2 HD's and one cuts out! Help

[Clob]

I have one WD 40gig 5400 rpm drive as a slave (for some reason windows made it c. My primary drive (d: for some reason) is a Maxtor 60gig 7200rpm 8mb and it is brand new! Now when I have the drives running at the same time, or even when their sitting idle my Maxtor will spinndown and stop working and stall the computer. This doesnt happen when the Maxtor is alone! Any advice? could it be my powersupply giving out? It is a 400W powermax and the 12V rail is low (abouit 11.7 - 11.8). I dont know what rail the HD's run on so im a lil lost here on why this is happening.

Asus P4T533-C mobo
Both drives are on the same IDE cable!

"If youre paddling upstream in a canoe and a
wheel falls off, how many pancakes fit in a doghouse? None! Icecream doesn't have bones!!!"

"Battling Gimps and Dimbulbs HERE at THGC"
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Clob on 11/02/04 07:19 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Coyote]

I'm going to guess you have a "jumper" problem.

The jumper says whether it's a master or slave. Or if you choose cable slect, the position on the cable (the connecter in the middle of the IDE cable is for slave, the one on the end is for master).

First, check the jumper on the WD. Usually, when it's the only HD on the IDE cable, the jumper is removed (this means master when its the only drive on the IDE cable).

Watch the jumper on the Maxtor, seems to me they come from the factory set to "cable select" IIRC.

If windows sees the WD as drive C: it prolly means it's set to master (via the jumper, or lack thereof) on the primary IDE channel.

Set the jumper on the HD you want to be C: as "master". If thats the WD and it'll be on the primary IDE channel by itself, that means no jumper. If there'll be another drive on the IDE channel,put the jumper on it as "master"

Check the Maxtor's jumper and make sure it's not "cable select". Put it to "master" or "slave" as desired.

Oh, and it never hurts to keep the master on the connecter at the end of the IDE cable. The slave being on the connector in the middle of the IDE cable.

Don't mix 'n match cable select and master/slave.

If your PSU is a Powmax, they suck and it c/b a cause of the problem if you've got the jumper configured correctly.

Mobile XP 2600+ (11X200)
Abit NF7-S v 2.0
Maxtor 60GB ATA 133 7200RPM
512MB Corsair Twinx 3200LL
BBA 9800 Pro
Enermax Noisetaker 420 watts
Win2K sp4

 

[Clob]

Ok I double checked the jumpers and IDE positions and they are correct. But it doesnt explain why the C: is the slave and the D: is the master. Also, would it actually boot if they where backwards and one was on CS?

Right now I have both running and it is stable for now. the drive letters are still the same. When the Maxtor is alone it is still D:....

"If youre paddling upstream in a canoe and a
wheel falls off, how many pancakes fit in a doghouse? None! Icecream doesn't have bones!!!"

"Battling Gimps and Dimbulbs HERE at THGC"

 

[Coyote]

Also, would it actually boot if they where backwards and one was on CS?

IIRC, mixing CS with master/slave has caused me problems in the past.

If everything running fine, don't worry about C: and D:. There's an MS article explaining how & and in what order your drives are named by XP (which I don't use).

I don't think you wanna change them, it will likley cause problems. I'm not the best at explaining this, but if you change driver letters, some apps are likely not to work unless you reinstall them. The registry is pointing the apps to drive C: or D; and if you change drive letters, it'll foul things up.

Anyway, many peeps advocate NOT having your OS on C: drive, it's a little measure to help with security.

EDIT: BTW, I'm guessing your HDs have been named in the manner they are because the C: drive was the first installed. Regardless of it's position as master/slave.

Mobile XP 2600+ (11X200)
Abit NF7-S v 2.0
Maxtor 60GB ATA 133 7200RPM
512MB Corsair Twinx 3200LL
BBA 9800 Pro
Enermax Noisetaker 420 watts
Win2K sp4<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Coyote on 11/04/04 02:20 PM.</EM></FONT></P>