ECS K7S5A (SiS 735) (AMI 04/29/02)
AMD Duron, 950 MHz
256 MB (SDRAM)
ATI Xpert 2000 Pro (32MB)
Microsoft Windows ME (No Service Pack)

Within the last week or so, this system stopped being able to read drives
connected to the Secondary IDE Channel. The BIOS sees drives (HDs and/or CD
Roms) OK. Once windows boots HDs are seen as unpartitioned and discs
inserted into CD Rom drives are seen as blank discs.

This system is only used as a Print Server and Fax/Answering machine and
this works fine so there's no real urgency. I'm going to replace the MB,
just wanted to know if anyone else has encountered something like this and
whether it sounds like a MB problem or a Windows Problem.

David

Bk St Crawler wrote:
I think I would boot to a floppy disk that had the drivers necessary to
read a CD. It could be that your problem is with software rather than
hardware. If you do not have such a disk, try bootdisk.com.

You might also consider a bad IDE cable if such an experiment fails.

<user@domain.invalid> wrote in message
news:8DUMb.10898$VS4.348082@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Thanks for the reply, had not tried your suggest before. However, after
booting with a floppy I get the same results. Had already eliminated drives
and cables as the problem. I'm going to assume it's a hardware problem and
do a new board. For this systems use I don't need anything to sophisticated.

user@domain.invalid wrote:
| Bk St Crawler wrote:
|| ECS K7S5A (SiS 735) (AMI 04/29/02)
|| AMD Duron, 950 MHz
|| 256 MB (SDRAM)
|| ATI Xpert 2000 Pro (32MB)
|| Microsoft Windows ME (No Service Pack)
||
|| Within the last week or so, this system stopped being able to read
|| drives connected to the Secondary IDE Channel. The BIOS sees drives
|| (HDs and/or CD Roms) OK. Once windows boots HDs are seen as
|| unpartitioned and discs inserted into CD Rom drives are seen as
|| blank discs.
|
| I think I would boot to a floppy disk that had the drivers necessary
| to
| read a CD. It could be that your problem is with software rather than
| hardware. If you do not have such a disk, try bootdisk.com.
|
| You might also consider a bad IDE cable if such an experiment fails.
|
||
|| This system is only used as a Print Server and Fax/Answering machine
|| and this works fine so there's no real urgency. I'm going to
|| replace the MB, just wanted to know if anyone else has encountered
|| something like this and whether it sounds like a MB problem or a
|| Windows Problem.

Funnily enough, a very similar problem has cropped up on one of my
machines recently. In this case, it is the primary IDE channel which it
won't boot from. Boot from a DOS floppy and the hard drive partitions can be
read.
I'm going to have a go at investigating this properly tomorrow and will
pst back with the result.
BTW: what m/board are you using ?

||
|| David

"Kevin Lawton" <kepla@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:bu25vm$9qa$1@titan.btinternet.com...
m/b: ECS K7S5A

Mine can't see the HD partition or read disks inserted in a CD Rom drive.
This is true in Windows or when booted from a floppy.

Bk St Crawler <daerob@bigfoot.com> wrote:
| "Kevin Lawton" <kepla@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
| news:bu25vm$9qa$1@titan.btinternet.com...
|| user@domain.invalid wrote:
|| | Bk St Crawler wrote:
|| || ECS K7S5A (SiS 735) (AMI 04/29/02)
|| || AMD Duron, 950 MHz
|| || 256 MB (SDRAM)
|| || ATI Xpert 2000 Pro (32MB)
|| || Microsoft Windows ME (No Service Pack)
|| ||
|| || Within the last week or so, this system stopped being able to
|| read || drives connected to the Secondary IDE Channel. The BIOS
|| sees drives || (HDs and/or CD Roms) OK. Once windows boots HDs
|| are seen as || unpartitioned and discs inserted into CD Rom drives
|| are seen as || blank discs.
|| |
|| | I think I would boot to a floppy disk that had the drivers
|| necessary | to
|| | read a CD. It could be that your problem is with software
|| rather than | hardware. If you do not have such a disk, try
|| bootdisk.com. |
|| | You might also consider a bad IDE cable if such an experiment
|| fails. |
|| ||
|| || This system is only used as a Print Server and Fax/Answering
|| machine || and this works fine so there's no real urgency. I'm
|| going to || replace the MB, just wanted to know if anyone else has
|| encountered || something like this and whether it sounds like a MB
|| problem or a || Windows Problem.
||
|| Funnily enough, a very similar problem has cropped up on one of my
|| machines recently. In this case, it is the primary IDE channel which
|| it won't boot from. Boot from a DOS floppy and the hard drive
|| partitions can be read.
|| I'm going to have a go at investigating this properly tomorrow and
|| will pst back with the result.
|| BTW: what m/board are you using ?
|
| m/b: ECS K7S5A
|
| Mine can't see the HD partition or read disks inserted in a CD Rom
| drive. This is true in Windows or when booted from a floppy.

