Help Needed with CD Burner/CD-Rom Mess-up!

Question

I am pleading for some help, I hope someone here can put me back on the right track! I added a Sony CD burner to my Dell Dimension 4500, but I think I have several issues working against me.   The first is that neither the CD-burner nor the original CD-Rom is being recognized by the computer.  The CD-burner has power and opens up.  The CD-Rom appears to have power—it whirls but won’t open, almost as if it’s stuck on something.   The IDE cables seem to be correctly connected, but I could be mistaken.  There is a black tab that has a smaller head and looks to fit only the hard drive.  There is an orange tab that I have plugged into both CD drives.  A blue tab goes to the A drive and it physically secured to that bay, so I don’t think it would go anywhere else.   As far as the power wires, P8 is being used by the top bays and P3 is going into the A drive.  There are wires attached to P8 coming from the second bay/CD-burner that go directly into the hard drive.  Again, from what I can tell, the power wire configuration isn’t a factor, but I could be dead wrong on that assumption.   Here is what I think the crux of the problem is, but for the life of me cannot figure out how to configure properly.  When I start the computer, I get a BIOS error that reads, 'Secondary Slave Drive—ATAP Incompatible' after which I have to hit the DEL key for setup, etc.   It’s probable that I have the slave/master settings messed up and I don’t know how to configure them.  I got frustrated today and removed a tiny white tab from the back of the drive and another tiny green one as well.  Not only is that configuration probably wrong, but I am not clear on setting the jumper to cable.  Everyone (including the Dell instructions) says to do it, but no one explains how it’s done.   Please help!  My hubby needs to install new software and I’d at least like to get our CD-Rom working again.  Getting the new burner working at the same time would be the icing on the cake!  (Well, actually, getting those done as well as the wireless router I’ve installed to connect to my other computer would be ideal, but that’s a whole other issue. ;))

Nascar Nut72 · Answer

Dell uses Cable Select cables on their systems. You need to make sure all drives are set to cable select. Drives connected to the end connector become the master and drive connected to middle connector becomes the slave. This hold true for all IDE/ATA drives on Dell systems. Sata drives have no jumpers as they are not needed. Again check your drive(s) and make sure they are all set to cable select. Your new drive should have come with instructions including how to set the jumpers for cable select. Replace any jumpers that you have removed from your drives.

Dell Demension 8400
3.0GHz HT P4 processor
250 GB SATA HD
ATI 300SE 128MB RAM PCI Express Video Card
1901FP 19" Flat Panel
NIC card
DVD+RW 16X Drive
DVD ROM drive
56K Modem
Windows XP SP2 OS
1 GB DDR2 533MHz memory
Sound Blaster Audilogy Sound Card

Dell XPS T850r
512 MB RAM
Nvidia GeForce 3 64MB RAM Video card
20 GB IDE HD
30 GB IDE HD
17" Quantex CRT Monitor
NIC Card
DVD-/+RW 16x
CD-RW Drive
Sound Blaster Live Audio
Windows XP SP2 OS

Dell Inspiron 8100
1.13 Pentium III M processor
512 MB Ram
30 GB HD
15" Screen
DVD Rom Drive
CD-RW 8X Drive
Linksys Wireless Adapter
Windows XP SP2 OS

All systems networked using Linksys Wireless Router.

latco01 · Answer

I had the same exact problem and it was the jumper cable!  It was set to 'Master' from the factory.  Once I moved it to 'Cable/Select' (I had to guess which pins because no label on the burner) it worked like a charm.  This was mentioned on a previous post as a solution. Thanks for the support on this Forum!

Predator · Answer

Hi Latco,I believe the issue is the jumper setting as well or at least a big part of it. NascarNut`s post covers this very well, so hopefully the Member will get it going soon. Glad to hear you were able to solve your problem with the jumper setting, easy to overlook.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 thedifference. CD/RW Link

xfileluv · Answer

w00t! They are both showing up, thank you!

My CD-Rom still seems to be stuck on something. I've examined the outside and don't see anything prohibiting it from opening, and I even stuck the pin in the tiny hole--it is definitely trying to open. Any suggestions as to what I should look for internally, if anything? Or any tricks I can try externally?

I might even try to combat my Linksys router issues here once I get the CD-Rom open! =)

Predator · Answer

Hi Scully or Mulder ;)!Nascar Nut is currently off-line so I will drop a note until his return.You may have the drive sitting back too far in the cage and the drive tray is catching on the front bezel of your 4500 series. We have seen this a few times, so double check.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 thedifference. CD/RW Link Message Edited by Predator on 09-06-200611:53 AM

Nascar Nut72 · Answer

Not sure what is going on with the CD drive. If it won't open when you insert a paper clip in the hole on the front of the drive,could be that the internal motor that opens the drive has gone belly up. If you need to replace the drive, replace it with a DVD drive and you will be able to read both CDs and DVDs. The difference in cost is minimal and you will have the best of both worlds.

As to your router, go here and peruse the help offered here. One option that Linksys offers is an on-line site that will almost install your router for you. Use the Linksys Easylink Advisor link, I had a heck of a time at first when I installed my Linksys wireless router, by using the Easylink Advisor I was up and running in quick order.

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Content_C1&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1114037290855&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

Storage, Drives & Media

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