Floppy & CD ROM issue

[LadySlinger]

Hi Everyone

You guys will love this:

I have a computer that will start, but not boot if the CD ROM and Floppy driver are plugged into the motherboard.
If I unplug both, the computer will boot up normally. I've double checked the BIOS to see if its set up to automatically detect the two drive and yes it is.
I also double checked where it is plugged onto the motherboard. The Hard drive is plugged into the Primary IDE, the CD ROM is plugged into the secondary and the floppy is on the floppy. I've even tried switching the plugs around, but that didn't help.

So any ideas on how I can get this to boot up???

Thanks!

Ladyslinger

 

[sumilsay]

are your pin1 positions correct? is the light on the floppy drive always on? if so, flip the ide cable on either the back of the floppy or on the motherboard. same with the cd-rom...

 

[bcastner]

On your case, do you have to remove a drive cage unit in order to see/plug/unplug the drive cables?

On your BIOS boot order, do you have floppy, then CD, then Hard Disk, or some other way?

On your power connectors, do you have a set of wires from the power supply to two daisy-chained connectors for the floppy and CD?, or are they all on seperate wire bundles from the power supply to each of the three devices?

If 1 & 2 are true, replace both floppy and IDE cable to the CD.

If 2 is true, change the boot order.

If 3 is true the power connector to the floppy is upside down.


My guess.

 

[LadySlinger]

Actually the light for the floppy does not come on at all. I've double checked to make sure that I have all the plugs secured...I will be double checking that tonight though.

The CD ROM light does come on and stays on, so I will try that method.

As for the BIOS, since the only way I could get the computer on was to disconnect the Floppy and CD ROM, BIOS didn't have either listed (it is set up to automatically discover the floppy and CD ROm). So I could not change the boot order.

Thanks though!

 

[franklin97355]

Try just removing the CD (and its cables) from the system.

 

[BuckeyeComputers]

I have never seen a bios automatically detect a floppy drive. keep in mind that floppy seek is not automatically detecting the floppy drive..you must set this yourself.

 

[bcastner]

Buckeye,

Not autodetect, per se.

But you should see commonly a boot order, and there should be an entry for removable devices.

This is why I think either through pulling a jumper on the MB, pulling the CMOS battery and counting 900 Mississippi, or a BIOS option to reset extended settings should be one of her first steps.

 

[LadySlinger]

I went back to it last night, and yes the cables had been reversed/backwards/not right. So I was able to get the computer to boot up without having to unplug the floppy and the CD ROM. However BIOS still wasn't detecting either.

I have gone into BIOS for the boot order (because I thought about that too), however BIOS would only let me select the hard drive to boot from, even though Drive A is assigned as 1.44 Floppy in BIOS and I have the rest of the drives as being automatically detected (CD ROM).

LS

 

[bcastner]

Some systems let you hit F12 during boot and set a temporary boot device.

 

[LadySlinger]

bcastner, I still need to try what you suggested.

But for giggles, since windows 98 was showing the drivers, I removed them from the device manager. Then I rebooted the computer. BIOS told me DRIVE A: FAILURE, yet when windows desktop appeared, it automatically installed the drivers for the floppy and CD ROM.

Could this possibly be some sort of virus? The computer doesn't have virus software on it, and no room to put any antivirus software on it.

Thanks!
LS

 

[Bobg1]

"No room for antivirus software"
I would make room or install a larger (or additional)drive.

 

[dpw1432]

bcastner said it all

 

[LadySlinger]

Update:

I ran the free online Virus Scane from Symantec's web site and no viruses are on the hard drive.

I popped the hard drive into another working computer, and BIOS saw the hard drive and CD ROM. So it isn't settings related...it's hardware!

 

[Tarwn]

Have you tried flipping the floppy cable? It sounds like you flipped the CDROM above, but I have seen floppies do odd stuff with flipped cables as well.

-Tarwn

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[LadySlinger]

Good news!

I have the floppy disk reading floppies now! I happen to take out some stuff because I could get to the floppy connection on the motherboard and discovered that two of the pins were bent.

Similar with the CD Rom (but at the CD ROM bay, not the motherboard connection). So BIOS does detect both now, but the CD ROM still isn't reading.

I'm going to look through these forums and find one concerning non-reading CD ROMs.

Thanks for all the tips though!

Ladyslinger

 

[ceh4702]

Maybe the jumper for the CDROM is needs to be change to read it. CDROMS do go bad.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[LadySlinger]

ceh -

That's what I think has happened...
either that or there is so much dust that it won't read (I had colonies of dust bunnies (more like dust bears) when I got this computer.

Cheers,
LS