azpower

When i start my other pc i get an error immediately after the dell logo screen saying on a black screen:


Hard disk device 0 not found
hard disk device 1 not found
secondary hard disk device not found

hit f1 to retry or f2 for setup


specs:
WinXP
p4
2 maxtor hd's one 10gb(older maybe about 5 years or more) and one 40gb(which is new maybe 6 months old and is maxed out)
atleast 256mb ram maybe 512 maybe more




-At first i tried windows repair and it said there were no drives installed. So i tried chkdsk and it tells me the amount of free space on each drive with none on the newer second drive and that it has an unrecoverable error on it. But i highly doubt that error because i have gotten messages like that before in windows and i think it's just because it is maxed out. Plus if it thinks there are no drives installed then how can it tell me that info about the drives?

-I tried a different IDE cable and that did not work.
It was an older one though white with a pink stripe which is from the pc that the older drive came from. The one that came with the computer is gray with a blue stripe so i am not sure if that older one would work but it fits into my two hd's and the ide connector/plug. When i plug either one in they do seem a little loose compared to the plug next to it which is snug. But the older pc from which i got the pink and white Ide also has a somewhat loose connector so i doubt that means anything.

-I don't think that the disks are spinning because i don't hear that loud vibrating sound i usually hear when i startup but i do not actually know what a spinning hd sounds like so i don't really know on that.

-The bios works(i think since i can go into it). When i select the hd's it says they are not installed and then i can change them from auto to off. I enabled the Secondary drive to see if that would do anything but apparently not since i only have 2 drives.

-Would re-installing the drives cause them to lose their data? I can't afford to lose the data on these drives.

- I tried the maxtor hd diagnostics program and it tells me there are no hd's installed and to check the plugs. I don't really know how the jumpers work so i don't want to mess with those. Plus i don't understand how they could just stop working and they are definately connected.

-My computer knowledgable friend installed the hd's from my older computer into this new one about 8 months ago and i have not had a problem i couldn't fix myself since. I don't know if this has any relation to the problem or not. And he says he doesn't really know what could be wrong and he hasn't got time to look at it.

-Is there anything else i can do besides calling the maxtor support or taking it into someone. I don't want anyone else messing with it because i don't want to take the chance of them screwing it up. I've heard a few stories about the geek squad screwing people's computers plus i don't want to pay them if it's something simple i can do myself.

-And in worst case scenario if i can't get this fixed then what are the best options for saving/recovering the data on these drives?

I just think that this may have a simple solution because my cdrw drive on my other working pc wasn't recognized for some random reason then when i unplugged the power suplly to the pc and replugged it and powered on it suddenly was recognized.

And how long does a typical hd last because the c drive is pretty damn old anywhere between 5 to maybe even 10 years old. I can't remember when its from. It's off of the first dell dimension series l600r which i am pretty sure they don't offer support for anymore. So could that be the problem?


Thanks, would really appreciate the help.

jnob

First off, and I don't mean to insult you, I've done it before many times and freaked out for a minute, since you don't hear the drives spin-up do you have the 4-pin power plug inserted into each drive?

Second, and likely the actual solution is the jumpers. When jumpers are not configured properly the computer will usually not recognize them at all. If you are uncomfortable messing with the jumpers know this, you cannot damage your drive setting the jumpers as long as it is turned off while making jumper changes. A good idea is to draw a diagram of how the jumpers are now so that you can set them back when done if you want to use them in their original configuration. The key is to either set 1 to Master and 1 to slave or both to Cable Select.

I just re-read the post and am wondering was this system working fine and then all of a sudden one day would not boot the hdds any more? If nothing was ever changed internally and everything is hooked up properly then it sounds like something shorted both the hdds at the same time. What brand Power Supply are you using and have you had any sudden reboots before the problem?

azpower

Yes everything was working fine and then randomly this just happened while i was on the pc. That's why i am clueless to the cause of the problem. But i don't understand how the jumpers could suddenly stop working.


I am not sure what brand power supply i am running but i will try to find out.

hwm54112

If bios says the drives aren’t present, yet you can run chkdsk, bios is flaky. Reset cmos by removing the battery or using the mobo pins.

Have you tried plugging the hdd drive cable into the other mobo ide connector? Just disconnect the cdrom cable from mobo and plug hdd cable into that mobo connector. Does bios see them now?

