I have the same problem with xp pro. Screen goes blank. I was just using an older HD and never had the problem. I always thought it was a problem with the video card drivers??? Sometimes reset will boot to the blank screen but power down will always boot properly.
appreciate all the advice and suggestions. It sound like I am not the only one having this type of problem with XP. ges
For some reason I thought I was going to have problems with XP but so far it has been flawless. Are you using Pro? I wonder if theres any major difference between home and pro edition?
Make sure you have the jumpers set to Cable Select. Although the setting for master and slave are supposed to work, it is better to let the controller do it as they have been capable for about 8 years of doing so. Since Win is booting, I suspect you are just having a slow boot: common problems: Hardware device not found: (check the device manager for problems). In this case Windows is just trying to find the device. Too many startups: Check the MSCONFIG startup tab. This happens with you get too much junk ware. Very dirty win install: Do a clean install. This happens when you install and uninstall poorly designed and tested software. Cheers.
Luto, Thanks. What you suggest makes sense. I'll try those things. To do the clean install...does this require a total reformat and loss of all that is on the disk? (I would back up everything first, but just wondering if all would need to be reinstalled). ges
Would these be jumpers on the back of the HD? And this way the cable knows which is master and which slave? I'm terribly ignorant about tech stuff. ges
Yes, the jumper on back of the HD should be set to cable select. The other settngs availabe are master and slave. You don't want those . Cable select allows the controller to designate which drive will be the master and the slave. It does this by designating the one plugged into the end of the ribbon the master and the plug in the middle of the ribbon the slave. This means you should probably place the largest, robust HD at ribbon end as it will be the master.
Ah thank you Banjo. I must say that after following a lot of the leads here and studying up, it is overwhelming. Still haven't solved the problem, but still working it. I just want hammer, I don't want to have to cut and shape the wood for the handle and forge the metal for the head. In the future, I am going to keep my trading computer VERY lean and bare bones in the hopes of avoiding these kinds of problems. ges