[kdehoff]

Not sure whether this message belongs in this forum or with motherboards, because I'm not entirely sure where the problem starts, but here it goes:

I'm running two hard drives on my IDE1, a 60GB maxtor and a 40GB WD. Every so often (seemingly at random), my computer will freeze. Occasionally, I will be bombarded with windows error messages stating "Unknown Hard". When I reboot, the BIOS fails to detect both hard drives. I tossed 2 ribbon cables before realizing that all I needed to do was detach and reattach the mobo connector, which instantly fixes the problem (until the next time). This is getting to be a pain, and I was wondering whether I should be worried about the hard drives, the mobo (failing IDE1?), or some other aspect of the system.

Thanks much

Specs:
Shuttle AK37A mobo (fully updated BIOS)
AMD 1700+
512MB RAM
60GB Maxtor HDD (master, IDE1)
40GB WD HDD (slave, IDE1)
generic PSU (300W)
Gainward GeForce4 4800

 

[dai]

see if you can borrow another p/s to put in,larger than the one you have

 

[kdehoff]

Thanks for the psu idea. Since I'm a home user, and this isn't a constant problem (it's occasionally ok for up to two weeks), borrowing parts is a no-go. Is there any way to figure out exactly what the problem is so that I can repair it without replacing the entire system in the process?

 

[whodat]

I'm running two hard drives on my IDE1

greetings, the second one is slaved?

 

[kdehoff]

yes. I didn't realize it could be done without being slaved