|
CD-Rom Drive:
Generally,
if you were able to install Windows 98 along with all of the
necessary drivers after the initial installation, seeing a CD-Rom
drive error in Device Manager afterwards is unusual at best, but it does
happen.
In these
instances, check the following:
-
Make
sure that the power cable is securely connected.
-
Make
sure that the ribbon cable from the motherboard to the CD-Rom drive
is securely in place on both the motherboard and the drive and that
"Pin #1" on the ribbon cable (denoted by a red stripe
along the edge of the cable) is attached to "Pin #1" on
both the motherboard and the CD Rom drive.
-
Boot
the system to the Windows 98 Startup Boot Disk and choose "With
CD Rom drive support". Insert the Windows 98 CD into the drive
and then try running a directory of the CD. You would do this by
changing to the CD Rom drive letter (X:<enter>) with
"X" representing the driver letter assigned when you
booted to the startup disk. Now type DIR<enter>. This should
run a directory of the CD's contents if the drive is working. If
this fails, and you have checked and verified the connections, in
all probability the drive has failed physically. If, on the other
hand, you are able to run a directory, then it may be because
Windows has loaded the incorrect driver for the CD Rom drive. In
this case, go into Device Manager, expand the CD Rom drive device
area, click on the CD Rom entry and click "Remove". Now
restart the system into Windows 98 and test the drive again.
-
Another
possibility is that of verifying whether or not the IDE bus to which
the CD Rom drive is attached is working properly!
|
|
Hard Drives:
Hard drive
errors in Device Manager can occur for a number of reasons. If you have
opened your computers case recently, we cannot stress too strongly the
need to check and then recheck all of the physical connections to the
drive before doing anything else. Here's is a checklist to work through to
resolve hard drive problems in Device Manager:
-
Shut the computer off and
unplug the power cord. Now check to make certain that the ribbon cable
is securely connected to the drive and the motherboard. If you have
had the drive out of the case, or you have removed the ribbon cables
for any reason, double check to make sure that the connector is
secured properly. It is not difficult to inadvertently miss or bend
the last two pins on either end of the drive connector when attaching
the ribbon cable connector to the drive.
-
Check and verify that you
have the drive(s) correctly positioned on the ribbon cable. Below you
will find a sample picture of a typical hard drive ribbon cable for
the installation of two drives on a single IDE bus channel. Note the red
and blue
arrows. The single connector that is farthest from the other
connectors (denoted by the red arrow)
is always connected to the motherboard. Although you cannot see
it in this picture, IDE and Floppy Drive ribbon cables have a red
tracing stripe along one edge. This indicates to you where "Pin
#1" is located on the cable. Therefore when plugging this end
into the motherboard, always position the connector so that "Pin
#1" on the ribbon cable is aligned with "Pin #1" on the
motherboard. The connectors indicated by the blue
arrows are for the drive(s) only, and
typically each ribbon cable will have two drive connectors grouped
together at one end. If you review the picture, you will see that the
cable has been folded at one end to shorten it for this picture. If
you were to unfold it, you would see that the two drive connectors are
grouped to one end.
-
When connecting the
ribbon cable to the hard drive, as was the case with the motherboard
connection, always connect "Pin #1" of the ribbon cable to
"Pin #1" on the hard drive. Typically, "Pin #1" on
the hard drive is nearest the power connector as noted in the picture
below. A single drive using this dual-drive ribbon cable must be
attached to the last connector on the end. If there is a second hard
drive, or "slave", it is attached to the middle connector.
Some systems permit a single drive to be connected to the center
connector, however it is customary to put the first physical drive at
the end, and any slave on the center connector.
-
If you have had
the hard drive out for any reason, or have added a new drive or even
rearranged the drives in the computer case, make sure that the small jumpers
at the back of the drive have been positioned correctly. Most drives have
jumpers to select a default setting (single or only drive on this cable),
"Master" or "Slave" if there are two drives on a single
cable. Please refer to your specific drive specifications for this
information. In most cases this drive select information can be found on the
drive itself.
