Re: is this a bad hard-drive?

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smlunatick wrote:
You need to note that SATA cables are not ribbon cables can usually can only be connected one way.


On 21/04/2008 "Mike in Nebraska" <Mike_Webb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Good info, thanks!

"Big Al" <BigAl@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:8s6Pj.1809$nb4.424@xxxxxxxxxxx
Mike in Nebraska wrote:
HD is a Seagate 40GB ATA internal drive (model # ST340014A). I'm replacing a
failed Seagate (same model). Put it in a working PC, saw it in Disk Manager
and formatted it in NTFS. Once that was complete, the word "Healthy" was
seen in DM.
Plugged it into the old PC so I could boot to CD and reinstall the OS, but I
see no messages on the monitor. The video on/off light just slowly blinks
on and off like it's not getting a signal. Checked all the cables and they
seem to be firmly seated. The HD spins up, but it's not as loud/active as I
expect it to be. Plus, when I try a Ctrl-Alt-Delete after awhile, I hear
two sharp noises/beeps from the HD.

I'm not a HW guy at all, so don't know what the significance of this is, if
any.

If none, any suiggestions on what to try next?

Some ribbon cables on HD's will plug in reversed. There should be a key on it to stop that but that's not 100%. Look at the drive. The ide connector might be labeled on the drive circuit board as to which end of the connector is pin 1 and which is pin 40. The ribbon cable has a colored wire on pin 1. Match them.
Also if you put the drive in on the 1st pc to format it, you may have put it in as slave. If you have only one drive in the new PC, it should be master. There are jumpers on the back of the drive for master / slave. And the manufacturer should have supplied you with docs on how to set those up. That or download the specs from seagate. And then again sometimes they are printed on the drive itself.
Between the ribbon cable and the M/S jumpers you can make the drive not work. Normally you don't hurt anything, it just don't boot.

True, but OP said he was replacing and ATA drive.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: is this a bad hard-drive?
    ... failed Seagate. ... Some ribbon cables on HD's will plug in reversed. ... the connector is pin 1 and which is pin 40. ... Between the ribbon cable and the M/S jumpers you can make the drive not ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: is this a bad hard-drive?
    ... failed Seagate. ... Some ribbon cables on HD's will plug in reversed. ... the connector is pin 1 and which is pin 40. ... Also if you put the drive in on the 1st pc to format it, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: is this a bad hard-drive?
    ... failed Seagate. ... Some ribbon cables on HD's will plug in reversed. ... The ide connector might be labeled on the drive circuit board as to which end of the connector is pin 1 and which is pin 40. ... Also if you put the drive in on the 1st pc to format it, you may have put it in as slave. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: Making cables
    ... connector socket on the outside of the boxes might work. ... Since I'm new to making my own custom ribbon cables can I get advice ... Wide parallel busses between boxes may be less than optimal, ... A mating pin header could be ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)
  • Re: Tech: Need some TZ help!!
    ... Be sure that all the ribbon cables across the boards have the red ... strip going to pin 1 on each connector at both ends. ...
    (rec.games.pinball)