Tried to connect new blank HDD as Slave, now it won't Boot!

[NacsMXer]

So I have an older Windows XP Desktop with a single primary Western Digital 500gb IDE hard drive. It was hooked up with the hard drive connected to the end of the IDE ribbon cable connector (master). It originally had no jumpers installed since it was the only internal HDD in the system. The computer was working and restarting just fine as of today.

Well today I tried to hook up a second identical but blank remanufactured HDD as a slave. I had never tested or hooked up this drive to the system before. All I was trying to do was to hook up the second drive as a slave, start the computer, format and partition it, and use it for storage.

Here is what I did:

- Shut the computer down
- Unplug the power cable from the back and wait for the light next to the CMOS battery to turn off
- Install a jumper in my original primary HDD and set it to master (still using the end of the ribbon cable in master position)
- Install new blank drive I wanted to slave in drive bay below, install jumper in slave position, install ribbon cable connector using the same ribbon cable as above, only using the middle slave position
- Install spare Molex power connector to new slave drive
- Reconnect power cables and cables at back of computer and Power the system on

Ever since I did all this my monitor has no display (it is powered on but the power button flashes on and off as if it has no signal) and the computer will not boot. There are no hard drive startup noises or anything. I get no BIOS screens, just nothing since I don't even have a display on my monitor.

I even tried disconnecting the new slave drive and reinstalling everything the way it was before I changed anything (single IDE drive, no jumper, IDE cable connector in master position) and it still won't start.

If anybody could please help me and at least get my computer where it can start again I would GREATLY appreciate it. I'm really sorry I even touched it since it was working just fine earlier today. Thank you very much for your assistance.

 

[jnkweaver]

Try cable select. Thats what I had to do.

 

[NacsMXer]

Thanks but I don't think my IDE ribbon cable will support cable select?

Do you know why it won't boot even after reverting to how everything was connected originally? Thanks!

 

[jnkweaver]

Thanks but I don't think my IDE ribbon cable will support cable select?

Do you know why it won't boot even after reverting to how everything was connected originally? Thanks!

Try it. It's what I had to do when I added some older IDE's to a computer with SATA drives in IDE mode in the BIOS.

 

[NacsMXer]

I tried setting the jumper to cable select and I still get no display on my monitor. No boot, nothing.

I tried leaving the computer with the power cable unplugged for over an hour. Held the power button for 2 minutes with the power cable unplugged. Removed and reinstalled the video card in the PCI slot. Removed and reinstalled the two RAM sticks. All to no avail. No display on my monitor. The lights on my two CDROM drives flash like they normally do during boot, but I don't hear any hard drive start noises after that.

When I start the computer I see my keyboard has power, but my USB mouse does not light up. Something is really screwy here, i'm stumped.

 

[jnkweaver]

I assume you have tried going back to original state? (no second hard drive and no jumper)

 

[NacsMXer]

Yes, this is all i'm trying to do at this point...just get the computer running how it was before. It plain will not start, and I have no monitor display.

It got messed up the second I started it with the primary drive jumper set to master and the slave drive jumpered as slave.

 

[jnkweaver]

Yes, this is all i'm trying to do at this point...just get the computer running how it was before. It plain will not start, and I have no monitor display.

It got messed up the second I started it with the primary drive jumper set to master and the slave drive jumpered as slave.

I reread the first post and saw you already answered that question. Sorry.

Try pulling out the IDE ribbon cable again and reseating it on the motherboard and the drive. Try a different molex connector to power the harddrive.

check all the connections to the monitor. As it is trying to boot, cycle through the monitor inputs.

 

[navalweaponsofficer]

have you tried clearing your CMOS using the jumper? If not do that. If that does not work Unplug all drives from the motherboard and see if the BIOS will post. You can also reseat ram if you think you may have bumped it somehow. if after all this it still will not post then i can only assume that the referb HDD killed your comp somehow.

 

[jnkweaver]

Do you have a mb speaker? Can you hear any beeps when it tries to boot up?

 

[NacsMXer]

I reread the first post and saw you already answered that question. Sorry.

Try pulling out the IDE ribbon cable again and reseating it on the motherboard and the drive. Try a different molex connector to power the harddrive.

check all the connections to the monitor. As it is trying to boot, cycle through the monitor inputs.

That's alright, I really appreciate the help.

I tried everything you said here and nothing worked. Still no hard drive boot sounds and no monitor. I also unplugged and replugged back in my video card but no change.

