I had a Dell with Windows XP installed, and I added a HD from a previous Dell so I could easily transfer files. (It had Windows XP too) After the second HD had been in the computer for about 6 months, I tried to take it out, but the computer won't boot without it!

I tried fixing the first HD by changing it to all of the master and cable SELECT options, but it still won't work! I am positive the computer boots off the first drive even with the second drive present, so why won't it work without it?

Additional info:

In the bios the first HD is set as primary master, and the second is primary slave. I tried turning off primary slave, no go.

What happens without the second drive, it shows system details after the initial dell loading screen (before windows loads), and it hangs there. After a minute, the screen goes black, but not like power-saving mode black. It's an LCD, so I can tell the monitor is displaying black INSTEAD of being off.

Thanks in advance!
-AO1Sounds like you have 2 drives that became tangled with data strings ( paths ).... One is dependent on the other due to software and possibly OS features that have registry pointers and maybe even system file pointers.

Looks like you will need to rebuild to straighten this out if you cant get it to SafeMode to fix dependencies..

Sorry about the bad news!

I've seen people have this issue when they run out of HD, they add a 2ND drive and start installing to the new 2nd drive, then when the 2nd drive has an issue it breaks everything due to both drives dependent on each other. It raises your risk for problems given that you now have 2 points of failure.For a single hard drive CONFIGURATION:
o Verify correct master/slave/single/cable select jumper settings (for that make and model hard drive). Suggest you configure jumpers for single mode, but depends upon hard drive.
o Verify single hard drive is at end of EIDE cable (not the middle).

Does the POST diagnostic screen displayed during startup correctly detect the single hard disk drive. Probably should have "PM" appended to it for "Primary Master". You might have to hit escape (or tab key?) during startup to remove the Dell screen that is masking the diagnostic post screen.Aw, I hope not Dave. I will still try all I can to fix it, but you may be right.

Quote

For a single hard drive configuration:
o Verify correct master/slave/single/cable select jumper settings (for that make and model hard drive). Suggest you configure jumpers for single mode, but depends upon hard drive.
o Verify single hard drive is at end of EIDE cable (not the middle).

Does the POST diagnostic screen displayed during startup correctly detect the single hard disk drive. Probably should have "PM" appended to it for "Primary Master". You might have to hit escape (or tab key?) during startup to remove the Dell screen that is masking the diagnostic post screen.

If I remove all jumpers, would it automatically be cable select?

Sounds like you have 2 drives that became tangled with data strings ( paths ).... One is dependent on the other due to software and possibly OS features that have registry pointers and maybe even system file pointers.