# Problem With my Gateway



## mikey4865

hey, i just got a gateway and for some reason it isnt recognizing my Cd drive.
IT is an older gateway so its running Windows 98. 

I am really stumped here and any information on what to do, to get the computer to recognize the Cd drives would be great.

What do i do?


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## Bobo

Does it recognize the drive in the BIOS or not at all?

Is everything connected properly?


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## The_Other_One

Have you done anything inside recently?  If not, the drive just might of given out.  It happens...


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## mikey4865

When i got the computer it was in pieces, i just put it together, i think it has something to do w/ the setup, what should The setup be for those drives?

I think it recognizes the BIOS


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## Bobo

Just set all the IDE drives on Cable Select, and plug them in.  The BIOS should do the configuring for you.


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## mikey4865

Cable Select?


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## Bobo

Jumper setting on the back of the drives.  Do you know how to do that?  If not, wait a minute and I will find something on google


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## Bobo

*Installing an IDE Device*

This section outlines the procedure for installing an additional IDE device. You can use a similar procedure when installing the first drive in a new PC or changing IDE configuration. 

*Determining the Configuration*

Most motherboards have two IDE controllers: IDE1 (primary) and IDE2 (secondary). Each IDE controller can support a 40-pin cable with up to two devices attached. The devices must be configured by jumper settings as slave or master. 
If there is only one device on the cable, use the master setting. (Some devices have a specific single jumper setting for this). 
If you add a second device to the cable, use the slave setting. Configure the drive from which you want to boot as the master device on the primary controller, unless the boot sequence options in the BIOS settings let you choose otherwise. 
Certain configurations give better performance than others. 
You should configure the hard disk as the master drive on the primary controller and the CD-ROM as the master drive on the secondary controller. Less contention will occur because IDE can only service one request from one device at a time. Also, the CD-ROM is a much slower device and if you attach it to the same controller as the hard drive, it will slow down access. 

*Set Jumpers for Each Device*

Use a pair of thin-nose pliers (or fingers) to set the appropriate jumper settings for each device. Instructions on configuring the jumpers are either contained within the documentation supplied with the device, or may be written on the device itself. If this documentation is not available, the Internet is an ideal source of reference. 

*Connecting the IDE Device*

Take anti-static precautions.
Turn off the PC. Remove the power cable and the cover.
Check that there is a free drive bay to hold the extra disk.
Connect the IDE cable to the drive and the drive controller. The IDE cable must be correctly orientated. Usually it has a red stripe that should be aligned with Pin 1 on each connector (this is often marked with a white spot). The master and slave drives can be plugged into any connector on the cable. Cables are not usually supplied with the PC but may be supplied with the new hard drive. You may require an IDE cable with connections for two drives or a second IDE cable (if the secondary controller is to be used). Check that the data cable is correctly orientated.
Attach a cable from the power supply to the power connector on the new drive. The plug will only fit one way.
Fix the disk securely into the drive bay, using the screws provided.
Replace the cover and turn on the PC.
*Configuring CMOS*

All but the oldest PCs automatically detect and configure the BIOS to recognize the new device. If an auto-detect option is not available, use the CMOS setup utility to select the device-specific parameters. The settings for a hard disk drive include cylinders, heads, sectors, translation type, PIO mode and DMA mode. Ensure that you save the changes before exiting from the setup. Preparing a Hard Disk A new hard disk drive requires partitioning and formatting before it can be used; the FDISK and FORMAT commands are used for this purpose.


The jumper settings will look something like this:






but they differ for every drive


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## mikey4865

ok , that explaination was alil intense, i dont knwo if i did what i was supposed to do, would it be to much trouble to explain what i have to do?


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## Bobo

Well it is pretty hard to explain exactly what you have to do, because I really need to be looking at the parts.

Is the CD drive on its own IDE channel?  (does it have its own cord)

If so, then the jumper settings shouldn't matter

Is the IDE cable plugged in correctly?

Is the power plugged in?

Does the CD drive open/close?


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## mikey4865

ok the CD drive and the DVD drive are connected with a cord that has three places that plug in, 2 plug into the drives and the other into the MoBo. The PSU is also pluged into the Drives so they are gettign power. 

(Explain to me IDE)


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## Bobo

IDE is just the type of cord that those drives use

Does the DVD drive work fine?

Can the CD drive open? (while the computer is on)


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## mikey4865

they can both open but the computer itself doesnt seem to see them. if i check my computer it only see's the foppy drive and the hard drive


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## Bobo

Check to see if the cable is correctly plugged in.  There should be a red line on one side of the cable, and on each of the drives and the motherboard, a little arrow or a "1" should be on one pin.  The red stripe goes on the side of the 1 pin


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## mikey4865

ok, i see the red line on the cord that is connecting the floppy but the cord for the CD and DVD dont have a red line (i took the cord for the CD and DVD drvies from a dell)


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## Bobo

hmmmm...that will make it hard to connect it properly.

