With my second IDE cable I have that connected to a primary cd-rw and a secondary dvd-rw. The dvd (TDK) works fine. I don't know what is wrong with the Mitsumi CD-rw. When I go into control pannel and go to system I will look at my hardware and it will show both cd-roms. When I go to drwatson and go to components I will choose CD-Rom and It will have no information for either of my CD-Roms. The Mitsumi that is not working I can not get it to eject. I have tried with pushing the button and going into explorer and choosing eject for that cd-rom but it will not open. I downloaded the diagnostic software (cdrcheck.exe) but it isn't getting anywhere. I just don't know what is wrong with this and why neither of my cd-roms are not displayed when I go into system information and go to components and CD-Rom.
- one should be set to secondary master, the other to secondary slave. Or they can both be on 'cable select'
2. Check the power cables to the drive - they're the colourful ones - if you have a spare power cable coming from your power supply, try that too.
3. Check your BIOS settings - i.e. press delete when your computer is starting. Check around for any settings related to your cd-drive, to check it is not disabled
4. Check your motherboard manual for any jumper settings that may be disabled
5. Make sure it is working - change the position on the IDE cable, unplug the other drive.
6. Check the windows hardware compatability ( http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx )
7. Try booting a CD (eg Windows XP) to see if you have a software problem
Sorry, but these points aren't necessarily in order ;)
If none of this gives you a conclusive answer, it is likely you have a faulty drive :(
Hope this helps,
bc :)