Topic: installing an NEC DVD drive

[T.J.]

yes you could try that next step just remember that messing around in the REGEDIT can cause big problems if you delete or change the wrong thing (be careful to follow the instructions)

this is what i'm afraid of. i guess i'll try another unistall/reinstall. looking back on this thread made me realize how much of a learning process this has been.  when i started i didn't even know how to access my BIOS screen 

i'm grateful for all the help and advise guys.

i'm determined to get this thing running properly and can tell i'm close.

[Ed.]

+t to you both for working on figuring this out.  I've never did any of this stuff, so its all news to me.

Its kind of funny, you start out not knowing anything about computers until something goes wrong with yours...TJ, you're gonna be a pro by the time you get this drive installed.

[T.J.]

+t to you both for working on figuring this out.  I've never did any of this stuff, so its all news to me.

Its kind of funny, you start out not knowing anything about computers until something goes wrong with yours...TJ, you're gonna be a pro by the time you get this drive installed.

i know...I see an "Archive Thread" in my future so others can figure this out without the time and effort.

[dnsacks]

TJ -- I have a STRONG suspicion that your entire problem will be solved if you disconnect your cdrom drive's ide cable, set your dvd drive to master, and use the dvd drive for all cd and dvd-related functions. (i.e. disable your cdrom drive all together)

Sounds to me like your computer/bios/drives/etc. are having a hard time playing nice together on the same ide channel.  Though this would put more wear and tear on your dvd drive, with prices dropping so low for these, IMHO, that's not a big deal.

[T.J.]

TJ -- I have a STRONG suspicion that your entire problem will be solved if you disconnect your cdrom drive's ide cable, set your dvd drive to master, and use the dvd drive for all cd and dvd-related functions. (i.e. disable your cdrom drive all together)

Sounds to me like your computer/bios/drives/etc. are having a hard time playing nice together on the same ide channel.  Though this would put more wear and tear on your dvd drive, with prices dropping so low for these, IMHO, that's not a big deal.

you may be right. i have already determined this as a last resort. i'm also considered setting up the dvd drive as the master and cdr as slave.

[dnsacks]

TJ, I'd start by removing the cd drive from the equation and see if the dvd drive works properly when set as the master drive and as the only drive on that ide channel.  If the dvd drive does work correctly, you could then try putting the cd drive back in service as the slave drive.  Good luck!

[kcmoejoe]

TJ, I'd start by removing the cd drive from the equation and see if the dvd drive works properly when set as the master drive and as the only drive on that ide channel.  If the dvd drive does work correctly, you could then try putting the cd drive back in service as the slave drive.  Good luck!

good idea! I hadn't even thought of this, like he said take the cdr drive out of the equation, or completely out!
Your dvd drive can do both, there is really no need for having both drives. You may find this to be a problem with your particular motherboard in your system, may need updated drivers, bad cable, etc... I haven't read the entire thread but is there a reason you need both drives ?

[T.J.]

TJ, I'd start by removing the cd drive from the equation and see if the dvd drive works properly when set as the master drive and as the only drive on that ide channel.  If the dvd drive does work correctly, you could then try putting the cd drive back in service as the slave drive.  Good luck!

good idea! I hadn't even thought of this, like he said take the cdr drive out of the equation, or completely out!
Your dvd drive can do both, there is really no need for having both drives. You may find this to be a problem with your particular motherboard in your system, may need updated drivers, bad cable, etc... I haven't read the entire thread but is there a reason you need both drives ?

at this point, on principle alone 

seriously though, the drive that is working is a cdr burner/dvd player and troublesome one is both a cdr/dvd burner. so technically no it is not necessary to have both, only the latter. i would like to have both so i can easily make copies utilizing both drives.

[kcmoejoe]

I hear ya!     it would cut out having to copy an image file to the hard drive, then putting in the blank to burn the image to. this is how I have to do mine, just because I only have one drive for eveything.
But definately give that a try switching the drives around and remember to change the jumpers for master and slave, but stick to it, you'll eventually come up with something that works.

[T.J.]

so i was back at it today....

i started by switching each drive. i set up the dvd burner as the master and the cdr as the slave. as i suspected the dvd burner worked and the cdr doesn't. whichever drive is set up as the master works fine. the drive set up as the slave has playback problems. this playback issue has to caused by device 1 being set to PIO.

i did try to uninstall the secondary IDE following the instructions given by KC and made an intereting discovery. the secondary IDE reinstalled after rebooting and device 1 went directly to PIO mode.

i really believe if i can change device 1 to DMA my playback problem will be solved. time to ask the IT guys @ work 

[T.J.]

in the words of Flava Flav......"YEAH BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY!!!"



i finally got both devices to run on DMA (for now  )

here is what finally worked:

1. i noticed when i tried to reinstall my Secondary IDE drive Device 0 would install in DMA mode but Device 1 (the troublesome drive) would revert to PIO regardless if it was set to DMA if available.

2. i uninstalled the Secondary IDE again and rebooted the CPU. i went to my BIOS screen and made sure both devices (Master and Slave) on the Secondary IDE were checked to AUTO.
****Make sure when you leave the BIOS screen you hit ESC and SAVE THE SETTINGS. i really think this is what i was doing wrong****

3. after the CPU detected and installed the new hardware i prompted me to restart the CPU to complete the installation and BOOM! Device 0 and 1 are both running on Ultra DMA 2.

a big thanks and a lot of +T's to everyone you helped me out. i hope this thread can be helpful to anyone else who encounters this problem.

here are a couple links that i found helpful:

http://winhlp.com/WxDMA.htm
http://www.aiscl.co.uk/How_to_ForceDMA.htm
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim2100/syssetup.htm
http://www.onthegosoft.com/dma_setting_nt.htm

feel free to PM me if anyone needs help. i guess in a prefect world installing a DVD drive should take no time, but with computers you never know 

[Ed.]

excellent!  +t

[kcmoejoe]

good job!     another +T for you man. way to stick to it and get 'er done.