Old XPS-R, Lost CD Drive and Tape Drive

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The Colorado tape drive is attached to either the floppy diskette drive cable or
the IDE drive cable. Open up the case and find out. If the tape drive is
failed or failing and it is attached to the IDE cable, its failure could cause
the system to not recognize the IDE drive... Ben Myers

On 08 Jun 2005 08:52:11 -0400, <ahall@no-spam-panix.com> wrote:

>
>I have a very old Dimension XPS-R.
>
>A couple of weeks ago it stopped finding the
>Colorado tape drive, then a week later the
>CD light started flashing, and does not show
>up in the hardware profile (win 98).
>
>At first rebooting would bring back the tape
>drive, then turning off would bring it back.
>Now nothing works.
>
>I fear a warm up fault on the motherboard.
>
>Do the CD drive and the tape drive share any
>pathways?
>
>Any ideas for trouble shooting?
>
>Or just head to the scrap pile?
>
>Thanks,
>
>
>--
>Andrew Hall
>(Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...)

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

>>>>> Ben Myers writes:

Ben> The Colorado tape drive is attached to either the floppy diskette drive cable or
Ben> the IDE drive cable. Open up the case and find out. If the tape drive is
Ben> failed or failing and it is attached to the IDE cable, its failure could cause
Ben> the system to not recognize the IDE drive... Ben Myers

I believe the tape drive is ide.

Replace cost for the drive is more than the old
box is worth.

But it will be nice to get the cd drive back.

Thanks.

Ben> On 08 Jun 2005 08:52:11 -0400, <ahall@no-spam-panix.com> wrote:

>>
>> I have a very old Dimension XPS-R.
>>
>> A couple of weeks ago it stopped finding the
>> Colorado tape drive, then a week later the
>> CD light started flashing, and does not show
>> up in the hardware profile (win 98).
>>
>> At first rebooting would bring back the tape
>> drive, then turning off would bring it back.
>> Now nothing works.
>>
>> I fear a warm up fault on the motherboard.
>>
>> Do the CD drive and the tape drive share any
>> pathways?
>>
>> Any ideas for trouble shooting?
>>
>> Or just head to the scrap pile?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>>
>> --
>> Andrew Hall
>> (Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...)



--
Andrew Hall
(Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...)

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Disconnect power and data cables from the tape drive, and set the jumper on the
CD-ROM drive to the master position. Attach the CD-ROM drive to the last
position (furthest away from motherboard connector) on the IDE ribbon cable, and
the CD-ROM drive should be good to go.

I never placed a lot of faith in the cheap Colorado tape drives, myself.

.... Ben Myers

On 09 Jun 2005 15:15:06 -0400, <ahall@no-spam-panix.com> wrote:

>>>>>> Ben Myers writes:
>
> Ben> The Colorado tape drive is attached to either the floppy diskette drive cable or
> Ben> the IDE drive cable. Open up the case and find out. If the tape drive is
> Ben> failed or failing and it is attached to the IDE cable, its failure could cause
> Ben> the system to not recognize the IDE drive... Ben Myers
>
>I believe the tape drive is ide.
>
>Replace cost for the drive is more than the old
>box is worth.
>
>But it will be nice to get the cd drive back.
>
>Thanks.
>
> Ben> On 08 Jun 2005 08:52:11 -0400, <ahall@no-spam-panix.com> wrote:
>
> >>
> >> I have a very old Dimension XPS-R.
> >>
> >> A couple of weeks ago it stopped finding the
> >> Colorado tape drive, then a week later the
> >> CD light started flashing, and does not show
> >> up in the hardware profile (win 98).
> >>
> >> At first rebooting would bring back the tape
> >> drive, then turning off would bring it back.
> >> Now nothing works.
> >>
> >> I fear a warm up fault on the motherboard.
> >>
> >> Do the CD drive and the tape drive share any
> >> pathways?
> >>
> >> Any ideas for trouble shooting?
> >>
> >> Or just head to the scrap pile?
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Andrew Hall
> >> (Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...)
>
>
>
>--
>Andrew Hall
>(Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...)

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

>>>>> Ben Myers writes:

Ben> Disconnect power and data cables from the tape drive, and set the jumper on the
Ben> CD-ROM drive to the master position. Attach the CD-ROM drive to the last
Ben> position (furthest away from motherboard connector) on the IDE ribbon cable, and
Ben> the CD-ROM drive should be good to go.

I'll give it a try this weekend.

Ben> I never placed a lot of faith in the cheap Colorado tape drives, myself.

It was very reliable for 7 years, which is not bad for something
with moving parts.


--
Andrew Hall
(Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...)

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

If the CD-ROM drive still does not work, replacements are cheap and easy to
install. CD-RW and various DVD combo devices have drive CD-ROM prices way
down... Ben Myers

On 10 Jun 2005 09:17:35 -0400, <ahall@no-spam-panix.com> wrote:

>>>>>> Ben Myers writes:
>
> Ben> Disconnect power and data cables from the tape drive, and set the jumper on the
> Ben> CD-ROM drive to the master position. Attach the CD-ROM drive to the last
> Ben> position (furthest away from motherboard connector) on the IDE ribbon cable, and
> Ben> the CD-ROM drive should be good to go.
>
>I'll give it a try this weekend.
>
> Ben> I never placed a lot of faith in the cheap Colorado tape drives, myself.
>
>It was very reliable for 7 years, which is not bad for something
>with moving parts.
>
>
>--
>Andrew Hall
>(Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...)

i need a mother board cd.. i lost which i got . can i get..

Like ahall I too had many years of great service from my Colorado tape drive. I would still be using it today had MS not foolishly removed support from Vista. In some situations, tape has considerable advantgages over other forms of media.

raghu - Did you try the mobo manufacturer? They might have a download or item you can purchase. Also if we are talking Dell here and they don't have it you might try there forum to see if you can locate a spare. Finally there is always eBay. I am surprised at what they have sometimes.

Also note that your request has nothing to do with the title of this 4 year old thread. If the above does not work, you might want to start your own thread on this forum with a relevant title.