Are there any missing pins on either the cord or the drive(s)?  There are 2 rows of 20 pins, sometimes one will not be there.


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## mikey4865

yeah all the pins are there, xcept for the 1 (i think the 1 is missing to make room for the cable)


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## Bobo

Well the missing pin on the drive should match up with a missing hole on the cable.  If there is no hole on the cable, is there a little extrusion on the plastic in the middle?  Sort of like a little bump in the connector?


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## mikey4865

yeah there is a little bump

so now im still confused why it reads the floppy drive and not the other 2 drives


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## Bobo

OK, here is a pic:






Generally, looking at the back of the drive, the "bump" should be on top.

On the motherboard, there should be a slot into which it goes.  Also look for a pin 1 designation on the motherboard, and connect the cable according to this picture

If the cable does not have a striped wire, and you cannot find pin 1 designations on the drives or the motherboard, then just try it every way possible and see if anything works



> so now im still confused why it reads the floppy drive and not the other 2 drives


The floppy drive has its own motherboard controller, and is totally independent of the other 2 drives.

Another option is that the IDE controller on the motherboard could be dead, in which case you would have to get a PCI IDE card


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## mikey4865

yeah thats what it looks like and I know i put it in correctly


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## Bobo

mikey4865 said:
			
		

> yeah thats what it looks like and I know i put it in correctly


Well if you are positive about that then there are very few options left:


The IDE controller on the motherboard is dead
The IDE socket on the motherboard is dead (try the other one, there should be 2)
The IDE cable is dead (not likely)
Both drives have some weird crazy problem that prevents the computer from seeing them
Something is screwed with the jumpers
Look on the back of both drives.  On the left or the right of the IDE connector, do you see a set of pins? (generally 8 pins in 2 rows) There should be a little black thing (jumper) connecting 2 of the pins, and above the pins, some letters

Or, even better, what are the models of the CD and DVD drives?


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## mikey4865

ok so there is 2 places where i can plug in the cable, i pluged the cable that was going into the hard drive into the other spot where i originally had the Cd and DVD drive cable, then a thing pops up and says Operating system not found!!! does this meanthat the other socket for the cable is burnt out?


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## Bobo

mikey4865 said:
			
		

> ok so there is 2 places where i can plug in the cable, i pluged the cable that was going into the hard drive into the other spot where i originally had the Cd and DVD drive cable, then a thing pops up and says Operating system not found!!! does this meanthat the other socket for the cable is burnt out?


Does it see the optical drives and not the hard drives if you switch the cables like that? (in the BIOS) If so, then that socket is almost certainly dead.

Check to make sure that none of the pins are bent, and that there is no dust or anything else in it


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## mikey4865

optical drives? how would i find out which it is see'ing


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## Bobo

Optical drives--cd/dvd drives

Go into the BIOS

find the hardware tab or whatever similar and see what is listed


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## mikey4865

how do i enter BIOS?


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## Bobo

well that depends on the computer

When the computer first turns on, look for something that says "press *** to enter setup/BIOS" and hit that key.  It is generally delete or F1

What is the exact model of the computer?


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## mikey4865

o ok i know how to enter setup then what do i have to do


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## Bobo

Look for a hardware tab, then see what hardware is listed

Do you have the hard drive or the cd/dvd drives in the "dead" slot right now?


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## mikey4865

there is no hardware tab, only; Main, Advanced, Security, Power, Boot, and Exit


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## Bobo

Look under main, what is there?


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## mikey4865

just the BIOS version, prosesor speed, ram, etc


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## Bobo

what about advanced?  It has to say somewhere...

What is the model of your computer?


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## mikey4865

Gateway ATX Tower TB3 Performance 800XL


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## mikey4865

in advanced there is IDE configuration?


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## Bobo

Yes, IDE configuration would be what you want.  What does it say?


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## mikey4865

IDE Controler: (options are): Diable, Primary, Secondary, Both
Hard Disk Pre-Delay: (options): 3sec 6sec 12sec etc.
Primary IDE Master
Primary IDE Slave
Secondary IDE Master
Primary IDE Slave


now what else do ya wanan know


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## Bobo

sorry i was gone for a minute

Are there no drives listed under primary ide master, slave, etc?  And they are connected?

Can you boot the OS?


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## mikey4865

there are these choices, AUTO, NONE, ATAPI REMOVABLE, CD-ROM, IDE REMOVABLE, OTHR ATAPI, USER

under the selection it shows the maximum capacity which cannot change the others i can change unless i have set the thing to AUTO.


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## mikey4865

what should i chosoe for each of the Primary/Secondary things?


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