[Rick Deez]

PLEASE SUPPLY RELEVANT INFORMATION:
Operating System Version: None yet
Problem Application Name & Version:
Problem Hardware Make & Model: IBM Deckstar 180GXP 7200 RPM ATA-8 H
Error Messages:


I've just finished putting together my new computer and I'm having trouble getting it to stay on. My friend told me I need to make sure my hard drive is set to master and then my cd-rw to secondary master and dvd to slave or vise versa. How do I go about doing this? I wasn't provided with the proper manuals. Thanks

[Admin]

Hi,

Primary Master - hard drive
Primary Slave -
Secondary Master - cdrw
Secondary Slave - dvd

Master and slave are determined by the jumper settings on the drive which is a small plastic cap (metal core) that connects two small pegs together. The jumpers are usually at the back of the drives. The small pegs are usually marked on the drive label or engraved in the metal casing of the drive. Primary and secondary are determined by the IDE port (connector) the ribbon cable is attached to (may be marked IDE1 and IDE2 beside connectors on motherboard). Each IDE can support up to two devices.

Please note that some hard drive also have a "Stand Alone" setting if the only device on the ribbon cable. Check your hard drive label

Once the drives are well connected, make sure the BIOS recognizes the hard drive. Usually set to default to AUTO which should autodetect the drive on bootup. Check the screen closely during power up.

If you require more assistance to install your operating system, let us know what version you're installing (e.g. Win98, WinXP...)

Good Luck!