 

[NacsMXer]

have you tried clearing your CMOS using the jumper? If not do that. If that does not work Unplug all drives from the motherboard and see if the BIOS will post. You can also reseat ram if you think you may have bumped it somehow. if after all this it still will not post then i can only assume that the referb HDD killed your comp somehow.

No I have not tried that. I see the jumper but have never done that before. How do I do this? Do I have to remove the CMOS battery before I try this? I did try removing and reseating the RAM but no dice. I will try to unplug the drives and see if the BIOS will post right now.

Do you have a mb speaker? Can you hear any beeps when it tries to boot up?

Yes, it has a speaker right next to the CMOS battery. No beeps when it tries to boot. Right now all I see are the lights on my two CDROM drives flashing at boot like they normally do.

 

[navalweaponsofficer]

The jumper header should have three pins with two of them bridged by the jumper. Move the jumper to the other position which should bridge the currently un bridged pin and the center pin. then move it back to its original position. this will reset the BIOS to its defualt settings.

 

[jnkweaver]

That's alright, I really appreciate the help.

I tried everything you said here and nothing worked. Still no hard drive boot sounds and no monitor. I also unplugged and replugged back in my video card but no change.

Do your fans spin when you try to start up?

What model computer is it?

 

[NacsMXer]

The jumper header should have three pins with two of them bridged by the jumper. Move the jumper to the other position which should bridge the currently un bridged pin and the center pin. then move it back to its original position. this will reset the BIOS to its defualt settings.

I moved the CMOS jumper to the other position for a full minute, put it back to the original position, and started but same condition. I also tried uplugging the the IDE and power cables and starting the computer but still no screen and no beeps.

Do your fans spin when you try to start up?

What model computer is it?

Yep, both the processor and case fans run every time I try to start it. It is a Gateway MFATXPNT ES2 CZZ KERNAL # 13006 C P4H Windows XP desktop PC. It was made 6/16/03.

What I don't understand is why would changing simple jumper settings and starting the computer cause all this? Everything was fine before I did this. Adding a drive as a slave should be a simple routing task should it not?

 

[jnkweaver]

What I don't understand is why would changing simple jumper settings and starting the computer cause all this? Everything was fine before I did this. Adding a drive as a slave should be a simple routing task should it not?

Yes it should have been simple. That is why this is so hard to troubleshoot.

I am still leaning towards a bad power supply. The flashing power light on some computers indicate a bad supply. If it ends up being the supply it could have been coincidental that it failed at that particular time.

 

[NacsMXer]

Yes it should have been simple. That is why this is so hard to troubleshoot.

I am still leaning towards a bad power supply. The flashing power light on some computers indicate a bad supply. If it ends up being the supply it could have been coincidental that it failed at that particular time.

That is something to consider but that would be a very strange coincidence indeed. It's the monitor light that is flashing, to be clear. It flashes as if it doesn't have a signal, or when the computer normally goes on standby.

Again, thanks for all the help, keep the suggestions coming if you could.

 

[jnkweaver]

That is something to consider but that would be a very strange coincidence indeed. It's the monitor light that is flashing, to be clear. It flashes as if it doesn't have a signal, or when the computer normally goes on standby.

Again, thanks for all the help, keep the suggestions coming if you could.

Nevermind about the power supply then (yet). I thought you meant the power light on the case was blinking. I am trying to solve three of these simultaneously and they are all a bear.

Try booting with the iGPU. Hook up the monitor to the onboard video (your cpu has it) and boot with the graphics card removed. With the clearing of the Bios it may boot to this anyway

 

[thejup]

I have had a similar problem in the past. I placed a new dvd burner in a working system and nothing. no beeps, lights, or post, just fans running. it was the power supply. just that little extra pushed it too far and the mobo was getting out of spec voltages and not booting. replacing the power supply should fix it. (both dell and gateway are bad about putting power supplies that are near maxed into their systems.)

 

[NacsMXer]

Nevermind about the power supply then (yet). I thought you meant the power light on the case was blinking. I am trying to solve three of these simultaneously and they are all a bear.

Try booting with the iGPU. Hook up the monitor to the onboard video (your cpu has it) and boot with the graphics card removed. With the clearing of the Bios it may boot to this anyway

I tried this with the video card removed. No change.

I have had a similar problem in the past. I placed a new dvd burner in a working system and nothing. no beeps, lights, or post, just fans running. it was the power supply. just that little extra pushed it too far and the mobo was getting out of spec voltages and not booting. replacing the power supply should fix it. (both dell and gateway are bad about putting power supplies that are near maxed into their systems.)

