WinXP won't "properly" detect old AT drive

[stormbind]

Hi,

I'm trying to get an i386 to run NT3.1 -- something "dispensible" for while I learn network programming.

I took it's Maxtor 7245AT (245Mb) and dropped it into my ussual WinXP system to copy across the setup files - the i386 has no CDROM. Trouble is, WinXP won't work with that drive!!

It's a pretty confusing situation, but here is all the information I can provide...

BIOS SETUP:

There is no master/slave jumper on this drive. As stange as it sounds, the option simply does not exist!

The BIOS always detects the drive as Primary Master or Secondary Master.

SCENARIO 1:

Maxtor 7245AT is the lone device *Primary Master* .. both MS-DOS and LINUX detect it with no problems! I rewrote the MBR and Primary Partition table using MS-DOS > FDISK.

SCENARIO 2:

Maxtor 7245AT is lone *Secondary Master*. Windows XP simply won't detect it. Not in My Computer, not in Device Manager, not in Computer Management, and not with a disk utility.

SCENARIO 3:

Maxtor 7245AT is *Secondary Master* AND a CDROM is _also_ secondary master. Windows XP detects the Maxtor 7245AT in Device Manager and Computer Management... (with correct ID etc.) ... but it won't Initialize!

The motherboard I/O controller (WinXP system) normally powers four devices, so the I/O controller and IDE cable are confirmed to be working fine.

Is this a bug in WinXP?

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[pweegar]

In fact the Maxtor 7245 DOES have a jumper block. You want to jump J20 (located just behind the data cable connector) to enable the drive as the master. Go to maxtor's website and do a search for your drive. There is a 4 page pdf file that shows the location of the jumpers and what you need to set.

 

[dbData]

Have you check the cables? The older 7245 should be connected with a 40pin IDE cable, not the "enhanced" 80 pin cable.

Additionally; the drive is so old it may not auto detect. Make sure you set up the drive according to the manufacturers specs (Cylinders, heads, sectors) and the BIOS is not set to LBA or Large mode, use Normal mode.

If none of that solves the problem; download Maxtor's drive test utility and run against the drive to confirm it's ok.

Good Luck!
dbData

http://www.howtorecoverdata.com

 

[stormbind]

Thanks pweeger, I didn't see them down there. They are absolutely tiny! - and not enough jackets to go around either

It was already set up as Master though, so having the manual is good but it hasn't solved anything. Do you think enabling write caching, drive compatibility, and I/O would make a difference?

Trouble: The manual and label dissagree on how many cylinders/sectors/ heads there are - could an incorrect setting affect a NORMAL mode HDD? It doesn't seem to bother newer LBA drives.

dbData, the 80 cables have 40 pins and should be 100% compatible with all IDE devices. I was actually using an older 40 cable anyway, but did test it in DOS with an 80 pin before posting this just to make sure

SCENARIO 4:

In DOS, set as master, with an LBA drive as slave... the 7245AT works fine but the LBA goes undetected. This is ludicrous. That "compatibility" jumper might do somthing..

As there aren't enough jumpers, can anyone recommend a safe home made fix? I don't want to stick chewing gum and bits of wires to it

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[satrow]

A 245Mb drive is likely to require manual Bios settings to be able to access the partition.

Try using the settings halfway down the page

http://www.bris.ac.uk/is/services/computers/operatingsystems/win3/harddr.txt

Andy.

 

[stormbind]

7245AT 245 967 16 31

I think that's the same as the BIOS detected it. In the last 12 hours I have seen this drive work in DOS (FAT16), Linux (---), and now MaxBlast (NTFS). There is definately nothing wrong with the hardware.

It is currently formatted in NTFS, and WinXP still does not detect it!

From Device Manager, under IDE ATA/ATAPI CONTROLLERS, I can see that WinXP knows there is a device on the chain but has reads "Current Transfer Mode: Not applicable"

I can find no way to perform a low level format. My BIOS Setup doesn't have that option. Doubt it would help, but it might.

MSDN has some information on wrecked partition tables, but I couldn't understand their explanations or fixes. In either event; I had already replaced the Primary Partition multiple times, reformatted, and replaced the Master Boot Record.

Is it possible that WinXP has it set as a Dynamic/Raid drive? How could I confirm that not to be the case?

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[stormbind]

Interesting..

MaxBlast3 (Boot Disk) detects the drive, partitions, and formats the drive - no complaints.

MaxBlast3 for Windows cannot detect the drive.

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[satrow]

Have you tried moving your CDrom to your NT3.1 box to see if it will boot from CD?

Andy.

 

[stormbind]

Short answer: I don't know how.

Long answer: The Kalex Multi-I/O EISA card has 20 unmarked jumpers on it and I don't have the manual. I have searched everywhere (online) for documentation but the PCB codes lead nowhere and the I/O controller (UM82C826F) appeared on a number of completely different cards so generic reference material is a dead end aswell.

The card comes from an Opus Technologies PC. It is currently setup for 1x HDD and 1x FDD. It was probably common with both 3x86 and 4x86 systems.

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