Saving data depends on worst case scenario. If the drives are ok, you can put them in your working computer-no data loss results from un-installing/re-installing drives as long as you do it properly

jnob

If you take the drive out of the computer and hold it in your hand while you boot up you should be able to feel it spin up. If it does not move at all and there are no LEDs then it's likely a short fried the firmware board. Since it just stopped working it's not the jumpers.

If the drive does spin up and get power I would buy a brand new IDE cable, might as well get a round one since they improve airflow anyway.

It's also possible the power supply is failing. Before trying another power supply make sure the one you are currently using has the same color wires in the exact same place as the new power supply as some Dell's have unique wiring which can burn the motherboard if hooked up wrong.

As far as a hard drives life span, it really depends on care and use. With little heat and banging a hdd can last a good decade+. I have 5.25" 10.0GB bigfoots which are 5+ years old that used to run 24/7 and still work fine. And I've had a maxtor 120GB that lasted 3 months before it shorted. But it's not Maxtors fault I have 2 more of the exact same drive and they've lasted me years and run cooler than my WDs (which btw have never failed me without serious abuse).

azpower

I opened my pc and felt the hard drives(without removing them) and i can feel a slight vibration on them. I unplugged my cdrw drive and plugged that plug into one of my hd's. It has two plugs but the way it is positioned i can only reach one of the hds with one of the plugs. I would have to screw around with it to make both plugs reach and i was not going to do that unless i knew for sure this would be worth anything. When i turn on the pc it still does not detect the drive i plugged in with the cdrw's cable. Do i have to plug in both of the hds to get them to work? I tried each one with the plug that i could barely get to reach and both did not work each time i tried. I did not plug in both of them at the same time to both plugs on the cable that was originally on the cdrw. I am not sure if that had anything to do with why they still did not work. Like i said the reason i did not plug them both in was because i would have to remove the cable from a little plastic holder which would take some time and i did not want to do that if i could just test it out with each hd solo. If they both have to be plugged in to work then i will do that. But i tested each hd with the same plug that was in the cdrw.

azpower

"Rest cmos by removing battery or with the mobo pins"


What would that do and what is "cmos"? And would doing this risk data loss?


I am first gonna try connecting both hds to the cdrw's cable, which i already tried but i did not have them both connected at the same time.

Then I would like to try reinstalling but i do not want any data loss. Would i just use the cd that came with the hd's to reinstall them? And if i lost that cd what would i do.

hwm54112

Cmos is the chip that contains the bios setup program. Bios is the program that configures the computer hardware before the operating system takes control. Resetting it will not cause data loss.

If you re-install the hdd’s with the manufacturer’s disk, you will lose your data. You can use the disk to diagnose the drives. But you said the drive diagnostics doesn’t see the drives so you wouldn’t be able to re-install them

When you switch the drive cables, you have to make sure of the master/slave/cable select settings are correct. You have to make sure the drives are enabled in bios.

The confusing part of your post is that no hard drives are found in bios setup, yet you can still run chkdsk. That’s why I suggest resetting cmos.

You don’t have to have both drives connected to see them in bios. In fact if one drive is bad, or jumpered wrong, you may not be able to see the other, or even boot.

As of now, I don’t know where you are but if your drives are not jumpered correctly for their position on the cable, you’re never gonna get this sorted. You need to step back on this and proceed in an orderly manner. I would set everything back to the way it was (cables connected as they were originally) disconnect the power cord and remove the battery for a half hour or so. (I’ve heard of some bios’ supposedly requiring 24 hours to clear so you’d be better off clearing it from the mobo pins if you are able). Then turn it back on and enter setup if given the option and we can proceed from there

azpower

They are enabled in bios. Still they are not detected.

I can run chkdsk from the windows setup cd in the repair console. Not that i wanted to, but i can't reinstall windows since it tells me i do not have any hd's installed.

The jumpers should be correct because i have not touched them at all and they should still be the way they were when the pc was working since nobody that i know of has touched them or anything else inside the pc.

I'll do what you said and then repost.

I appreciate the help.

azpower

I tried connecting the cdrw's idi cable to the hd's but they still were not detected. So i believe that means that the idi cable is not the problem unless i have to change the plug that the idi cable is in on the motherboard to the one that the hd's idi is normally plugged in to.

I don't know how to reset the cmos for the bios. I will find out and then try that since i am running out of things to try.

hwm54112

You may have to change the plug on the mobo. that is dependent on the computer