This past weekend I pulled the DVD-ROM drive from my old computer (Pentium Pro 200, now a headless fw/router/server under my desk) and placed it in my new desktop. I had some trouble getting it to work, but eventually tracked it down to the cable (using the ca. 1997 IDE cable, instead of a modern 80-wire). So I finally got it setup like this:
hda -> WDC 120 GB HDD hdb -> empty hdc -> CD-RW hdd -> DVD-ROM
Without realizing that it would cause problems, I used the older IDE cable on hda, since it was solo an that IDE controller. I later figured out that the cable was the problem after playing Neverwinter Nights and seeing very long load/save times lead me to check out hda with hdparm. I found that it was stuck at udma2 (but the drive supports udma5). During this time my son managed to watch a movie without a problem. It also bears mentioning that at some point I had trouble getting the connector to fit, and upon inspection noticed that pins 1 and 2 were bent. I carefully bent them back into place with a flathead screwdriver.
Anyhow, I removed the DVD-ROM drive, returned the 80-wire cable to hda and had this setup:
hda -> WDC 120 GB HDD hdb -> empty hdc -> CD-RW hdd -> empty
This morning I got another 80-wire cable and setup my system like this:
hda -> WDC 120 GB HDD hdb -> CD-RW hdc -> DVD-ROM hdd -> empty
The problem is that now the DVD-ROM drive only recognizes CDs. I have tried it in hdb, hdc, and hdd, with the same results each time. I can mount and access CDs with no problem. If I place a DVD in tho drive, the drive spins up and down intermettently. If I try to access the dvd, either by mounting, running hdparm, or trying to play it in xine ar mplayer, the app hangs for about a minute, and then consumes 100% CPU until I reboot. I have tried adjusting every setting with hdparm, including 16/32-bit IO, DMA, and so on.
Googling has been fruitless, yeilding only hits on how to repair a windows install by booting from a DVD drive (search terms: dvd-rom drive repair).
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
-Roberto
signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature
