cant add dvd writer

[bigdan]

ive recently bought a dvd writer (lite on - is that a good name?) and im having trouble installing it. i had a cd writer in earlier, im just replacing the CD with the DVD writer so the settings ive kept the same. i dont really know how to do this, but the instructions were quite straight forward, and since im just copying the settings it was no problem. after i connected i couldnt boot up the computer, disk boot failure or something like that was the error. ive asked soem colleagues, they say i need to go into BIOS (i believe by pressing the delete key as soon as comp loads up?) and changing the bootup sequence. im not quite sure why this would be the case by the way, because it makes sense the settings would remain the same. but anyway thats how it is. so i tried going into the BIOS but thats not making sense to me either. i have two hard disks, C: is 30 gigs, E: is 120 gigs. unfortunately i dont know the brands, tho in BIOS one was called ATAPI. when i made that number 1 in the bootup sequence that didnt work.

so can anyopne advise on what exactly to do in the bios? and this is assuming that is in fac tth eproblem?

thanks!
dan

 

[LA1]

You had the power off to the pc when you did this ? is it a PATA or SATA drive, will assume PATA , Paralell ata

did you set the jumper on the dvd burner the same as the cd burner you removed
did you put the flat ribbon cable on right ? usually pin one has a red stripe on the ribbon cable, or some color stripe. the socket on the back of the dvd, pin one is usually on the end by the power. There may be a diagram on the drive or in the instructions.
make sure that all the ribbon cables are pushed down firmly onto the mainboard, power off of course

 

[bigdan]

I had the power off, yes.

PATA or SATA? I have no clue. I dont even know what that is, whether thats my hard disk or cables or what. Just for general info tho, my computer was purchased in summer 2000 (old I know!) and since then, in summer 2005 I added the second harddisk, the E: which is 120 gigs.

jumper, not sure what that is. but i did copy the settings, ie the cd was set to master or slave, i copied whichever setting was on that onto the dvd. flat gray ribbon on right, yes. is there any other place it should have been able to fit into? i didnt see one?

there was an orange-ish piece of plastic around one of the pins on the dvd writer, yes. and there was a diagram in the instructions.

im sure the cables were plugged in securely, because if they werent plugged in i wouldnt be having this problem. when i disconnected the cables everythign was fine again.

btw at onep oint when it wasnt working, i waited til the computer was powered on and THEN connected the gray cable. everythign turned off right away. i thogutht he computer had shorted out or something. after a while i finalyl figured out it was jus the electrical socket. dunno if that was a coincidence, i dont suppose it could have been.

 

[LA1]

did you make sure the jumper ( a peice of plastic with joining metal contacts inside) was on the same pins as the drive you removed ? the blue circle is where the pins are. There should be a digram that points to each verticle pin set. Like SL for slave
MS for master or CS for cable select. If you have the flat grey cable then you have PATA.

 

[bigdan]

yes everything was copied from the way the previous one was. i can certainly cehck the config again when i get home tho in a few hours. where do you suggest the plastic be connected?

i saw the words for master and slave, i think thats connected fine.

thanks a lot for the effort, and the diagram!

 

[LA1]

It all depends where you SAW master and slave. If that was on the flat ribbon cable then the jumper has to be on CS. You have to set the jumper at the same position as the old cd drive.

 

[bigdan]

oh Gosh now its getting sooo complicated. i tried again today, after having not touched this for ages. this time it wasnt so obvious where to put what because the old cd drive wasnt in there. the flat gray one is simple enough, it can only fit in one place. but the plastic thingy with 4 holes in it thats more complicated. there are TWO of them, which seem connected to one another. on closer analysis, one of them has 4 wires, the other has 6. i think the one with 6 is the one that should be plugged into the dvd writer, i think thats the one i was using earlier. not sure though. but i tried both. neither gave me a disk failure, both loaded up fine, and in BOTH cases, the dvd writer didnt appear in windows explorer. its like it doesnt exist. wires are connected tightly. and one thing im curious about, a green light on the dvd writer is on, which seems to indicate its connected. but then i press the eject button it doesnt open up. why would that be? its a physical action im taking, trying to eject by pressing a button on it with my hand. not going thru the software. why wouldnt it eject? i woulda thought even if the data connection were not there it would still eject by the very nature that its connected to the power, no? and it must be connected to the power bcause the green light is on.

 

[LA1]

read these
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000415.htm

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6603_7-5118840-4.html

http://www.fonerbooks.com/r_cd.htm