Hardware recognition

[jldodge]

Here's my situation after reformatting and reloading Win98 SE (computer is old so Win98 is all it can handle).

1) I have a Plextor 12/20 CD Drive where the status light blinks 9 times then pauses and restarts the blinking. The drive is connected to an Adaptec SCSI on the motherboard. The adapter recognizes the CD player on bootup. I cannot access the hard drive when there is a CD in it; however, it is listed in My Computer, etc.

2) I have an Iomega Ditto Easy 3200 tape backup. It is connected as an IDE device. I don't see it on bootup and am unsure what the appropriate BIOS settings should be. I can load the software and the drivers okay. When I insert a tape and attempt to run a backup, I receive an error message that no tape device is available.

3) I also have an Iomega 100MB Zip Drive connected via IDE. It is not recognized in Windows Explorer and cannot be accessed when I insert a disk.

I need help on these three items. All were working fine before I re-installed Windows (which was necessitated when it became infected with a virus). I have attempted to set the BIOS appropriately (even experimenting with different settings) but have not had any success. I have also retrieved all of the available drivers from the manufacturers.

Can anyone give me some references, thoughts or suggestions on what I can do to fix the problem? This is becoming a personal challenge which I refuse to lose so I am game for almost anything except "tossing the machine". (I do have an XP PC which I built and use for almost all of my activities but fixing the Win98 PC has become a bit of a hobby and learning experience.

[glc]

It sounds like you need drivers for your SCSI controller, and if the motherboard has a non-Intel chipset, you need motherboard chipset drivers. Got some specs?

[jldodge]

I have attached a zip file of the Belarc Advisor profile. I believe the chip is an Intel chip. Also, I have "supposedly" the latest and updated drivers for the Adaptech SCSI device on my motherboard. Is there anything you can see from the profile?

Thanks for the help ...

[glc]

I do see some issues. I need to know the exact motherboard model. The Belarc report isn't picking up on that. Also list all USB devices you have connected, including any internal cards.

Your issues are IDE, SCSI, and USB drivers, in a nutshell. The IDE controller should be showing up as an Intel busmaster controller, not a standard dual controller. I've never seen an onboard 2940 SCSI, I think you may have installed the wrong drivers. I've never seen an Intel board with an Opti USB controller. You have a couple unknown devices, one may be a modem that you haven't installed drivers for.

[jldodge]

I have a Netgear USB switch cabled to the Win98 PC. There are two USB devices attached to the switch -- a HP color printer and an Iomega 750MB Zip drive. I also have a USB PCI card which is used to link into the USB switch.

The PC is a Micron Millenia 200 MHz Pentium chip. I purchased it in 1997 (ouch!) so it is very old in PC years -- Intel P200 Processor with MMX, 64MB EDO Memory (DRAM), 512K Pipeline Cache (RAM), 4GB Ultra SCSI Hard Drive, Adaptec 2940 Ultra SCSI Controller Card. I have attached the original configuration from the manufacturer.

Thanks for your help ...

[glc]

Okay, that's a 430HX based board, the busmastering IDE drivers *should* have installed with the OS but thinking about this, aren't necessary if your hard drives are SCSI. You do in fact have a 2940. The card and switch explain the USB issues I see. I really don't have any suggestions except to check your cabling and jumpering - yes, I see that you haven't touched it, right?

[jldodge]

I have not changed anything on the board itself. All of the hardware is "untouched" from the state it was in (and operating) before the reformatting and reloading of the OS.

Is it possible that there is a conflict with some of the drivers? For instance, it is not critical that the Win98 PC be connected to the USB switch if that is presenting a problem (not sure why it would ... just looking for something to start playing with ...).

[jldodge]

Also, the tape backup and Iomega 100MB zip drives are connected via IDE ... which is part of the problem area. I am okay with the hard drives ... can access and tool around without any problem. By the way, the system seems to be a bit slower than it was before. Memory seems to be okay based on the bootup and BIOS setup.

[glc]

Well, I'd disconnect the USB devices and pull the card - worth a shot. I don't see where this would screw up the IDE unless something in there is trying to share IRQ 14 or IRQ 15. Before shutting down and pulling anything, go into device manager and remove any flagged and unknown devices. If you aren't using the dialup modem, yank it too.

