Description

This item is from the PC Hardware FAQ, by Willie Lim and Ralph Valentino with numerous contributions by others. (v1.25).

3.05 Why won't my two IDE drives work together?

[From: jruchak@mtmis1.mis.semi.harris.com (John Anthony Ruchak)]

Assuming that the drives are attached to the same controller and they work properly when attached one-at-a-time, you probably don't have them configured properly for Master/Slave operation.

When operating 2 IDE drives, one must be designated as "Master" and the other as "Slave." There are jumpers on every IDE drive to configure this. Check your hard drive manuals for the jumper settings for your drives. In general, it doesn't matter which is which - just pick one as master, and make the other slave.

In your CMOS configuration, Drive 1 should have the parameters (heads, cylinders, etc.) that match the drive you set as "Master" and Drive 2's parameters should match those of the "slave" drive. In operation, the Master will appear as drive C: and the slave as drive D:.

Because not all hard drive manufacturers follow the IDE specifications closely enough, drives from 2 different manufacturers may not work well together. In this case, changing master -> slave and slave -> master (along with the appropriate CMOS changes) may help. If it doesn't, then trying two drives from the SAME manufacturer is the only avenue you have left.

 

Continue to:

• prev: 3.04 Do IDE controllers use DMA?
• Index
• next: 3.06 Which is better, VLB or ISA IDE?

Share and Enjoy

Tags

pc, hardware, faq, frequently asked questions, repair, computer