You guys may be onto something with the power supply. I honestly wasn't even thinking about the limits of the power supply when I tried to hook up the second hard drive. Do you have any suggestions for good replacement power supplies that would be compatible with my system?

 

[aberboy0]

i had exactly same issue with my new HDD, had to reformat in the end, but then i added another new HDD, but this time i did it while pc still on, and bingo it worked a treat. dunno why it failed to boot after first time, hence way i tried it 2nd time. strange but it worked, although not recommeded i guess

 

[jnkweaver]

I tried this with the video card removed. No change.



You guys may be onto something with the power supply. I honestly wasn't even thinking about the limits of the power supply when I tried to hook up the second hard drive. Do you have any suggestions for good replacement power supplies that would be compatible with my system?

Normally a harddrive doesn't draw enough so you don't have to worry about it.

What is your video card? Are you in the States? Once I figure the wattage I will recommend a psu.

 

[NacsMXer]

Normally a harddrive doesn't draw enough so you don't have to worry about it.

What is your video card? Are you in the States? Once I figure the wattage I will recommend a psu.

Yes, I am in the states. I wouldn't mind upgrading the video card to a slightly better one while i'm at it, but who knows about the availability of these older PCI cards.

Using the part # on the back of the card I found this info on Google:

DESCRIPTION: NVIDIA GEFORCE FX 5200 128MB AGP 8X DDR SDRAM VIDEO CARD W/O CABLE.

MPN NUMBER: 6002441

GENERAL INFORMATION:
•DEVICE TYPE : GRAPHICS ADAPTER

•ENCLOSURE TYPE : PLUG-IN CARD

•INTERFACE TYPE : AGP 8X

PROCESSOR:

•GRAPHICS PROCESSOR : NVIDIA GEFORCE FX 5200

•CORE CLOCK: : 250 MHZ

•RAMDAC CLOCK SPEED : 400 MHZ

MEMORY:

•VIDEO MEMORY : 128 MB

•MEMORY CLOCK : 333 MHZ

•MEMORY TECHNOLOGY : 64-BIT

•MEMORY BANDWIDTH : 2.7 GB/S.

VIDEO OUTPUT:

•MAX RESOLUTION (EXTERNAL) : 1600 × 1200 @ 75HZ

•COLORS MAX RESOLUTION (EXTERNAL): 32-BITS PER PIXEL

•API SUPPORTS : OPEN GL 1.4, DIRECTX 9.0B

•TV OUTPUT : S-VIDEO

EXPANSION / CONNECTIVITY:

•CONNECTORS : 1 X VGA CONNECTOR, 1 X S-VIDEO CONNECTOR

•COMPATIBLE SLOTS : 1 X AGP 8X

SOFTWARE / SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

•SOFTWARE INCLUDED : DRIVERS & UTILITIES

•OS REQUIRED : LINUX, MICROSOFT WINDOWS NT 4.0 SP6,
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 2000 / XP

•RECOMMENDED POWER SUPPLY : 300 W

•PERIPHERAL / INTERFACE DEVICES : CD-ROM

 

[jnkweaver]

Well first of all this is not a PCI card it is AGP. That puts the age of the computer around 2003-2005. There are very few AGP cards left and you pay a premium for that. Add that to Gateway used proprietary powersupplies (I believe) back then (I am sure Dell did), I would recommend a new build.

The best AGP card I can find is the HD 4670. This runs $120 after shipping. You can get a GeForce 6200 from $40-$60 with varied amounts of video memory.

Take a look at this graphic card hiearchy chart to see where you would be at. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

Here's Tom's latest budget build for $500. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/budget-gaming-do-it-yourself-computer,3364.html

Of course if you go with a new build you can always get help on the forums. A great builder is http://pcpartpicker.com/

Wish I could have helped more. Remember your data should still be safe on the harddrive.

 

[NacsMXer]

Thanks for your help and advice, jnkweaver. I really do appreciate your efforts.

I think it would be best to look into a new build at this point since my existing system is pretty much obsolete at this point.

When I get my new custom build all set I would like to get all my files off of my old IDE hard drive and transfer them to my new system. Wouldn't this be as simple as purchasing an external IDE enclosure for my old drive and hooking it up to the new system? The drive should show up in My Computer, and I could just drag and drop/copy everything over right?

Thanks again for all the links.