Start up problem...

[007 tiger]

When I start up my pc I get a grinding noise for about 20 seconds and the following message:

Secondary IDE channel no 80 conductor cable installed

Primary master hard disk fail.

After rebooting it 4 or 5 times it will eventually start up, what can I do.

any help would be appreciated.

[syphus]

The first message, Secondary IDE channel no 80 conductor cable installed, is only warning you about the type of cable being used. There are two types; 40 and 80 conductor. The 80 conductor cable has 40 extra earth wires that ground the magnetic noise between the data wires enabling faster speeds.

Typically, 80-conductor cables are used for Hard Disk Drives so they can achieve UATA66 and faster, while 40-conductor cables are used for Optical Drives, as the additional grounding is considered optional for UATA33 and under in the ATA spec.

This message only matters if:

• You have a Hard Disk Drive installed on the secondary IDE channel
• You actually do have an 80-conductor cable on the secondary IDE channel

As for the second message, Primary master hard disk fail, there are numerous possibilities. High on the list at this point would probably be a channel conflict or damaged IDE cable. For help on this, you will need to supply information about your computer, especially such titbits as:

• Your motherboard manufacturer and model
• Your IDE hardware and how it is attached in terms of channel positions
• Types of IDE cables you're using

Additionally, some back ground information is also helpful, when the problem started, if any new hardware has recently been added to the system, if there are any other problems etc.

[007 tiger]

Thanks, will endeavour to find out.