# Boot record not found on IDE-0 (dual-boot system)



## mhodgins

Hello,

I'm having some trouble getting 2 Maxtor drives to work on my computer. I've spent the last 5 days trying numerous different configurations, but I still have the same problem with the older of the two drives:

I started out with an Athlon XP 1700+ fitted with one 40Gig Maxtor as Primary Master on IDE-0 and my CD-ROM as Secondary Master.

I purchased a second harddrive : one 80Gig Maxtor.

I disconnected the 40Gig Maxtor and re-connected it as Primary Slave on IDE-0. Connected new 80Gig Maxtor as Primary Master and attempted to install a new copy of Windows XP to the 80.

... a whole slew of problems ensued, although I was very careful to make sure that I properly placed the jumpers and configured the BIOS. I have attempted to install and reinstall a variety of different dual-boot setups with Windows XP on the slave (or, in some attempts, as Secondary Master) and Fedora Core 2 on the other.

NO MATTER WHAT I DO, THE BOOT RECORD OF THE ORIGINAL 40GIG MAXTOR IS NOT RECOGNIZED DURING THE BOOT PROCESS.

I have conducted extensive research on the net concerning known problems with respect to WinXP/FedoreCore2 dual-boot systems, but I do NOT believe that this is my problem.

No matter what OS I install, no matter which drive is master and which is slave, even if I disconnect my 80Gig drive altogether, it's always the same error : 

'Searching for boot record on IDE-0 ... NOT FOUND'

As a last ditch effort to boot to my 40Gig Maxtor, I returned to my original configuration, leaving the 80Gig drive completely disconnected. I used Maxtor's MaxBlast 3 to write zeroes to the ENTIRE 40Gig drive as Primary Master on IDE-0. I tried reinstalling Windows XP. The disk is recognized by the Windows installer and I am able to format a new partition, and transfer the setup files, but when I reboot, the BIOS stills appears not to recognize the boot record.

I've really tried everything that I can think of : I've even rewritten the MBR with FIXMBR from the Windows repair console, I've used FIXBOOT and BOOTCFG ... I have also attempted to reinstall FedoraCore 2 after wiping the disk once again, using sfdisk to avoid problems with the partition table and disk geometry. 

When booting the FC2 Rescue Disk with the 40Gig as 'hda' on IDE-0 and the 80Gig as 'hdb' on IDE-0, the boot process hangs temporarily when it tries to analyse the 40Gig drive. Eventually it gives a 'DMA timed out' error.

Here is the ONLY configuration that works : I must connect ONLY the 80 Gig Maxtor as Primary Master, everything works fine. Windows XP boots smoothly.

If the 40Gig drive is connected while I boot to the WindowsXP installed on the other drive - even when the older drive has been TOTALLY wiped to zeroes - WinXP will successfully boot eventually, but hangs for a very long time, presumeably while attempting to communicate with the 40Gig drive. Strangely, once booted to WindowsXP, I can browse the 40gig drive without any problem.

Final note : I experienced absolutely NO problems whatsoever with my 40Gig drive prior to disconnecting it the other day. Even now, when I run Maxtor's Powermax utility, all of the tests say that my drive is free of errors. I have also tried replacing the IDE cable just to be sure. To no avail.

Can anybody help me to get it to boot ???


----------



## Mikelb

I shall get back with you on that.... I just wanted to let you know I am working on it...


----------



## Praetor

> 'Searching for boot record on IDE-0 ... NOT FOUND'


Yeah that happens from time to time ... might be time for a format?


----------



## Mikelb

possibly an infection of some type... maybe in the MBR... though it is strange to be recognized once in XP... I'd say delete the partitions on the 40g and re-partition it... the only other thing I can think is that maybe it is hardware failure... something like an intermittent power failure (maybe PS going bad), or a bad HD controller....  just a couple of things to think about... sorry if I'm not much help, I'm very hands-on oriented, without being there... I prolly can't do much...  though I do know what you're talking about b/c I have had it happen before... but not with XP


----------



## mhodgins

*resolved*

Okay, here's the solution : I hadn't properly configured my BIOS. "PCI IDE Busmaster" was set to "YES" and "Onboard IDE Controller" was set to "BOTH". I never touched either of these BIOS settings - if that worked for one harddrive, I figured that it ought to have worked just as well for two. When I turned off the PCI IDE Busmaster, both drives began to work properly with the onboard controller. I don't really understand what the problem was - must have been some sort of conflict - but I still don't understand why it only affected my ability to boot from one of the two drives. The conflict had not even prevented me from browsing that second drive once the computer had been booted from the first. I find it all a bit vague, even after a week of intensely researching the problem. At least now I understand quite well everything I'll ever need to know about the partition table and master boot record !

Thanks for your help ...


----------

