Western digital HD Problem

[doh_boy]

right my friend has a problem with her HDD (Western Digital Caviar 40GB)

the bios doesn't seem to be seeing it.

Its a gateway PC

Pentium 3 500Mhz

128Mb RAM

First HD 13GB

Windows ME

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I apolgise about the lack of info, the type of bios for example, but if anyone has any ideas about problems with this type of HDD then I'd appreicate it.

 

[FatBusinessman]

Few ideas (sorry if they're insultingly basic, but we all make silly mistakes):

• Check all the cables are plugged properly into your HD
• Check you've got your jumper(s) set right on the HD
• Try the HD in a different PC
• Beat it against a wall

(Note: I accept no liability for you trying suggestion 4 )

 

[S-Gray]

Sounds like the IDE Cables are on the Wrong Way round or its a f00ked HardDrive

 

[GDW]

Originally posted by FatBusinessman

[*]Beat it against a wall
[/list]

(Note: I accept no liability for you trying suggestion 4 )

Actually that can work. I have a 2nd PC with a five year old 2.4gig Seagate. In order to boot it up I need to give the unit a bang... I joke you not!!!

 

[S-Gray]

You bang your Boxes?

 

[Insane]

I presume you havnt disconnected the hard disk at all....

first, listen for it to spin up.. if not then two options.
(1) bin it
(2) if the person has taken an extended warranty out on it, get Gateway to replace the drive with a SUITABLE replacement (read: NOT western digital drive)

the banging it may help loosen the heads or kick the motor running, but short-term jolts will only cause more problems down the line.

Our company has a 3yr contract out with every compaq machine on-site (and off-site) and nearly every replacement has been Western Digital drives (the caviar models, most troublesome drives I have EVER came across!)
compaq are wise, they replace those drives with the new Maxtor slimline IDE drives, very sweet

out of 4 WD drives, 3 have failed.. the only one still "working" is the 30gig model i bought two years ago, and thats getting the horrible "click of death" every so often, two 6gig and a 4gig have all stopped working through normal use.

so again, re-iterate earlier point.
if it doesnt spin up.
bin the drive and purchase a new drive (current advice is either Maxtor or Seagate)
Or pester Gateway till they replace it under warranty, most hard disks already come with a 3yr warranty.

if the drive DOES spin up (unlikely)
try moving it to another machine, in case the IDE controller on the gateway has broken.

 

[Nozzer]

Yay, someone else who thinks Caviars are the worst Hard-Drive Evar™

 

[Embattle]

Generally WDs recent drives are as good as any other drive.

 

[Xavier]

Ok, I'm going to suggest a possible actual fix

As you didnt' say if the drive is new or not it makes it slightly difficult, but the below applies either way:

Check the jumpers and cable that the drive is on, typically the caviar ATA100 drives will only work on ATA100 cable with cable select reliably, that means changing the jumpers to CS and putting the drive at the far end of that 80-conductor cable for Master and at the middle for slave (*remembering that the blue plug on the 80-conductor ribbon is the motherboard end*) - cable select uses signal timing and delays to work out which ID is which (master/slave).

Yes, I know you should be able to use master/slave on the drives jumpers - and I've had systems working with that configuration for a while, but they've both eventually stopped seeing the drive and wouldn't play ball properly again until I'd done the above.

 

[doh_boy]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions, Xav the drive is new.

umm, the one problem is that she's in loughbrough and I'm in manchester! I've been trying to help her over MSN!

I'll try to put all your suggestions into wording that she'll understand!:uhoh: