Why can't my hard drive be accessed

[zulu9812]

I just transferred an IDE hard drive from my old computer to my new computer. In my old computer, it was connected up as a Primary Slave data-only hard drive (i.e. No O/S on it). I connected it to my new computer as the Secondary Slave (the Master being the DVD drive). The Primary Master & Slave on the new computer are 2 IDE hard drives. When I boot up the computer, when it's still in pre-windows mode, there is a message saying thus:

"Secondary IDE channel no 80 connector cable installed"

The slave part of the IDE ribbon cable (i.e. the one in the middle) is connected to this hard drive, as is the power cable connector. The jumper is set to slave. I don't what an 80 connector cable is anyway.

And when I try access this hard drive in Explorer it says that the drive is not accessible.

Any thoughts?

 

[Chairman Meow]

I just transferred an IDE hard drive from my old computer to my new computer. In my old computer, it was connected up as a Primary Slave data-only hard drive (i.e. No O/S on it). I connected it to my new computer as the Secondary Slave (the Master being the DVD drive). The Primary Master & Slave on the new computer are 2 IDE hard drives. When I boot up the computer, when it's still in pre-windows mode, there is a message saying thus:

"Secondary IDE channel no 80 connector cable installed"

The slave part of the IDE ribbon cable (i.e. the one in the middle) is connected to this hard drive, as is the power cable connector. The jumper is set to slave. I don't what an 80 connector cable is anyway.

And when I try access this hard drive in Explorer it says that the drive is not accessible.

Any thoughts?

The "80-connector cable" is the IDE cable. Does the DVD drive have a setting on the back? If I remember correctly, it should be on Cable Select. Also, although this may seem obvious, check to make sure the cable is plugged in the right way. It's very easy to accidentally reverse an IDE cable. It looks like it may simply be a case of the cable being reversed.

 

[zulu9812]

I did have the DVD drive as a slave drive, and I thought I'd got the position right for the slave setting. I'll have another look.

 

[zulu9812]

Nope, I have the jumper switches for all 4 drives on the correct setting.

 

[stormbind]

Download a utility from the manufacturer to adjust the speed setting for the HDD to match the cable rating.

 

[Chairman Meow]

I forgot to ask this earlier, but does the DVD drive work?

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Download a utility from the manufacturer to adjust the speed setting for the HDD to match the cable rating.

It's probably better to set this in the BIOS. It's more likely that the drive needs to be set to match the DVD (which is most likely DMA/33) if the DVD is the master.

Another thing it could be is that the two drives aren't very compatible together. The CDR and DVD I used to have would work fine together if I used the CDR as the master drive, but wouldn't work at all if I used the DVD.

 

[stormbind]

It's probably better to set this in the BIOS. It's more likely that the drive needs to be set to match the DVD (which is most likely DMA/33) if the DVD is the master.

That's possible but not always reliable because manufacturers like to cut corners when it comes to meeting "luxury" specifcations (such as negotiating the speed between motherboard & HDD)

I had to fix a system that had a HDD on a 40pin cable that refused to work..

After failing to persuade the owner to pay for an 80pin cable... I disabled UDMA in the BIOS (because this would force the HDD to operate at an outmoded ATAPI Mode 4 which I think is 16Mb/s). Booted, ran the utility and reduced the HDD setting to 33Mb/s (40pin compatible). Re-enabled UDMA and everything worked.

I still think that just putting in an 80pin cable would have been better. I don't consider it likely that both devices need to have the same data transfer rate, as I've never seen such a problem.. but stranger things have happened.

Another thing it could be is that the two drives aren't very compatible together. The CDR and DVD I used to have would work fine together if I used the CDR as the master drive, but wouldn't work at all if I used the DVD.

Such complications are common; it's manufacturers cutting corners again. Having a HDD set to master normally fixes such problems.

As a rule of thumb: read/write devices should be masters, if you can arrange it that way.

P.S. It has been many years since I worked in tech.support and I'm out of touch with the latest developments.

 

[zulu9812]

I actually mixed up my first post - the hard drive that I transferred from my old computer is in fact now the slave to the system hard drive and both are on the secondary IDE channel.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

If you do have an 80 conductor IDE cable and not a 40 one then I guess it's the speed/compatibility that stormbind and I have been discussing that's the problem.

I still think that just putting in an 80pin cable would have been better. I don't consider it likely that both devices need to have the same data transfer rate, as I've never seen such a problem.. but stranger things have happened.

I've seen this a couple of times, I think it's related to incompatibility between the drives myself. And what a cheapskate that guy was for not wanting to pay for a new cable.

 

[zulu9812]

But would there be a speed/compatibility problem between 2 hard drives of the same rpm?

 

[Crazy Eddie]

There's really no way of telling without trying. All of the things that go into a PC ought in theory to work together, but sometimes you'll just get conflicts for no apparent reason.

Two things that won't work together in one computer might work perfectly in a second. It's a bit of a bloody shambles.

 

[zulu9812]

One thing: on my previous computer, the hard drive in question was set up so as to be only accessed from one user account. I may or may not have restored normal access before I took it out. Could this be what's causing the problem now?

Incidentally, how can I tell the difference between a 40-pin and an 80-pin IDE cable?

 

[zulu9812]

Okay, I found an 80-conductor cable, and I mo longer get an error message at boot-up. However, I still can't access the hard drive in windows.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

If your using XP then I'm not really sure, but at a guess unless the files have been encrypted (I think it's only XP professional that can do this) the administrator account should be able to access the drive anyway. With 95/98 the security is laughable and shouldn't be a problem at all.

The 80 IDE cables have twice as many wires as the 40, and the conductors are much finer. If you're in any doub as to what you'e got, count 'em. (if you have one of the round IDE cables, they're 80's.)

edit: x-post

 

[stormbind]

In reality, they both have 40 pins and the sockets are physically identical. The difference is the number of cables in the ribbon. These are much thinner on the 80.

The effect of having 2 cables for each pin is that the signal is more robust. This makes it less susceptible to electronic noise (interference). Beyond that, there is no technical difference between them.

Older 40 ribbons have a critical data transfer rate of 33Mb/s or UDMA 2. Attempting to send data faster than that risks signal degragation and garbage arriving at the other end.

Newer 80 ribbons have critical data transfer in excess of 100Mb/s.

Some common data transfer rates (this may not be accurate..)

ATAPI Mode 1
ATAPI Mode 2
ATAPI Mode 3
ATAPI Mode 4 (16 Mb/s)
UDMA
UDMA 2 (33 Mb/s)
UDMA 4
etc..

You can put slower devices on a cable rated at a higher critical speeds, but not vice-versa.

 

[stormbind]

Okay, I found an 80-conductor cable, and I mo longer get an error message at boot-up. However, I still can't access the hard drive in windows.

Right click 'My Computer' and select 'manage' ...

Go to storage > Disk management.

 

[zulu9812]

Which OS was on the old machine?

Windows XP Pro, same as this new one

Also, the error message I get in Windows is the same one I got in the old PC when I tried to access the drive on a non-authorised account. \D is not accessible Access is denied)

 

[stormbind]

I edited my post after re-reading your opening post.

 

[zulu9812]

Right click 'My Computer' and select 'manage' ...

Go to storage > Disk management.

It says that the drive is Healthy (Active)