Why can't I adapt?

June 27, 2009 6:47 AM

Trying to get a computer to recognize a dvd rom drive. But there's a snag.

Mrs. FullTilt just sold off her old computer to her parents. The dvd rom drive that was in it no longer ejected. So she bought a super cheap LG dvd rom from new egg for $15 bucks to replace it.

It arrived and unfortunately it was a SATA drive and the mobo on the computer has only IDE. So we purchased an IDE to SATA adapter and tried reinstalling the dvd rom drive.

Links:
Dvd rom drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136159&Tpk=DH16NS10

Sata Adapter - http://www.bitssite.com/sata%20hdd%20ide%20aadapter/06136/cable%20adapter-converter-jack-plug/accessory.html

And so the adapter connected just fine. The drive received power, it would eject and everything. But unfortunately, XP didn't see the drive. So we went into the control panel and tried to add the drive. XP froze when we tried that.

So we tried rebooting and XP would freeze at start up everytime.
We unplugged the drive and XP booted just fine.

Where do I go from here?

posted by tylerfulltilt to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Back to the store and get an IDE drive. Seriously it will be far less painful. Finding drivers, and ongoing compatibility (Windows overwriting with 'newer drivers" via automatic updates).
posted by Gungho at 7:15 AM on June 27

alternatively you could get a SATA expansion card, but Gungho's dead right that an IDE drive is the best answer. Even a SATA expansion card would be a pain in the ass for you (boy do I know).
posted by fearnothing at 7:23 AM on June 27

If we pretend for a second that getting an IDE drive isn't an option, what should I do with what I have?
posted by tylerfulltilt at 9:32 AM on June 27

Buy an 1p SATA controller, I think that should work better than the IDE-SATA converter.
posted by ymgve at 1:43 PM on June 27

Check your BIOS or POST - does your computer even see the drive?
posted by wongcorgi at 1:56 PM on June 27

The drive and the adapter have to support ATAPI. If they don't, it will never work.
posted by gjc at 6:36 PM on June 28