Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with jumper

What did I do wrong?

peewinkle — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:02:57 -0800

So I was trying to install a slave drive into an old Gateway box and now it won't see the OS. Help! (Long, confusing story ensues) (disclaimer: I am a novice, at best, hardware guy)

I recently dumpster-dove an old Gateway Essential 500.
-Pentium III
-Windows 98
-20 Gig HD
-128 RAM

I deleted everything I didn't want off of the machine. I found it surprisingly quick. So I loaded my audio editing software onto it (Cool Edit Pro 2.1, Audacity, etc) and discovered that it performs much faster than the Dell Dimension I have been using. (I am a ghetto-tech audio engineer. I record music onto a Fostex DAW and then dump the files into CEP to mix/edit/etc).

After installing a Dio 2448 soundcard (for monitor reference) and an Ethernet card (it still had a dial-up card when I found it), and finding the drivers and getting those to work correctly, I found the machine will work great as a stand-alone music-editing work station. I only installed the ethernet card to facilitate data transfer from my network, not to connect to the internet.

I also installed a faster CD/RW drive and a DVD/RW drive. After a few days of frustration, I also got those working fine (somehow). The machine then ran like a song. Booted up in like 20 seconds, worked great.

Well, a 20-gig HD isn't a lot for audio processing, as far as data storage goes. (I have already ordered more RAM, two 256-sticks for even faster processing).

So I decided to install a Western Digital 450AA 45 gig HD as a slave. I figured I would install that, clone the 20 gig HD onto that, turn the 450AA into a single drive, replace the 20 gig drive with a Western Digital WD400, and use that as a slave, making the 450AA the master.

Well, I installed the 450AA. Found the correct jumper pin locations for a slave drive, hooked it up and fired the machine up. Went into BIOS and it recognized both HD's. So I configured them as Primary (20-gig) and Secondary (450AA). But I forgot to change the jumper on the original 20 gig HD to "master" from "single."

Now the computer won't boot. I can get into Bios, have played around a little bit, but realize I don't know enough to mess with it too much.

After the Bios initial start up, I get the message "Operating System Not Found."

I removed the 450AA and tried again, same result.

I have reset the Bios to default settings and get still the same result.

I have tried safe mode.

Still with me?

Question one: Did I blow the original 20 gig HD by trying to boot with the 450AA hooked up like that?

I tried running a boot disc (three, actually, that I have found and downloaded) but I can't get the machine to boot from either the CD nor the DVD drive. It wants to boot from the floppy, but I have no way to make floppy boot discs. In BIOS, it says the CD and DVD drives are secondary drives and that there are no primary drives. I cannot seem to make either a primary drive, if that even matters. I also cannot get the BIOS to boot from the "boot" menu.

Question two: Am I in way over my head?

I have also tried installing both the 450AA and WD400 drives as single drives, and have had the same results, though I have no idea what are on them. All three drives spin up when started, ,but after the 'Gateway" /enter BIOS screen, I get the same result.

This is the first time I have ever messed with the internals of a machine, other than installing sound cards.

Question three: Why does this old Gateway with 128 RAM run CEP much smoother and faster than my Dell Dimension that has 512 RAM? (The Dell has a 80 gig master drive and a 20 gig slave). I have removed as many back ground processes as I could off of the Dell and it is still slow, compared to the Gateway.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Or should I just STFU and leave such things to people who know? (Remember- key word here is GHETTOTECH).

Thanks very much in advance for any advice, ideas, and or knowledge.

nice mens jumper sweater in UK

Not Supplied — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:02:16 -0800

UK Clothes - where to get a nice chunky mens wool jumper? Hi. I'm looking for a pure wool jumper for myself. Chunky, warm, hardwearingish. Probably grey, but would consider other colours, mixes.

Will pay a bit for a quality one with a decent cut, but would rather not pay for designer unless it's on sale.

I'm a fairly young guy, slim build.

Any ideas?

Damn you, computers!

jytsai — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:08:24 -0800

I lost the little jumper that sets the SATA drive from SATA II (3.0 Gb/s) to SATA I (1.5 Gb/s). Where can I buy/steal a replacement?

Seeking stories of kids with superpowers?

sacre_bleu — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:13:38 -0800

I'm trying to make a list of books that include the central plot element of kids learning how to use or cope with unusual powers, dramatic or mundane. (Jumper, recently made into a movie, is one example.) Extra points if the books are primarily aimed at children or young adults.

How do I wash this sweater?

penciltopper — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:58:05 -0800

Grownup has never washed a nice sweater. Help. OK, so I got a couple of nice merino & cashmere sweaters for Xmas. Maybe as a hint that the wool/woolblend sweaters I owned were no longer socially acceptable, having been worn for years & never been washed. (blush)

I poked around a bit on the boards, and there are lots of things mentioned for sweaterwashing, then contradicted, then ???

So I need some votes:

1) Drycleaners, espcially with the cashmere
2) Dryel at the laundromat
3) Wash 'em in the sink, then spread out to dry
3a) with woolite
3b) woolite is death, buy special goo at the yarn store
4) write in candidate here

I have another sweater question while i'm at it.
All my sweaters, cotton, wool, whatever, make me look like I've got a "muffin top". (Chest fits, waist at hem/ribbing fits - but they bag out above the waist so that it looks like I'm trying to smuggle a bicycle tire underneath.)
I don't actually have a muffin top, and if I tug the hem down, everything is fine for a few minutes until it rides up and I'm back to dumpy again.
What am I doing wrong here?

I need to line a hoodie with fabric, HELP!?

taita_cakes — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:31:25 -0800

I have an average, zip-up, grey marle hoodie. I need to line just the inside of the hood and about 5 inches or so inside the zip each side. I'll be lining it with a paisley or bone china pattern. Like this.

I want to know how I can do this without having obvious stitching showing through, and what sort of shape I'll need to use for the hood (diagrams please?).

And yeah, I already have a grnappletree hoody. Trying to make my own now.

Computer won't recognize external drive

gfrobe — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 09:51:40 -0800

A little help please in getting my computer to fully recognize an external hard drive. I recently pulled a drive out of an old computer and purchased an external USB enclosure to use it with my new one (running XP). In the old computer, the drive was a second hard drive for personal files and was set as slave. The manual for the enclosure says to set the drive to master, which I did. When I plug it in, the drive is detected and shows up in Device Manager; however it doesn't show up in My Computer or Disk Management. Removing it using the little green arrow in the system tray also doesn't work as I get the hour glass and then have to re-boot. Attempting to uninstall the drive in Device Manager also causes a freeze.

I've tried setting the jumper to slave and that didn't work. Also tried hooking the enclosure up to a new computer and got the same result. Lastly, to make the drive was still OK, I installed it back in the old computer internally as a slave and it worked perfectly fine.

Should I assume the enclosure is defective and send it back or am I doing something wrong?