Computer can't find new cd/dvd drive

My computer cannot locate the cd/dvd drive that i put in. The old one quit working, so i went and bought a new one, and it gets power, but the computer can't find the hardware. So i went and bought a different one, and still, same thing. I did a search last night on here, and read that XP sometimes removes that registry or whatever, and downloaded the zip file the adds it back in, but i still get nothing. Any ideas? TIA

 

Did you set the jumpers? If the drive is on it's own cable, it should be set as master, which is usually no jumper at all, or slave if it's on with another drive, such as the Hard Drive.

 

It's set as the master...

 

Guess would be you have a connection problem, not the power, but the IDE cable. Is it the only piece of hardware attached to the cable that conncets to the motherboard? If it is, is it attached to the end connector, furthest from motherboard? If you are using two optical drives set the more advanced one as the master. Just a guess, hope you work it out, remember to cut power...:innocent

 

Translation: If there are three connectors, two should be closer together. The one farthest from the others goes into the motherboard then the one at the other end is typically the master.

I believe that the Hard Drive has to be master, so if it and the CD drive are on the same cable, the CD needs to be a slave drive.

 

I've swapped cables, tried all the different connectors, etc, and still nothing.:cry

 

Is this a brand name computer? Or home built?

 

It's a dell p3 workstation. But I have a bigger problem now. A friend told me to go into setup utilities and make sure it's turned on, and well, I acidentally changed the primary and secondary drive settings, and now it won't boot up. Says drives cannot be found, and I put them on auto, and still nothing. I even took out the battery ok the motherboard to try to reset it all, and still nothing. I'm about to pull my freakin hair out!!!

 

When you took out the battery was it unplugged? It should have been.

 

Yes, it was. Anytime I do anything to it all the power, cables, everything that can be plugged in, is out.

 

Sounds like you're in Dell Hell. I think your motherboard has quit working. Which means that rather than just parts, you'll need a completely new computer.

 

I was just checking that both the battery and power cord were unplugged at the same time so that the clock would lose time.

So you still get a boot screen with the Dell logo but the HD is not found. What are your options on the first Bios screen regarding IDE Configuration and also Boot Order?

 

Yes, that's what it's doing. As far as the boot order it only shows diskette drive. And I'm not sure how to access the bios stuff.

 

Can you Google Images "Dell Bios" and give me a link that looks like your bios screen? Just a rough idea to see if I can point you in the right direction.

******
Bios navigation is just done using the keyboard if that is what you meant by not being able to access.

 

The only thing I have to post from is my iPhone, so I'm not sure if I can post a pic on here from it.

 

Just give me a link telling what google result page # and basic name of site. Using "dell Bios" as search terms.

 

The closest I could find was on page 5 , dell7.jpg by pccmos.com

 

OK, try going into Bios. Arrow down to PrimaryDrive 0. Enter. It should say Auto. In the Title of the window does it give a name brand and size ie. Maxtor 100gb?

 

model: unknown
Drive type................ Auto
Capacity................. N/a

That's all it shows

 

Does your bios screen have any other options than the Dell7.jpg?

Did you change any cables on the HD? The power and data cables are tight? Could you have knocked anything loose in the case while moving the CDROM around?

When you leave Bios are you using ESC and saving your changes?

 

yeah, everything is tight, and yes I used esc and saved changes. I'm thinking the hd took a dump or the motherboard or something did.

 

If you didn't change the jumpers on the HD and you have only the HD alone on the Primary cable connected to the Motherboard it should be recognized.

I guess clearing the CMOS would be an option. What model DELL is it? I'll see if there is a guide but basically near the battery there should be a jumper and printed on the board should be a marking for which pins clear the CMOS. That would reset the BIOS to defaults although I think your settings look OK.

 

Don't laugh too hard cause it's about 8 years old, but it's a dell workstation precision 420.

 

It looks like there is no jumper on the connector so you will have to use a spare jumper or the one from your CD drive. Unplug and leave the battery in; put the jumper on for a few seconds and remove. Restart and it should ask you to accept defaults or to set the clock.

 

8 years? Wow, you're well past the typical expiration date for Dell Components. Of course this is also true if it survives a year without problems.

Try resetting, but I'm afraid to say it's looking terminal.

 

Stupid iPhone, I can't see that pic. Can you/somone email it to me at my user name at gmail? Thanks

And yes triaxx, that's what I'm thinking. But due to the lack of funds, I'm going to exhaust all possible options before I give up.

 

I'll send the picture.

Basically looking at the keyboard with the battery at the top right--halfway down on the right should be a connector with 4 pins. There should be some printed label on the board. The top horizontal row of two pins would be for pswd reset the bottom horizontal row would be for CMOS(labeled RTCRST).

Jumper the two pins on the bottom horizontal row for 2-3 seconds and remove jumper. Restart. *[Leave the battery in during jump]*.

 

In that case, try eBay. You might be able to get a working one, and replace the motherboard with that. It might fail again, but it'll tide you over until you can upgrade properly.

 

I owe you a beer as i'm typing from my old dinosaur right now! Thanks a million Sach!!! The funny thing is, now i have 2 p4's sitting next to me and a box of 10 hdd's.:-D

I also found out why my cd/dvd drives are not found. Y'all are gonna lagh, but all my stuff on the puter is scsi.:-o

 

Glad you got it working. I think I better pass on the beer as I told you to look at the keyboard when I should have said motherboard.

 

I didn't even notice, so i guess i knew what you meant.