-
The next issue
involves what is typically referred to as Fast ATA 66 or Ultra ATA 66
drives. These new drives require a special ATA 66 ribbon cable which while
still using a 40 pin IDE connector, it contains 80 wires instead of 40.
These ribbon cables must only be used with
motherboards and hard drives that support Fast ATA 66 or Ultra ATA 66.
-
While
it is difficult to see in this picture, each connector has a small lug
in the center for alignment purposes. Additionally, the Blue
Connector as denoted by the red
arrow, must be connected to the first ATA
66 port on the motherboard. The black connector (Blue
Arrow) at the opposite end must
be connected to the first physical ATA 66 hard drive. The second
connector "gray" (middle Blue
Arrow) must
be connected to the second physical (slave) ATA 66 drive. In addition,
you cannot mix ATA 66 and non-ATA 66 hard drives on the same channel
on most motherboards. Although we have been told that these new cables
will not fit older motherboards, we have determined this information
to be misleading as some motherboards will accept these cables.
-
If,
after having reviewed all of the above and have checked to make sure
that you have all of the cables connected properly and that the drives
are jumpered correctly, and an error remains in Device Manager, there
are a few other possibilities other than a physical drive problem.
-
During
the Windows 98 installation process, should Windows incur any problems
at all in loading correct IDE controller drivers or a 32-bit protected
mode driver, it will load a MS-DOS Compatibility Mode driver to permit
the drives to function. While this severely hampers the performance if
the hard drive(s), it does allow the system to function and provides
you with an opportunity to correct whatever is wrong with the
hardware. Generally this information will be found when you go into
Device Manager, expand the drive area and then check the properties
for the drive.
-
If
the drives are operating in MS-DOS Compatibility Mode, and you have
checked your hardware and made any necessary corrections, there is a
procedure to be followed that will move the drives out of MS-DOS
Compatibility Mode. Briefly, when this occurs, Windows inserts an
entry into the registry (NOIDE). This entry can be removed manually
through a registry entry change or by use of an INF tool supplied by
Microsoft.
-
You
can click on this hyperlink to take you directly to that procedure.
|
|
Display Adapters:
-
Display
Adapters, more commonly referred to as video cards, rarely indicate
this type of error, as when Windows 98 loads it includes drivers for
most of the more popular (and even not so popular) video cards. If it
doesn't completely recognize all of the features of you video card, it
will load a basic driver set. Keep in mind that this is a basic
trouble shooter and is not intended to fit ever conceivable video card
installation. If we have installed a special card for you, or one with
more than just basic features, such as TV in/out etcetera, then you
may want to contact technical support directly.
-
If an
error appears in Device Manager next to your Display Adapter (video
card), more than likely it is due to a driver that either was not
included with Windows 98 and needs to be added separately, or the
driver that was installed has been damaged or corrupted and needs to
be replaced.
-
On
occasion Windows 98 will load the incorrect driver for a video card
that will either cause an error in Device Manager or you won't be able
to adjust your video settings (or both). This is normally caused by
the identifier on the card not reporting its characteristics correctly
to the Windows 98 hardware installation interrogation module. This can
occur as well if there is a physical problem with the video card.
-
Regardless
of the reason, the first place to start is in the video adapter
settings section in control panel. Right click on the desktop, and
then choose "Properties". When the properties page opens
click on the "Advanced" button. Now click on the
"Adapter" tab and verify that the video adapter shown is the
one installed in your computer. If it isn't, then change it to what is
installed. If it is set correctly, then reinstall the driver for your
particular video card.
-
You can
change drivers either by using the installer that comes with the video
cards drivers, or change it via "Control Panel",
"System" icon and then the "Device Manager" tab.
Expand the Video Adapter section, and then look for the drivers
section and update the driver.
|
|
|
|
|
Would you
rather go back to the beginning of Device Manager? Then click
|
|
|
|
|