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ITstudent2006 · Dec 15, 2010, 12:32 PM

Well there's a chance it would only corrupt the HD currently being utilized so then you could switch to the second HD when HD 1 goes down.

Its still a good learning experience!

mitchsc · Dec 15, 2010, 06:03 PM

I agree. That is why I really want to try and get this going. Even if it crashed both drives, at least I'll know how to play nice with the bios going forward.

mitchsc · Dec 16, 2010, 03:14 PM

Update:

Tried swapping drives around, tried different brand drives, tried changing from Cable Select, to Master / Slave.

Nothing made the PC recognize 2nd hard drive.

I'm out of ideas.

Maybe the bios version is too old.

ITstudent2006 · Dec 17, 2010, 11:00 PM

I apologize for my absence. ( I had military stuff)

I am unsure if you have did this or not since this issue was spread over a couple threads a lost track of everything you've tried :(

If HDD2 is in master or 1st slot in cable select is it recognized? What if if it's the only HDD hooked up?

mitchsc · Dec 18, 2010, 06:55 AM

Good questions.

If HDD 2 (Backup clone drive set to cable select) is installed in primary cable location (end of cable) it boots fine and the PC works normally, even if another drive is in secondary cable location.

In fact, that is how I fix things when the hard drive gets corrupted. I install my backup clone in primary cable location, and my corrupted drive is secondary cable location. Boot up the PC, format the corrupted drive in bay 2, then clone primary drive to secondary drive. Then I remove the backup drive, put the original drive back in primary location, and all is well for a few months.

Even though the Bios doesn't recognize HDD 2, Windows does, so I am able to clone from it as above.

I never tried to boot the PC from secondary cable location, if there was no drive in primary cable location.

But if the PC won't boot from secondary location with 2 drives installed, then it really doesn't matter. That is what I need it to do.

ITstudent2006 · Dec 21, 2010, 05:50 PM

Why not just use HDD2 as your main since this seems to work! Unless it's a size issue.

mitchsc · Dec 21, 2010, 06:39 PM

It doesn't matter what HDD I use. Something in the PC keeps corrupting the OS. Then I have to clone the HDD to get it running again.

mitchsc · Dec 21, 2010, 06:43 PM

FYI:

I think w_smith_29 above is sending out some type of spam. I got exactly the same message from him on another thread.

ITstudent2006 · Dec 21, 2010, 08:26 PM

OK. We need to determine what we're trying to fix here. The OS becoming corrupt or the HDD issues.

If it is a true legit copy of Windows then I would say you got a rare (ive never seen one) copy of windows that has some corrupt system files. Or a certain program/software you have is corrupt and trickling to the OS causing it to crash!

mitchsc · Dec 22, 2010, 11:26 AM

I actually addressed your questions very early on in the thread. Allow me to summarize:

The PC is a very old Dell (10 years) with an expensive propitiatory power supply.

My copy of XP is legit.

The OS corruption is not being caused by the HDD itself, as it happens on any HDD I install.

This just started about 9 months ago, after years of no problems. Even if I do a fresh reinstall of Windows it still happens.

I have discussed this on this forum and with IT friends, and the consensus is that is is most likely a power supply problem (glitch or surge).

I don't have the money for a new PC right now, and I'm not going to spend any more on this ancient PC. My wife just uses it for emails and a bit of web surfing.

It is easy to get it up and running after a crash. All I have to do is format and clone the HDD.

The ONLY reason I was trying to install and boot off a 2nd HDD was so I didn't have to get down on the floor, and open the PC case after a crash to install and clone the HDD. I just wanted to boot from HDD #2 and then clone it back to HDD #1.

As you know, I was not able to get the Bios to recognize HDD #2 for some reason.

So at this point, I don't think there is much left for me to do, unless someone can tell my why the bios won't recognize HDD #2, but windows does recognize it in device manager.

So that's the whole story.

Thanks to all for your suggestions, especially IT who has given me a great deal of feedback on this matter.

If anyone has an idea how to get the bios to recognize HDD #2 so I can boot from it, that would be fantastic!