other.

Also make sure that you are using a 80 pin IDE cable if that is what the specs for the drive require. I have had issues when a 40 pin IDE cable has been used in its place.

Make sure BIOS sees the drive properly as well, generally setting it to auto will do this.

Finally, if the motherboard is over 3 years old, replace the battery, espically if this machine has been unplugged often.

Hope this helps!

[fritzi93]

This is a long shot, but... assuming the drive is IDE, try using a different Molex connector.

I'll tell you why: A friend had problems with getting the occasional bluescreen on his machine. I checked out the RAM, connections, etc. SpeedFan said the drive was fine. Ran SFC, checkdisk, nothing seemed amiss. A week later he calls back, same thing. I had the comp open and powered up looking at the MoBo. My intention was to replace the PSU after having a look (and a sniff for any odors).

Brushed a wire from the Molex power cable into the hard drive and Bam! Bluescreen. Powered down. There was an unused Molex connector in the computer, so I plugged that one into the drive and marked the bad one with tape. No more problem. If it recurs, I'll replace the PSU.

Like I said, a long shot, but try it.

[EDIT] I'm a slow typer, BJS beat me to it.

[SE14man]

Well thank you very much everyone for your help.
I should add that i also put this one DVD Writer in (This was also very slow at first) Done a flash firmware upgrade on it, yes that has helped but say i rip a dvd using dvd decrypter, it would take 3 times as long as it usually would!

Should i still do what you lot have said?

Cheers.

[SE14man]

My read rates on the drive are reaching a maximum of 1.8x.
I cant see it working well when i do a burn at all.

Changed the IDE cable to a different one. Still the same problem.
I tried a number of different molex cables and still the same problem.
Bought the PC a few weeks back so i spose i could take it in but my worry is in case the bloke messes it up even more lol.
BIOS is seeing it as a Primary Master and my SATA (Main HDD) as the Fourth Primary Master. Not sure if that's anything to do with it!

Again, thanks you for your help everyone.

I was wondering if there is anything else i should do?
I have not yet tried removing those things in device manager yet but that's something i am going to try when i get in from work.
Please let me know if there is anything else i should do?

Cheers.

[budz]

Check if your drive is in DMA MODE. Slow rip speeds could mean the drive is in PIO MODE. It would be helpful if you posted the brand of your dvd burner.

Check these links on how to enable DMA MODE.

http://www.cdrlabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7625

http://www.cdrlabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7625

[SE14man]

My DVD Writer at the moment is a
Pioneer 112D recently updated it to firmware 1.24 which has done a little bit of good. Because before it wouldnt even read dvd's at all but now i've upgraded the firmware it is, but at 1x lol.

Cheers.

[SE14man]

OK.
I had 2 primary channels in device manager.
Right clicked the 1st one.
On Device 0 it was PIO only, Just changed it to DMA (This was whilst ripping a DVD) now the ripping has completely stopped and errored.
Any ideas?

[aedipuss]

reboot. check the dma status again. if it's still in dma try the rip over. you can't change it while the drive is active.

[SE14man]

Should DMA be enabled on my hard drive aswell?
Becuase this is confusing.
2 Primary Master's are saying different thing's.
One says 'PIO Only' The other says 'DMA If Available'

[ntscuser]

OK.
I had 2 primary channels in device manager.
Right clicked the 1st one.
On Device 0 it was PIO only, Just changed it to DMA (This was whilst ripping a DVD) now the ripping has completely stopped and errored.
Any ideas?

You can't "change" the IDE mode as such. All you can do is uninstall the driver and reboot. Windows will then reinstall the driver and select the fastest mode available for your device.

[SE14man]

OK,

Just uninstalled Primary IDE Master and CD-Rom's.
Just restarted and installed them again in device manager, took about 5 minutes for them to install which seemed way too long.
Anyway restarted, now it's even worse.
I'm back to the locking up on 'My Computer' All i have to do is start DVD Decrypter, 'Detecting SCSI Device...........' then error.
What now?

[budz]

are you using a 80 wire ide cable? if you're not that could be why you're having problems. when a 40 wire ide cable is used the drive will not work correctly. Pioneer recommends using a 80 wire ide cable.

[SE14man]

I was using an 80 wire then because it wasnt working i thought it might work with a 40 lol.
Still the same behaviour tho
When it was working though it had an 80 wire ide plugged into it.

Any other suggestions?

[zoobie]

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/

[SE14man]

It's under warranty do u htink im best off taking it back for repair?

I should also mention that when ripping a DVD when it's rpping at 1.8x if i watch a video or do anythingo n the pc it performs extra extra slow.
It stutters on video play back.

[budz]

best to buy a brand new 80 wire ide cable before you decide to RMA the drive back to Pioneer.

[SE14man]

So it looksl ike i may just need a new 80 pin IDE cable then?
Should i not test a hard disk with the 80 pin cable first though to see if i get the same problems?
Just so i know one way or the other whether it is all down to the 80 pin wire ide cable?

Cheers.

[budz]

just buy a brand new 80 wire ide cable. they're cheap to buy. i see no need to test your hard disk since it's the Pioneer 112 that needs the 80 wire ide cable.

[Nelson37]

My suggestion would be to put it back EXACTLY as it was when purchased, take it in for warranty service, do not mention opening the case, and when you get it back, suppress the urge to open the case and instead call a professional.

The 40-pin cable is one problem, but aside from that you either have defective hardware or you have screwed something up tremendously. Not enough information to determine that, but since it worked until you messed with it...

How many attachments/removals have you made with this cable? How many IDE interfaces on the mobo? Cable Select in use? And why in hell would you change drive mode while the drive is in use, and be surprised the in-progress rip failed???

An educated guess would be to check the cable head for seperation due to excess force, but don't bother until an 80-pin cable is obtained, CS if you are using it.

Sure this has happened before, just not to you. Betcha 20 bucks something similar will happen again, shortly after you open the case next time.

[SE14man]

K,

Well you don't need to speak to me like i am a moron. We all start from somewhere and as you can see i am a beginner. Don't start saying it's common sense because that's a load of bollocks. I know nothing about hardware mate, these people are teaching me. Don't make me look a mug cos it aint gonna work.

Guna try other suggestions tonight, Will let you all know shortly..

Cheers.