IDE DVD Drive Not Opening

[Xarath]

Sorry about all my random noob questions. Hopefully this will be the last one.

When building my computer, I decided to save a few bucks by reusing my old DVD drive. At the time, I didn't realize it was an older IDE model, but I'm willing to deal with it for a while. Anyway, I attached both a 4-pin MOLEX power cord and the IDE cable. When the PC boots, the light on the drive flashes about 5-10 times and then stays on. Pressing the button on the drive does not open the tray.

Is there a compatibility issue when using an IDE disk drive and a SATA hard drive? Or am I doing something wrong? The BIOS recognizes the drive.

I get the same results using two seperate drives.

Thanks for your continued support.

Xarath

[Force Flow]

Does it make any noises like it's trying to open?

Can you open it by putting the end of a paperclip in the manual eject pin hole?

[Xarath]

Yeah, I can open it with a pin, but no, it isn't making any noises. I think its a configuration problem rather than an electrical or mechanical problem though.

[minsonngo]

Try a different IDE cable.

[glc]

What type of cable are you using and how is the drive jumpered? What model motherboard?

[not important]

I'm thinking the drive door should open, if there is power to it via a 4-Pin Molex, even if the IDE cable isn't attached. Given the light flashes it must be getting power.

[tmathews]

I would guess the spindle and tray motors are driven by +12V rail while the LED is driven by +5V. If so, the LED would work but there wouldn't be power to open the tray. You might try a different MOLEX and make sure it's seated all the way.

[Xarath]

I just gave up and invested in a SATA DVD drive and everything works well (well except some Vista install problems, but thats for another topic :P). Thanks for your help everyone.