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Jan Shim

28 Posts

2540

January 4th, 2008 08:00

Dimension 9150/XP doesn't show second DVD burner

My Dimension 9150 running XP SP2 has been running fine all this time until an hour ago when I bought a new LG DVD burner, hoping to add on as a second burner. It's currently configured with a Dell-supplied Philips and my other PC (Dimension 5150) has two DVD drives (one burner and one ROM) working fine.
 
On the 9150, both drives are recognised by the BIOS and I've swapped them as Master and Slaves and vice-versa (including jumper pins) etc .. XP would only detect ONE drive. I know for a fact that a PC/XP can support two DVD burners simultaneously.
 
Dell technician tried helping with a number of standard suggestions including deletibng the UpperFilter and LowerFilter in the registry ... did that to no avail.
 
My Dimension 9150 has all the latest firmware etc ... having had 15 years of PC and Windows troubleshooting experience, I've exhausted all ideas. How hard can Master and Slave configs be ... I've even tried Cable Select jumper including NO jumper on the slave drive. Nothing worked.
 
Sigh...
 
 
Jan Shim
Professional Photographer


Message Edited by Jan Shim on 01-04-2008 06:43 PM

Predator

15.3K Posts

January 4th, 2008 09:00


Hi Jan,

This may be redundant but go ahead and disconnect both drives from the IDE cable and then Clear the NVRAM.
Click on the CD/RW link in my post and scroll to Section 11, article 2. Find your 9150 in Dell-ChrisM instructions and run those steps. If you do not have a floppy drive, Clearing the NVRAM may turn it on in the BIOS, you will need to turn it off.

Although Dell prefers Cable Select, I like Master/Slave, set the jumper on the new drive to Master, Top Bay, "end" connection of the IDE cable, leave the other drive off. Turn the system on and see if the drive is detected, if not re-enter the BIOS and verify that the IDE channel is turned on/enabled and that the drive is on as well. If this drive is not working, disconnect and test the original drive as the Master.

If the drive does work, then set the jumper on the second drive to Slave, turn the system on and enter the BIOS and verify that the second drive is turned on.

Did any of this help?

Best Regards



God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the
difference.
CD/RW Link



Message Edited by Predator on 01-04-2008 10:16 AM

Jan Shim

28 Posts

January 4th, 2008 11:00

Hi there,
 
Many thanks for your reply. This is my first post in a long time and so much has changed. I followed your instructions step by step. Cleared the NVRAM but still no good with the second drive detection. If I didn't explain the situation clearly earlier, let me reiterate that both drives were successfully detected by the BIOS, it's only XP that fails to see both.
 
Regardless of which one I have connected as Master, either the Philips or LG, XP detects just one drive, the master. If I had A drive connected to the Slave without a master, XP detects NO drive at all (not sure if this is expected).
 
After performing the NVRAM reset procedure and one reboot thereafter, my PC is now DEAD (I'm writing this on my Inspiron 8500 laptop). Each time I boot, all I see is a blinking cursor on the screen and nothing more. I'm not panicking at this point because I've had this happen to me ONCE (after wrongly installing an Intel motherboard driver) and someone gave me a RESET procedure that involved removing the mains etc.. I don't remember that particular procedure and am hoping you do or have some other means of rebooting it normally again.
 
The keyboard is completely non functional (no a single LED is lit) though at each reboot, there's video signal waking up the lcd monitor
 
 
Jan Shim


Message Edited by Jan Shim on 01-04-2008 09:59 PM

Predator

15.3K Posts

January 4th, 2008 14:00


I am sorry Jan, I have not seen a problem in the past using ChrisM steps for Clearing the NVRAM.

Here is what I found in the manual for the:
Dim 9150

Since the BIOS is detecting both drives then one should assume that the IDE cable is functioning properly but I hate assuming. I might even try a new cable if it was me, but at the moment I am leaning toward the Chipset drivers for XP.
Dell has them in the Drivers & Downloads link for your system.
You might also consider the Intel® Application Accelerator

Best Regards!



God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the
difference.

CD/RW Link

Jan Shim

28 Posts

January 4th, 2008 20:00

Gosh, I cannot believe a mundane and routine attempt to install a second DVD burner has apparently killed the 9150. I've done the CMOS clearing procedure and the Password reset (though unnecessary) to no avail. I also had the mains to the LCD and PC unplugged. Thinking back, i only had one mains to LCD removed, overlooked the fact I had a second LCD both attached to the GeForce graphics card (how important is this?)
 
Looks like I might have to call Dell support next week. It's Saturday here in Brunei and my NBD support excludes coverage on weekends. Bummer. Thankfully, I have my laptop to fallback on and no pending photo shoot to post process - I am hoping there's no damage to any of the 3 hard drives attached.
 
Funny you should mention Intel Application Accelerator. I recall a few years back, someone suggested installing a copy of the latest IAA and it turned out to be incompatible with the 9150 (someone in Holland with a 9150 experienced the same) and the PC would not reboot .. same blinking cursor i think. I also now recall vaguely if we both did the "Press the Power On button for over 10 seconds" procedure and it worked or something like that.
 
or perhaps my mainboard is showing signs of fatigue and needs to be replaced. If you have any ideas, shoot!
 
Thanks.

Predator

15.3K Posts

January 6th, 2008 17:00


Hi Jan,

Since the issue has gone way past installing a simple optical drive, contacting Dell at this point is most likely the best idea.
Please drop me a note if you get the chance, I am interested in the out come.

Best Regards



God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do
and the eyesight to tell the difference.

CD/RW Link

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