DELL desktop wont see DVD-ROM drive no matter what!

[inquiring]

I'm running XP Pro SP2 on a DELL Dimension 3000. I want to boot from a DVD Linux Boot disc on this rig and I updated the BIOS to A003. The DELL BIOS will not recognize the newly installed DVD-ROM drive in the BIOS. Windows does not see the DVD ROM drive.

What else must I do to get this rig to see the DVD-ROM drive so that I can boot from the drive into my LINUX disk?

Thank you Gurus!

 

[Zoron]

If the BIOS does not see it, Windows won't see it either... your first step is to get that drive recognized in BIOS. Ensure the master/slave settings are correct (Dells use Cable Select, so you might want to set the jumper to that). Next, Dells won't simply auto-detect IDE devices when you add them to the system; you must go into the setup and turn on the appropriate device (most likely either Secondary Master or Secondary Slave depending on it's position on the cable).

If the drive is still not recognized in BIOS once you've checked everything else, then the drive is likely defective.