# [SOLVED] something wrong with disk drives



## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

hi, i had an error 31 with my cd/dvd drive a few months back and i fixed it, all was well, well then recently my cd drive would just stop workin in the middle of watching a movie or listening to a cd and wmp would freeze up and then i wouldnt be able to open my cd player. i looked under device manager and nothing was found for cd/dvd drives. i looked in my computer and nothing was there either (the cd drive was drive D-primary slave right?) so i decided after many days of restarting mmy computer repetitively hoping it would fix, that i would open my case up, disconnect all the wires and plug them back in (the ones to the cd drive). so i did. well i started my computer back up, it recognizes a d drive but now it says "Local Disk (D" and it has a HUGE question mark (?) next to it under my computer, and device manager still doesnt list and cd/dvd drives. when i double click on it it says its RAW with 0 capacity for everything. can anyone tell me whats going on? im so confused, i was going to renistall windows but now i cant because the cd drive isnt working :/ please help me!

p.s i attached a pic of what it looks like.

ok so ummm -listens to crickets chirping- anywho, after a prolonged amount of time of searching my issue online, and doing everything all suggestions told me to do, i now stand with some interesting facts that i have questions on...

1) now when i restart my computer i get an error that says AHCI BIOS not installed, ATA 0, SATA-1 not detected, strike F1 to continue with startup, F2 to BIOS

im not really sure what that means

ive repetitively opened my case up and replugged in all the cd cables, nothing seems to work
last time i restarted my computer i had a continuous green light on my cd drive. is it doing all these errors maybe because my cd drive is dead?
ive ordered a new drive but im scared that im going to get it and install it and it will do the same thing

is the sata thing because my cd drive isnt working?
whats with the ahci bios thing? would all this correct if i get a new cd drive? PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE!!! im going insane!!!!


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

Hi,
How is the CD drive connected to you motherboard?
Are both your Harddrive and CD-Rom connected via 1 ribbon cable or are these SATA drives?
If this is a IDE drive the jumper should be set to master and the CD-Rom connected at the end of the ribbon cable. The motherboard connection should be connected to the Secondary IDE slot (or slot 1).
Your Harddrive should also be set to master and connected (on its own ribbon cable) to the end of the ribbon cable. The motherboard connection should be connected to the Primary IDE slot (or slot 0).

Let me know what you find as far as your connections.
Thanks,
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

well i can definately tell you from offhand right now that my cd drive is ata-sata. i do have a ribbon cable and i THINK it goes to my motherboard but im not POSITIVE because i did take out my harddrive today and there was no ribbon attached to it, just a hookup like the cd drive so im assuming thats also a sata, not sure tho.


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

If these are SATA drives the connection cable will look similar to this (See Attachment). If you do not have these connections let me know before proceeding.
Be sure the connections are correct on the motherboard and CD-Rom, and HD (ex SATA1, Sata2).
Clear your CMOS by either removing the CMOS Battery (leave out for 15-30min) or by jumping the CMOS Jumper accordingly.
Boot up the PC.
Go into your BIOS and input the appropriate time, date and select Load Default Settings (or optimal settings).
Be sure to SAVE the settings before you exit.
Let me know how you make out.
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

yes those are what i have, one is orange and one is blue.who do i clear my cmos? this is a desktop, do desktops have batteries too?


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

Yes,
There is a small battery (about the size of a nickel, silver in colour) on your Mobo.
Shut down the PC Completely!
Remove your power connection from the power supply.
Be sure you ground your self by touching a non painted service of the case.
Carefully remove this battery for 15-30 minutes.
Reinstall the battery (Carefully)
Reboot and follow the directions in post #5
Thanks,
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

ok so i did the cmos thing but i never did the load default settings, should i take the battery out again and then redo it doing the load default settings?

btw after i took the battery out and then restarted, i got many different errors
1-port 1 no device
port 2 no device
port 3 no device

2-AHCI BIOS Not Installed

3-Drive 0isk Drive
Floppy Disk Seek Failure

Alert! System Battery Voltage is Low


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

Redo the steps again.
Be sure your battery is fully seated when you reinstall it.
And yes, please go into the BIOS and set it to default settings.
Thanks,
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

ok, i did it over, still get the same errors at start up but this time i got an additional *Alert! Previous Fan Failure* after i put the battery in i pushed down on it to make sure it was in all the way and it is. i did default settings but there was no option to save, so i think after i did the default settings it saved it automatically.


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

Can you tell me what the exact make and model of the MoBo?
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

i have to open the case for that right?


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

Yes, look for identifying marks like ASUS, ABIT, GIGABYTE (examples) followed by a number (may contain letters).
These marks are usually located by the CPU or PCI slots.
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

ok i opened it up and the only things i could see on it were
Dell Rev. A01

and

Dell E210882 on the mobo


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

What is the make and model # of the dell.
It should state on the front of the case.
Thanks,
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

btw, now my computer says my cd/dvd drive is a 3 1/2 floppy LMFAO!!! just thought id share that, its rediculously funny to me for some reason

my system is a Dell Dimension E520

im gonna head to bed, its 2am, gotta get some sleep, talk to you tomorrow hopefully, thanks so much for the help so far 

my new cd/dvd drive will be arriving today, should i not install it yet?