This is beginning to sound like a m/board problem - but I'd suggest
eliminating other suspects before jumping to a conclusion.
It might be that a problem with one IDE device is causing trouble with
them all. It is also worth eliminating the IDE cables as the cause by
swapping them for know good ones. Try also running the system on just one
IDE device - a hard disk - known to work on another machine. Also try your
non-working IDE devices in another machine. A process of swapping and
elimination should reveal where the problem lies.
I'm beginning to suspect that I might have a BIOS problem in my own
example. As my faulty machine still boots from floppy, I'm considering
flashing the BIOS with the latest version.
Kevin.

Kevin Lawton wrote:
and try to read a drive on that IDE bus. New bios' have so many
settings that occasionally a value can be set that has unexpected
consequences.

"Kevin Lawton" <kepla@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:bu38rd$566$1@sparta.btinternet.com...
I've already done all of the things that you suggest. At this point I'm
pretty much convinced that it's the MB.

David

<user@domain.invalid> wrote in message
news:26bNb.34716$6y6.761990@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
I've already performed the tests suggested by Kevin. I am going to flash
the bios before I send the board to the recycle bin.

Thanks to everyone for all of the useful suggestions.

David

user@domain.invalid wrote:
| Kevin Lawton wrote:
|| Bk St Crawler <daerob@bigfoot.com> wrote:
|| | "Kevin Lawton" <kepla@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
|| | news:bu25vm$9qa$1@titan.btinternet.com...
|| || user@domain.invalid wrote:
|| || | Bk St Crawler wrote:
|| || || ECS K7S5A (SiS 735) (AMI 04/29/02)
|| || || AMD Duron, 950 MHz
|| || || 256 MB (SDRAM)
|| || || ATI Xpert 2000 Pro (32MB)
|| || || Microsoft Windows ME (No Service Pack)
|| || ||
|| || || Within the last week or so, this system stopped being able
|| to || read || drives connected to the Secondary IDE Channel.
|| The BIOS || sees drives || (HDs and/or CD Roms) OK. Once
|| windows boots HDs || are seen as || unpartitioned and discs
|| inserted into CD Rom drives || are seen as || blank discs.
|| || |
|| || | I think I would boot to a floppy disk that had the drivers
|| || necessary | to
|| || | read a CD. It could be that your problem is with software
|| || rather than | hardware. If you do not have such a disk, try
|| || bootdisk.com. |
|| || | You might also consider a bad IDE cable if such an
|| experiment || fails. |
|| || ||
|| || || This system is only used as a Print Server and
|| Fax/Answering || machine || and this works fine so there's no
|| real urgency. I'm || going to || replace the MB, just wanted to
|| know if anyone else has || encountered || something like this
|| and whether it sounds like a MB || problem or a || Windows
|| Problem. ||
|| || Funnily enough, a very similar problem has cropped up on one
|| of my || machines recently. In this case, it is the primary IDE
|| channel which || it won't boot from. Boot from a DOS floppy and
|| the hard drive || partitions can be read.
|| || I'm going to have a go at investigating this properly
|| tomorrow and || will pst back with the result.
|| || BTW: what m/board are you using ?
|| |
|| | m/b: ECS K7S5A
|| |
|| | Mine can't see the HD partition or read disks inserted in a CD
|| Rom | drive. This is true in Windows or when booted from a floppy.
||
|| This is beginning to sound like a m/board problem - but I'd suggest
|| eliminating other suspects before jumping to a conclusion.
|| It might be that a problem with one IDE device is causing trouble
|| with them all. It is also worth eliminating the IDE cables as the
|| cause by swapping them for know good ones. Try also running the
|| system on just one IDE device - a hard disk - known to work on
|| another machine. Also try your non-working IDE devices in another
|| machine. A process of swapping and elimination should reveal where
|| the problem lies. I'm beginning to suspect that I might have a
|| BIOS problem in my own example. As my faulty machine still boots
|| from floppy, I'm considering flashing the BIOS with the latest
|| version. Kevin.
||
||
||
||
| Good advise, but I would also set the CMOS settings to default values
| and try to read a drive on that IDE bus. New bios' have so many
| settings that occasionally a value can be set that has unexpected
| consequences.

True, true.
I omitted that one as I considered it to be a given.

Kevin Lawton wrote:
Please fix your newsreader. It is creating non-standard quote
marks, extra indentation, and a general nuisance.

--
Chuck F (cbfalconer@yahoo.com) (cbfalconer@worldnet.att.net)
Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems.
<http://cbfalconer.home.att.net> USE worldnet address!

