IDE HDDs not work when moved to new PC

[Marky-boy]

Hi. I have just bought a new motherboard/case/processor combo, but it didn't come with any drives (floppy, HDD, CD etc). No problem. It's all geared for SATA setup, but that's all a bit new for me, so I'd rather carry on with my IDE setup for now.

I have moved all the IDE drives from my old computer, and set them up as per usual in the new box. On IDE Channel 0 I have a Maxtor 120GB as the master, and a 40GB Quantum Fireball as the slave. On IDE Channel 1 I have a CDR and a Zip drive. All worked fine in the old setup. I have used the same IDE cables.

In the new PC, everything works fine: BIOS detects drives correctly. But after the bootup sequence, as the Bios seeks the hard drive to boot XP Pro, screen is black, and after a short while, the blue screen comes up, with a message about there being a hard drive error, if this is the first time you have seen this screen, reboot and see what happens, and if it is not the first time, remove any new hard disk controller, check the drive/s for viruses, etc. And a "STOP 0x0000007B (0xFA2CB640,0xC0000034,0x00000000,0x00000000) error.

After rebooting, I get the option to boot up in safe mode, which suggests the operating system is being detected. So it's not like the hard disk is fried. (Still returns tot he same error screen though - safe mode doesn't get any further)

I notice in the IDE BIOS Auto-detect scan I get a message "IDE Channel 0 has no 80 conductor cable installed", so I assume this where the error is happening. I tried swapping the IDE Ch 1 cable for the Ch 0 cable - same result - so I don't think it's a bung cable.

What does this "no 80 conductor cable installed" error mean?
Is there some BIOS setting I might need to change?
Is it possible the motherboard's IDE controller is faulty? How can I check this?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Darthtanion]

Microsoft Knowledge Base recommends a reinstallation of the OS so it could be a faulty install. Not really a common problem, but it does happen.

However, your comment about a 80-conductor cable is odd. This is the cable required for newer (ATA66 and faster) hard drives. The older types had only 40 conductors but still used the current 40-pin connector block. If your cables are old, the new motherboard may be throwing a fit trying to utilize your dated cables.

[Yawgm0th]

Microsoft Knowledge Base recommends a reinstallation of the OS so it could be a faulty install. Not really a common problem, but it does happen

I've never heard of someone moving a hard drive to a new system without reinstalling XP and not having problems.....
You simply must reinstall XP.

But the BIOS problem is pretty wierd.

[Marky-boy]

Can i do the xP reinstall over the existing install, without trashing the contents of the drive?

[Yawgm0th]

Yes. Some programs may not work, but many will. Any files outside of your Windows folder and Documents and Settings folder (My Documents) should remain intact. Stuff inside those might be changed. I suggest you get anything out of there that you want before reinstalling, as it may be deleted. It's possible it might not, though. I have never really checked, I am just assuming based on logic. I have checked outside of there, though. So you should be good if you don't need anything in those folders.

[maximus7001]

Bottom line is you are going to have to format/reinstall windows on your primary master drive. If you don't you will be wasting your and everybody's elses time.

[Marky-boy]

Problem solved.

I booted up off Win XP CD, said Install New version of XP (not repair corrupted install), and then when it scanned for existing versions it discovered my old install, and asked me if I wanted to install a new instance of XP or repair the old one. I repaired the old one, and it obviously loasded up all the drivers i needed for the new motherbaord, and proceeded to add those elements to the previous setup.

Didn't lose a thing, and my hard drive with all its data seems to be doing just fine in its new home.

(Got past the Conductor Cable problem by turning off ATA66/100 messages in the BIOS - doesn't seem to affect anything)

[Yawgm0th]

Bottom line is you are going to have to format/reinstall windows on your primary master drive. If you don't you will be wasting your and everybody's elses time.

I know this is already solved, but you are completely wrong. There is absolutely no need to reformat. It helps reduce clutter and is a good idea, but it just isn't neccesary for installation of Windows.

[maximus7001]

Of course it's a good idea , thats why said he should do it. I said it from experience in this matter and the endless hastles involved with procrastination and fear about reformatting a computer. For some reason in the back of the average computer users mind, there is this fear about the computer never working again if they try to reformat the "sacred windows install". And just because he also had the knowhow to fix the drivers does not mean everyone else will(most users would have no idea and would be better off starting new). I must say that I am happy he did not loose anything.

ps... it is also a good idea to delete and recreate the partition(s) as well as varying their size by a couple of mb each time