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

NO,
I would not reccomend it.
I think we have to make sure your BIOS is setup correctly and your hardware is connected properly.
Here is the link to the Owners Manual:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dime520/en/OM_en/NH730A01.pdf

Here is the service manual (System setup is the BIOS, Clearing CMOS and Removing and installing Hardware):
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dime520/en/SM_EN/index.htm

Browse through each category to be sure you have everything set correctly (especially your connections).
Also be sure to clear your CMOS (this manual will tell you how)
Also be sure that in the BIOS (Use Default settings) the RAID is turn to RAID Autodetect/ATA.
Let me know how you make out.
Bill
Save and exit


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

you said that i should have the system as RAID Autodetect/ATA but when i tried to switch it i got an error saying it can cause my os to not start and blah blah blah warning me about doing it

ok, so by looking at stuff, it seems as tho everything is plugged in right. I did notice in the manual that in the example of hitching up a cd/dvd drive to put it in sata 4 so i went ahead and did that. then changed it in bios. i also disabled floppy disk because i dont even have one and im getting the floppy disk error, i saved changes and restarted computer. still get the error for the cd/dvd drive but now in sata 4. so i went ahead and continued boot up. the cd drive has a solid green light on it again. nothing shows up in my computer or device manager. im thinking that maybe the drive is just dead but i dont know im not an expert. i did update firmware after the first time i had problems with it, then the next day it didnt work so maybe that has something to do with it too. i have recieved the new cd/dvd drive. oh, another question if its not the cd/dvd drive, could it be the sata wire? just wondering


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

As far as the Sata/Raid. Do you have RAID setup? Do you have more than 2 HD in a Raid Array?
As far as the CD-Rom, if you have the new one install it.
You could replace the Sata Cable to see if that works prior to installing the new CD-Rom.
I was unaware that you did a fimware update so it is possible that the update was corrupted, making the CD-Rom useless.
Thanks,
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

well im assuming that i have RAID set up because when the computer starts up it says my hard drive is controlled by the RAID Bios.


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

Do you have more than 1 Harddrive and are they in in a Raid Array?


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

i do not have more then one hard drive

btw, i put in the new cd drive, good news, it lights up normal, can open and close the thing, bad news is, when started up still got the same sata 4 error and device manager and my computer dont recognize it, is there something i need to download to make it usable? like a driver, and where would i find it if so?


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

I think your issue is you have setup a RAID ARRAY or the BIOS is not setup right.
If you do not have more than 1 HD you do not need a RAID setup
Please be sure to safe any data or info you need on your HD.
You may have to reinstall windows!
Go to the BIOS and set the RAID to Autodetect/ATA and not RAID
Be sure any other RAID settings are diabled.
Exit the BIOS and reboot.
Hopefully the system will reboot.
Let me know.
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

how am i supposed to reinstall windows if the cd isnt working right and i have no floppy?

ok my computer did NOT like that one bit lol. i did what you said and i got the bSoD.
STOP: 0x0000007B (0xBA4C3524, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

The BSOD is related to a boot problem (Changing the RAID setting)
Try a repair install of XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341
Scroll down to REPAIR INSTALL
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

how am i supposed to do that when the cd drive isnt functioning properly?


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

are you still getting the CD error when it POST?


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

yeah, i put the old one back in when i was doing bios cause i didnt feel comfortable leaving the new one in incase something happened. but with the new one, i still get the error but im able to open and close the drive and it spins and everything

i think im going to buy a new sata cable and try that before anything, if the mobo is recognizing that something is plugged in, and i have a new player, i would say the cord is bad knowing i have power to the drive. is there a specific kind of cord i need to get for a cd drive? or can i just pick out a sata cord?

erm (giggles on the insides) i feel really blonde right now, so um, i got err sick of it and decided to switch the sata cable around and errm it worked, my new cd player works, i dunno why that worked but, i never switched it around before cause i always left one end in the mobo when unplugging it anywho  im a happy camper now  thanks for the help so much!


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

Hi,
I gotta laugh (you are not the only blonde):laugh:, I thought I suggested checking the connections, but never told you to reverse them (that should have not made a difference)
Anyhow, is everything all set?
Is your whole system up and running correctly?:4-dontkno
No errors in the device manager.
No more BSOD?
Thanks,
Bill


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## summonerkrista (Jul 25, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

as far as i can tell everything is fine, after i switched the cord around it started up perfectly and i tested the drive and it plays cds and dvds, no errors in device manager, all is well as far as i can see.


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## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: something wrong with disk drives*

Thanks,
I was just starting to run out of ideas
I will mark this thread as resolvedray:.
Bill:grin:


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