Error auto sensing primary master hard disk drive

This would seem to be more of a hardware issue than a Windows XP issue.

>>  i connected 80 GB IDE Maxtor Hard drive
Is this the only hard drive in the PC replacing a previous one?  Is the IDE cable attached to it properly where the Maxtor can be recognized as the "Master" device?  Is the jumper on the Maxtor set where it's either "Master" or "Cable Select"?

Yes this is the only hard drive connected to the pc. NO the jumper is in different place other than master and cable select. If i have to change the jumper to master or cable select what is the difference between the them.

As stated, setting the drive to Master allows you to connect it to any connection on the ribbon cable. However it is common practice today to always connect the master to the end connection. Most computers today come with only a single connection on the ribbon cable, except special orders or servers. The Cable Select setting will work unless you have multiple HDD's connected to one ribbon cable and you want the drive closest to the MB to be the master.

first - you must look  what setting the other drive has; if it has C/S, use the same setting - if set to M, set it also to M
the jumpers can be different on different disk models, here for WD drives :  http://www.wdc.com/en/library/eide/2579-001037.pdf
and here for maxtor : http://dee.feg.unesp.br/Disciplinas/SEL3103/Paginas/EIDEInterfaceandJumperConfiguration-WhitePaper.htm

an explanation of the jumpers :  http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/op/jumpIDE-c.html

Thanks

Thank you and good hunting...