Secondary IDE not working

[buffyo]

I can not use my cd rom on my secondary IDE I have device working properly on the device manager for secondary IDE(FIFO) but it cant see my cd rom there. I know rom works and the power goes to it fine so i can open and shut the tray it just doesnt fire up. i have also swapped ribbons so i know thats fine. I cant run any HDD or CDrom from my secondary IDE. Also i cant run bios set up as i have legacy usb enabled and bios set up freezes on me! can any one please help?

[Murf]

Did this just start? Have you recently installed any hardware.

What are the specs of your system.

If this is a newer system, within the last couple of years, you may need to install the motherboard drivers and it may us a Bus Mastering. In Device Manager do you have a "DUAL ENTRY" like Dual IDE controller or maybe Bus Mastering?

[buffyo]

No hasn't just started I got the PC from an old company that changed over PC's originaly it was W200 proffesional but i put in new HDD and installed W98.
It's a Gateway PC pentium II processor
when i got PC it had a cd rom that would work on occasion untill finaly it never worked (with original W2000 HDD).
In device manager secondary IDE controller (dual fifo) is under intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE controller.
If thats of any help!?

[Murf]

In Device Manager, highlight intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE then go to Properties.

See if BOTH IDE CHANNELS are enabled, if set at default then change it and reboot.

Could be the CDROM went south also.

"cant run any HDD or CDrom from my secondary IDE. Also i cant run bios set up as i have legacy usb enabled and bios set up freezes on me!"

Take out the CMOS battery for about 2 minutes then replace it. This will reset your BIOS Setup back to DEFAULT and should let you in. If your unsure where it is look at my help page HERE

[buffyo]

it was already on enable both drives. i will reset CMOS. the cdrom works fine as a slave to primary ide, which i usualy use for my cd rewriter. my worry is that maybe the secondary ide slot on motherboard is not working

[buffyo]

Your my best friend of the day!!
I reset cmos, so can enter set up which is a niggle that has driven me mad for ages!! Such a nice easy solution!! thanks for that and guess what else!? my cd rom is working I did change jumper setting to CS as i know that sometimes people say to put it on that, was it that or bios?
I have no complaints now! should i leave all as is? now its good, or should i now try my cd rewriter as a secondary slave?

[Merrick]

See if BOTH IDE CHANNELS are enabled, if set at default then change it and reboot.

I always wondered about that. Do you suggest that users using both IDE channels select "both IDE channels enabled" vs. "default" ? What is the difference? Is there a performance increase?

[Murf]

Great,

Whew that was an easy one. LEAVE IT ALONE if it works. Some HDD have to use Cable Select (CS) when another drive is attached on the same cable as a slave.

As for Both Channels being enabled:

This depends on the Chip set in the computer. Some Like older VIA, must have both enabled. This is particular if your not running Bus Mastering. The newer boards running Bus Mastering, the default setting enables both channels.

Technically: Bus Mastering

Refers to a feature supported by some bus architectures that enables a controller connected to the bus to communicate directly with other devices on the bus without going through the CPU. Most modern bus architectures, including PCI, support bus mastering because it improves performance.

In simple english, the non-bus mastering have devices talking directly through the IDE channel, through the processor. Whereas Bus Mastering, the devices talk to each other without going through the Processor - improve performance.

The motherboard must have BUS Mastering capabilities and the controller (drivers) installed for that particular chip.