Bk St Crawler <daerob@bigfoot.com> wrote:
<snip>
|| || BTW: what m/board are you using ?
|| |
|| | m/b: ECS K7S5A
|| |
|| | Mine can't see the HD partition or read disks inserted in a CD
|| Rom | drive. This is true in Windows or when booted from a floppy.
||
|| This is beginning to sound like a m/board problem - but I'd suggest
|| eliminating other suspects before jumping to a conclusion.
|| It might be that a problem with one IDE device is causing trouble
|| with them all. It is also worth eliminating the IDE cables as the
|| cause by swapping them for know good ones. Try also running the
|| system on just one IDE device - a hard disk - known to work on
|| another machine. Also try your non-working IDE devices in another
|| machine. A process of swapping and elimination should reveal where
|| the problem lies. I'm beginning to suspect that I might have a
|| BIOS problem in my own example. As my faulty machine still boots
|| from floppy, I'm considering flashing the BIOS with the latest
|| version. Kevin.
|
| I've already done all of the things that you suggest. At this point
| I'm pretty much convinced that it's the MB.

Okay - I just wanted to eliminate all the simple stuff before laying the
blame at the m/board's door.
I'm investigating the problem in my own machine right now, so I'll post
back when I have a conclusion - probably just a few hours.
My final test will be to flash the BIOS to eliminate any BIOS corruption.
If you know for certain that the hard drives and cables are good, and that
the PSU is holding up properly, have you tried a BIOS flash yet ?
I think it is the last resort before junking the m/board.
Kevin.

"Kevin Lawton" <kepla@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:bu4cb9$9j8$1@titan.btinternet.com...
No I haven't flashed the BIOS as yet. I plan to before change the board.

David

CBFalconer <cbfalconer@yahoo.com> wrote:
<snip>
| Please fix your newsreader. It is creating non-standard quote
| marks, extra indentation, and a general nuisance.

Oh sorry !
Unfortunately, I'm using a Windows machine at the moment - and thus OE.
:-(
Any suggestions of a better newsreader I might be able to download and
use, please ?
Something which bottom-posts instead of top-posts by default would be
preferable.
TIA
Kevin.

"Kevin Lawton" <kepla@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:bu5skc$aef$1@sparta.btinternet.com...
Kevin,

Your posts look fine to me.

David

Kevin Lawton wrote:
Even OE can do better than that. However Netscape[.com] (will
never be improved over 7.1) and Mozilla[.org] (Open Source,
advanced over Netscape, and the Netscape core) are both available
at a very reasonable price - zero. Mozilla.org also has a
freestanding reader available.

--
Chuck F (cbfalconer@yahoo.com) (cbfalconer@worldnet.att.net)
Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems.
<http://cbfalconer.home.att.net> USE worldnet address!

"Bk St Crawler" <daerob@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:bu69dr$ef58k$1@ID-130193.news.uni-berlin.de...

Well I've flashed the BIOS and get the same results. So a new MB is in the
works.

David

Bk St Crawler <daerob@bigfoot.com> wrote:
| "Bk St Crawler" <daerob@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
| news:bu69dr$ef58k$1@ID-130193.news.uni-berlin.de...
|
| Well I've flashed the BIOS and get the same results. So a new MB is
| in the works.

I've got a new m/board ready - but in the meantime I've tried the errant
hard drives in another machine. They won't boot in that machine either ! ? !
Next step; prepare a fresh bootable hard drive in the good machine and
move it to the one with the problem. I'll post back with the results.
I wonder - has anyone heard of a virus which attacks the MBR, or uses some
other method to stop a hard drive booting ?
Just something else to worry about. :-(
Kevin.

"Kevin Lawton" <kepla@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:bu6kv4$4n0$1@hercules.btinternet.com...
Have you tried fixing your MBR? No guarantees on this but you could boot
with your floppy and try "FDISK /MBR" (that's a space after K). This may
or may not help.

David

Bk St Crawler <daerob@bigfoot.com> wrote:
<snip>
|| I've got a new m/board ready - but in the meantime I've tried the
|| errant hard drives in another machine. They won't boot in that
|| machine either ! ? ! Next step; prepare a fresh bootable hard
|| drive in the good machine and move it to the one with the problem.
|| I'll post back with the results. I wonder - has anyone heard of a
|| virus which attacks the MBR, or uses some other method to stop a
|| hard drive booting ? Just something else to worry about. :-(
|| Kevin.
||
|
| Have you tried fixing your MBR? No guarantees on this but you could
| boot with your floppy and try "FDISK /MBR" (that's a space after K).
| This may or may not help.

Well, mate, I tried an MBR fix -but it wouldn't: 'Can't write MBR' was the
message.
Moved the non-booting hard drives to a known good machine and started from
scratch with them.
Used partition magic to shrink the used partitons then move them down the
disk. Then used FDISK to set up a new primary DOS active partition on each
of them, and then installed DOS 6.22.
Replaced the hard drives back into the original machine, the one they
failed to boot in, and . . . they worked fine !
Either one will boot into DOS okay with no issues now.
The big question now is: 'What caused the non-booting problem, and how to
avoid it in the future' ?
I have noticed a couple of posts in other newsgroups reporting similar
problems in the past week or so.
So, I'm concerned that we might have encountered a new virus - one which
attacks the MBR or something similar.
I don't really want to spend the rest of my life fixing my machines
instead of using them.
Good ideas and suggestions gratefully received.
Kevin.