A quick disclaimer: I normally do systems maintenance on the Macintosh computers, but a layoff of a fellow employee means I get to try my hand at the PC side of things. If replying to my question, please don't assume too much knowledge on my part.
OK, the problem: We have a computer running Windows 98 on which the secondary IDE usually gets the yellow warning flag in Device Manager. There is a ZIP drive and a CD-ROM drive on the secondary IDE. Occasionally, the ZIP drive will show up in the devices listing after re-starting, but more than often not. The CD-ROM never shows up, and is always disabled when running Windows 98.
I have read through the forums and have tried the "NOIDE" tip to no avail. I have also tried various BIOS setting changes to no avail, although I admit I'm not too sure what I'm doing along those lines. I've also tried de-installing the controller software and letting it replace itself upon startup, but that has not corrected the problem.
One thing of interest is that the CD-ROM and ZIP drives are fully functional when in DOS mode. I have read a couple of postings about changing the BIOS to User Type HDD instead of Auto to disable certain DOS settings, but have not been able to figure out how to accomplish this.
Another note is that there is a network card installed in the machine that is also causing problems--sometimes booting up with the yellow warning (maybe 50% of the time). Unlike our other PC's on the network, this computer doesn't start up with a log-on prompt, and in order to access the network, the user must "log off" in order to get the "log on" screen to come up. I have also read through forum posts on this issue, but have not been able to solve the problem. For all I know, there may be a connection between this and the CD-ROM issue.
If it helps, the PC was put together by Tiger Direct, and came with the CD-ROM and ZIP drive in it, and with Windows 98 installed. We apparently added the network card.
I'm not sure exactly when these problems began occurring, because, as mentioned above, our PC systems person was layed off and the employee who was using the computer after that unexpectedly passed away a couple of months ago. However, I'm pretty sure the problems weren't there when the computer was purchased. I'm thinking perhaps Windows 98 or the network software was reinstalled somewhere along the line, causing the problem to develop.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
OK, the problem: We have a computer running Windows 98 on which the secondary IDE usually gets the yellow warning flag in Device Manager. There is a ZIP drive and a CD-ROM drive on the secondary IDE. Occasionally, the ZIP drive will show up in the devices listing after re-starting, but more than often not. The CD-ROM never shows up, and is always disabled when running Windows 98.
I have read through the forums and have tried the "NOIDE" tip to no avail. I have also tried various BIOS setting changes to no avail, although I admit I'm not too sure what I'm doing along those lines. I've also tried de-installing the controller software and letting it replace itself upon startup, but that has not corrected the problem.
One thing of interest is that the CD-ROM and ZIP drives are fully functional when in DOS mode. I have read a couple of postings about changing the BIOS to User Type HDD instead of Auto to disable certain DOS settings, but have not been able to figure out how to accomplish this.
Another note is that there is a network card installed in the machine that is also causing problems--sometimes booting up with the yellow warning (maybe 50% of the time). Unlike our other PC's on the network, this computer doesn't start up with a log-on prompt, and in order to access the network, the user must "log off" in order to get the "log on" screen to come up. I have also read through forum posts on this issue, but have not been able to solve the problem. For all I know, there may be a connection between this and the CD-ROM issue.
If it helps, the PC was put together by Tiger Direct, and came with the CD-ROM and ZIP drive in it, and with Windows 98 installed. We apparently added the network card.
I'm not sure exactly when these problems began occurring, because, as mentioned above, our PC systems person was layed off and the employee who was using the computer after that unexpectedly passed away a couple of months ago. However, I'm pretty sure the problems weren't there when the computer was purchased. I'm thinking perhaps Windows 98 or the network software was reinstalled somewhere along the line, causing the problem to develop.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.