The Conservative Cave
The Help Desk => Computer Related Discussions & Questions => Topic started by: Mike B the Cajun on November 02, 2011, 09:51:34 PM
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The IDE hard drive on my desktop crashed. I need a new drive. IDE drives are getting harder to get these days.
Is there any way to put SATA capability into the old kludge?
Also, could a "portable" USB drive be used as a main boot drive?
Inquiring minds want to know!!
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You should still be able to get IDE drives from the big online retailers.... NewEgg, Tiger Direct, Amazon. You can boot off a USB drive as long as it has an OS installed on it. There should be a USB option in your computer's boot menu or BIOS.
Not sure about SATA/IDE compatibility since I've never looked into it. It might be worth doing some homework on.
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A while back I had bought a PCI-IDE adapter at best buy. I had the same problem, both IDE channels on the motherboard on my old computer died.
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Good point. IDE expansion cards are cheap like NICs... twenty bucks with shipping.
I don't really have a solution for a dead drive. If the drive is broke and won't show up in BIOS, I have to send it off to a third party. The more common problem I run into is a corrupt OS. I can either slave the drive to the computer using a USB-SATA adapter or boot to another OS using a CD or DVD.
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They do make IDE to SATA adapters. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270236) But you would still have the same bottleneck in the architecture .. as far as speed goes. They run about $10-$12 and up.
On the other hand SATAs are cheaper.
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Thanx, guys and gals... I need to do a little homework, I see.
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If the drive is frogged - get a SATA PCI card and new drive.
If the IDE interface is frogged - get a IDE PCI Card.
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We have an old IDE drive and all our comps are SATA. We were able to use one of those SATA to IDE and vice versa adapters, but it made my computer unstable, it would crash half the time. Still, we did get the info off the drive, I just coulden't leave it connected to the MB.
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Getting a PCI card from Newegg. It has a dual-channel SATA and an IDE slot.
Cost was $12 plus shipping.
Hopefully, that will solve my problems. :-)
(If it doesn't, I'll be back for more advice!!)
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It continues to amaze me how cheap they sell PC hardware for. Twenty years ago, that card would have sold for over a hundred dollars. Ten years ago, $60.
Of course, you could usually count on that part lasting for more than a couple years before shorting itself out.
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ok, next problem...
Finally got around to installing the drive and loading the OS.
Everything worked ok, 'till I got to the last part of Setup, and got an error msg. stating a critical file was missing from the Setup.
The filename is I380\asms .
Does anyone know of this file, and possibly have a copy of it??
Any help is, as always, very much appreciated.
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Could indicate a problem with the install media or the drive it is in.
Check CD's for dust / scratches etc. Try the optical drive in a different port or if you have one a different optical drive.
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Could indicate a problem with the install media or the drive it is in.
Check CD's for dust / scratches etc. Try the optical drive in a different port or if you have one a different optical drive.
Yup. Check the install media first (clean it).
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The disc is clean and shiny, just like it's supposed to be... no dust, scratches, etc.
I'll try it in the other drive, tho.
I'll let ya'll know!!
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The disc is clean and shiny, just like it's supposed to be... no dust, scratches, etc.
I'll try it in the other drive, tho.
I'll let ya'll know!!
Is this from a copy of windows or an original disk? A little searching for the error message showed that it sometimes happens with a burned CD/DVD when the burning session isn't closed.
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It s the original disc, not a copy...
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SUCCESS!!!!
:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:
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SUCCESS!!!!
:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:
WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats! :-)
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All I hadda do is change the jumper settings on the drive from "cable select" to "single drive", and the OS installed just fine.
Complex solutions to simple problems are the norm; simple solutions to complex problems is not allowed.
Thanx, all, for all the advice, it was much appreciated.