Trouble Shooting Basic

To proceed at this
point with trouble shooting installation of hard drives, we should address the
proper method for installing a drive. Often if you will understand the the
HOW of installing a hard drive and why, the rest is rather easy.

Today, there are only two types of hard drives
used in PC computers, IDE or SCSI drives, which concerns the manner in which the
drive connects to the motherboard and how data flows through the
system. SCSI is the fastest method still today and it does not
require the CPU to handle the data translation to move the data, hence it speeds
up the system on two levels. That said, SCSI requires special controllers,
while IDE controllers are built into all popular motherboards since the advent
of PCI 486 motherboards. So, why are we using IDE instead of SCSI?
Cost! It is just that simple. SCSI
contollers are very expensive and the drives are typically 2 to 4 times the cost
of an IDE drive.

The vast majority of hard drives sold today for PC
computers are IDE or sometimes referred to as ATA drives. That is why we
are going to discuss IDE drives first in this series. Setting up SCSI
drives is quite different from IDE. We need to understand IDE before we
move on to SCSI.

IDE
CHANNELS
Motherboard chipsets on todays motherboards support two
channels or two connectors. Yes, there is new technology arriving on
the scene that provides for four channels, but that is outside the scope of this
discusion. So, the normal motherboard has two connectors, one for each
channel that data moves through to the motherboard. Each of these channels
supports two IDE hard drives, set one as Master and the other as
Slave. I need to mention at this point that there exists other
devices that will connect as IDE devices, such as Internal Zip drives and
Internal CD Rom drives. These IDE devices are all configured the same as a
hard drive. So for now we will concentrate on IDE hard drives. This
is a diagram of a Master and Slave configuration on an IDE
channel:

Master and Slave
drives
Both drives share one ribbon data cable back to the controller,
in this case the controller is part of the motherboard. In order for the
drives to reside together on a single ribbon cable using one channel, either the
Primary channel or Secondary Channel, the drives must be configured, one as
Master and the other as Slave. This effects how they will be
displayed and used by the computer. The Primary Master drive is always
"C", except possibly if a SCSI controller is involved, but that is outside of
this discussion. Then the Primary Slave drive is the "D" drive, as the
Secondary Master is the "E" drive and the Secondary Slave is the "F"
drive... or like this:

• C drive = Primary Master
  
• D drive = Primary Slave
  
• E drive = Secondary Master
  
• F drive = Secondary Slave
  

Configuring an IDE drive to be either Master or Slave is done
with the jumper pins on the drive, these pins are nearly always between the
Power connector and the IDE ribbon cable connector. Each manufacturer has
different pin configurations for either Single drive in a computer, Master or
Slave. Most often Single drive and Master are the same setting. You
simply determine the jumper settings from the hard
drive manufacturer's web site, from the installation manual or right on the
drive label, such as this:

Then, using a pair of needle nose pliers, you can
move the jumper to the proper location, remembering that nearly always the drive
comes from the factory set as a Master drive:

Mounting the
Drive
The drive is now ready to be installed into the computer
case. The drives are either 3.5" wide or 5.25" wide. Inside the case
are bays to hold both sizes of drives. Simply slide the drive into the
appropriate slot, then using the screws accompanying the drive, fasten the drive
into place. Be careful not to over tighten these screws, as they will
easily strip out the threads in the drive and always use the appropriate screws
to mount the drive.

If you do not have any available 3.5" bays
available to mount the drive, there are kits available to hold the drive in the
5.25" bays. This is a picture of just one type
available.

I should also mention some computer cases, such as
Enlight, have special hard drive brackets inside the case that are not usable
for floppy or zip drives due to their location. I particularly like this
arrangement, as the drives are totally seperate and allows for better air
movement around the drives.

Ribbon Data
Cable
Now that the drive is seated in the case and fastened, it is
time to attach the Ribbon Data cable. The ribbon cable normally has three
40pin connectors, one for the controller and two for hard drives, master and
slave. Since all motherboards since the advent of PCI 486 motherboards
have included onboard IDE controllers, we will consider that the controller is
on the motherboard.

The controller connectors on the motherboard
should be labeled as to the location of Pin#1. If you cannot find the
marking on the motherboard, refer to the motherboard manual or visit the motherboard manufacturer's web site for these
locations. Once you have determined pin#1 on the motherboard, attach the
ribbon cable with the stripe side adjacent to pin#1 on the controller
connector. The strip is usually red, but can also have writting along the
edge:

Now, we connect one of the other connectors on the
ribbon cable to the hard drive into the 40pin slot. We also need to be
sure that the stripe side of the cable is adjacent to pin#1 on the drive.
If you are unsure, refer to your hard drive manual again. Usually, pin#1
is the side toward the power connector.

Power Cable
The only
remaining cable to connect is the power cable inside the case. Find a
power connector that matches the drive's connector and press it into
place. It will only go into the connector one direction, based on the
design of the plug and connector.

CMOS Identifying the
Drive
We have the hard drive installed and it is time to determine if
we have done it right. Making sure we have at least the
monitor and keyboard connected to the computer, turn it on. At the
appropriate time, usually during the POST phase, (this is the first phase of
starting the computer and usually when the memory test is displayed on the
screen). Press the appropriate key combination to open the CMOS settings
in the BIOS. Nearly all motherboards made in the last few years now use
[DELETE] key to open the CMOS. If you system does not use this
combination, we have alternatives for special
motherboards listed here.

In the CMOS, you will find a setting to AUTO
Detect IDE hard drives. Using this utility, the BIOS should detect
the hard drive. Now, all is left is to exit the CMOS, saving the new
settings and your installation is complete.

If the CMOS does not detect the new drive, you
will need to turn off the computer, (this is alright even if you are in the
CMOS, as it will not save any changes). You need to check that the
ribbon cable is properly installed, with Pin#1 connected to the stripe side of
the cable, you need to be sure the power connector is tightly in place and you
need to verify you have set the jumpers on the drive for the appropriate
Master/Slave configuration. All of these issues must be addressed and
verified. One more thing you may try, if these all seem correct is
to turn the IDE Ribbon Data cable connector around on the
drive.

Okay, the CMOS still does not find the
drive? When you turn on the computer, does the hard drive spin
up... do you hear it spinning? If so, power is not an issue.
Try replacing the IDE Ribbon Data cable. Still no success? Then the
final though is you have a bad hard drive. This is extrememly rare, though
I have seen it on a few occassions. Time to return the drive for
replacement.

But, for our discussion... if you have done
every step as listed, your system should now have the hard drive
installed. The next phase is to Boot the computer with a boot disk and
partition, then format the drive.