Way OT: Accessing HD looses network connectivity

kameronj wrote on 8/31/2003, 4:40 PM
Okay...this is waaay OT - but it's bugging me.

I have a PC with a secondary HD. Well, actually a third HD. I've been using it to store video that I'm going to be editing.

The PC is part of my little network and I can access it (via PtP).

The drive itself seems to be fine...and, for S&G purposes I just moved all the data off of it and reformatted it.

Here is the issue.

If I'm on my PC and try to copy data from that HD (or move data to that HD)...or do anything with that HD via the network - it causes the network connection to that computer to be lost.

It's the damndest thing. I have never seen this before.

It doesn't happen with the other two drives on that computer.

So, for now, if I want files off of that HD, I have to first physically go to that computer and copy/move the files to one of the other drives.... then copy / move them over to my PC. Once the files have been moved to either of the other drives - I can then move them to my PC via the network.

Not that it should matter, but:

Drive 0 = Hard Drive #1 (Primary Master)
Drive 1 = Hard Drive #2 (Primary Slave)
Drive 2 = CD Rom Drive (Secondary Master)
Drive 3 = Hard Drive #3 (Secondary Slave) - this is the one with the problem

I know I could make the problem HD the Secondary Master - but that really shouldn't matter...should it? If so, then it will be a new one on me.

Any input is surely welcomed because, like I said, my design for this drive is to be for video footage storage. And I would hate to have to keep moving the files between drives just to access it.

Thanx

Comments

BillyBoy wrote on 8/31/2003, 8:28 PM
Short answer.. YES it matters!

Never, repeat never make a hard drive a slave to a CD or DVD player/burner.

Wha't that, you want to know why?

Because you're connecting the hard drive which is a "Integrated Drive Electronics," or simply a ATA device to a ATAPI device that uses a(attachments Packet Interface).

So while ATAPI borrows the control set allowing it to work with IDE devices allowing the computer to correctly communicate with CD-ROMs and other non-standard IDE devices such devices should either be on their own channel or if not possible (you got 3 hard drives, so without an extra IDE controller card you can't) they mix as well as oil and water when the CD drive is the master. Make it a slave and all should be well. It can work, but not the way it was designed to. And even if it does work it probably will be sluggish as the slave.

kameronj wrote on 8/31/2003, 8:53 PM
Yeah that makes sense.

That's what I was thinking could be the issue...but I had never run across it not working in the past. I've pretty much always had at least two or three HD's hooked up - and I learned the hard way (with one of my first burners) that it didn't like being in the non-master slot.

I guess all the problems did pretty much start when I re-wired that system and added the extra drives, removed the burner (to put in my system) and threw it all back together. Heck, for a while, it didn't even have a CD in it (4 hard drives instead).

I'll swap them around and see if that fixes it.

Thanks for the feedback.

(Learn somphin new everday).