Hmmm - are all SCSI devices connected to the 2940 card, or is there also an onboard controller? You have a 2940 installed, and I'm assuming the hard drives are running off that. If there is also an onboard SCSI controller for the SCSI CD drive, I don't see a driver for it in your Belarc report.

[jldodge]

I'll give it a try ... Will the System Information (IRQ conflict section) reflect the conflict on IRQ 14/15? If so and there is none, would it likely be something else? Can I redirect the IRQs so there is no conflict.

Also, the 2940 is on the motherboard itself, not a separate card and, yes, all hard drives are connected via a SCSI ribbon.

Thanks once again ...

[glc]

First of all, are you showing any IRQ conflicts? Can you list all flagged devices in device manager? Is the Plextor on the same or separate ribbon from the hard drives? Does the bootup SCSI bus scan show all hard drives and the Plextor?

[rjfvillarosa]

Just a thought, but when you reinstalled windows did you unplug everything except for the keyboard mouse and monitor?.

[jldodge]

When I reinstalled Windows, I left everything as is ... and, with the exceptions noted, all was recognized. Since loading Windows, I have turned off the machine, unplugged the SCSI and IDE ribbons, cleaned with pressurized air, and reinstalled -- no change.

Yes the Plextor is on the same ribbon (and always has been since I only have one SCSI connection on the motherboard) as the hard drives. In fact, I have a second CD-RW drive on that same ribbon. It is recognized and I can read and load software from the CDs.

As for flagged items in Device Manager, there are two USB devices flagged. These are the two connected to the USB switch. When I delete them, Windows detects the USB devices and attempts to load the drivers upon any reboot after they have been removed.

In terms of conflicts, I have included them in the attachment of a screen from System Information.

Again, thanks for your time and patience ...

[glc]

Bingo. Your SCSI controller is on IRQ 15, which is knocking out your secondary IDE. Gotta find a way to reallocate your IRQ's. Make sure all your SCSI devices are set to a unique ID, and only the end device on the cable is terminated.

Can you give us a complete IRQ listing of all devices?

[jldodge]

Sorry for the late reply but I was out of town on business and could not access the PC. Attached is the screenshot for all the IRQs. Hope this is what you were asking for ...

Thanks again for your help ...

[glc]

Make sure your Zip drive and tape drive are connected master/slave on the primary IDE controller. If they are on the secondary, or one on each, go into the bios and make sure the secondary IDE controller is enabled, or put them both on the primary.

[jldodge]

Both devices are connected via one cable to the same IDE channel. I believe they are both connected to the primary. Nothing is connected to the secondary channel. Would it help if they were both on the secondary channel instead of the primary? It would be a different setup than when the computer was originally shipped; however the USB connections were added later so a reconfig may be in order.

[glc]

They won't work at all right now on the secondary because it's disabled, I assume in the bios.

Let's go back to conventional troubleshooting - first off, the IDE devices. We have to look at this as a hardware problem. Connect each IDE device (tape drive, Zip drive) ONE at a time and see what indications you get. ONE device with problems can affect the other device. Assuming old factory installed IDE cables, one device must be master and the other slave, set with jumper.

Now for the SCSI. You have to do this the same way. However, with SCSI, the end device on the cable must be terminated and all the other devices must not be terminated. Termination of hard drives of that vintage and all optical drives is done with a jumper on the device.

[jldodge]

I think I may have found the problem. In the BIOS, the primary IDE is set to "none" and Smart Monitoring is OFF. My options are NONE, CD-ROM, AUTO, and USER. When I set it to AUTO, the BIOS reverts back to NONE. I am not familiar with what USER settings to use. The elements are Multi-sector Transfers, LBA Mode Control, 32 Bit I/O, and Transfer Mode.

Can you help me with some thoughts on the settings?

Thanks again ...

[jldodge]

Okay ... I now have the Iomega Ditto Tape Drive and Iomega Zip Drive (both connected via IDE) working in Safe Mode. My Plextor CD Drive (connected via SCSI) is still blinking 9 times. I think I read somewhere that 9 blinks was an indication of a faulty drive.

In Safe Mode, all of my IRQs are free. I can operate the tape backup but the Zip Drive does not show up in Explorer. According to Device Manager, it's not accessible in Safe Mode but it does have an available drive assigned to it.

Curiously, I cannot launch Windows in regular mode. The system seems to hang on configmg.vxd.

Any suggestions ... Can I force certain IRQs so that I don't have the conflicts? If so, how do I do it ... disable them in the BIOS?