CD-Drive (not installed)

Question

Ok so i just got a Dell Optiplex gx110 from a good friend of mine. Weird thing is, is that is never came with a cd-drive. So i opened it up and plugged a Samsung SC-140 cd drive to the secondary IDE slot and all that fun stuff. The cd-drive came out of another computer that i have thats just for messing around on and it works like a charm in that one so i know it works. So i booted the computer up and put my a windowXP disc in the drive. The computer never detected that the cd was there so i went to the BIOS menu and went to change the boot order and i never saw a choice for my plugged in cd drive. So i searched the internet for hours and i updated the system BIOS from an A05 to an A08 or 09. I dont know if that did the trick or not but i got it to read that the drive was there! I was relieved until when in the boot menu i saw this: CD-Drive (not installed)! k i went back to searching. I checked, checked, and rechecked the IDE cables and they are all good. I have tried at least twice going from setting the HD to master and auto/CB and same with the cd-drive except with slave, not master. Im tired of searching so please please can i get some tips on how i can get the computer to somehow say that the drive is installed. THANKS!!

fireberd · Answer

First, the Workstation/Optiplex is the forum section for Optiplex problems.    However, one suggestion and that is to set both devices for Cable Select instead of Master/Slave.  On consumer Desktops (this section) Dell uses the Cable Select method.  And the BIOS must detect the drive before Windows will detect it.  There are no 3rd party CD/DVD drivers in Windows, just the default built in Windows drivers.

PETER345 · Answer

Did you ever enable the drive in the BIOS? Normally, they are disabled. Peter

Redrunner1 · Answer

Thank you. Well i wish it were that easy. There are no other pages or section in the BIOS menu. Just that first one that comes up when i press F2. I have looked all over for something to enable the cd device. Any other ideas?   Chris

PETER345 · Answer

Here is where the options are. Peter

Redrunner1 · Answer

Thanks for replying. Ok so i did that and it still is saying the the CD device is not installed. Its weird that when i boot to windows that is already on the HD, the cd-drive will show up and i can read it and use it. Im just trying to get it to run my bootable XP disc. Nothing seems to be working.

PETER345 · Answer

Did you set them both secondary drives to Auto and do you have them jumpered correctly as fireberd suggested?

If you have only one CD drive, make sure it is set to CS and at the end of the cable.

Peter

Redrunner1 · Answer

Ok so i know that my HD is in the primary slot and that reads it and its good. I know my cd device is in the secondary slot. So i set that to auto, like that link you gave me said. When i go to the boot sequence after saving the changes and letting it restart it still says that the cd device is not installed. Oh and it is 'enabled' on the boot menu. Im just baffled at this whole thing! haha. Chris

Redrunner1 · Answer

Oh my gosh! i got it! Finally! Thank you peter and Fireberd. Very much appreciated. Chris

PETER345 · Answer

What did it? Peter

Redrunner1 · Answer

Im not sure exactly probably just the combination of everything. Like chaging the drives to Cable Select and in the boot menu setting the secondary to auto. See i tried all of that before. I dont know maybe i wasnt doing it in the right order or whatever but i finally got it to work! Thanks again guys!   Chris

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CD-Drive (not installed)

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