Propblem with iMacDV device recognition

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Joined: Dec 20 2003 - 10:38
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Propblem with iMacDV device recognition

I replaced the cd-rom in an iMac DV, and now the computer will only boot from the CD if the HDD and CD are both connected. When I disconnect the CD, it will boot from the internal HDD just fine.

I tried different jumper settings and whatnot, but nothing seems to work.
Do you think the little power board on the CD-rom might be the culprite? I have no clue at this point.

Any ideas of other things I should try? Or is this iMac going to be forced to use an external HDD forever? Wink

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Last seen: 3 months 3 weeks ago
Joined: Dec 21 2003 - 14:14
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Hm.

Does the system "see" the hard drive when both are connected, and just not boot from it, or does having the CD-ROM present render the HD invisible?

Boot an OS CD and use the Disk Utility to see what's present on the IDE bus. If I recall correctly, the "slot load" iMacs share one bus between the HD an CD, so you should see two seperate devices. If you only see one, the CD-ROM drive, see if it's in the "master" position. If so, that's probably your problem.

(Does your replacement drive have any drive-select jumpers or switches on it? If so, they could be overriding the "proper" setting. Which I imagine should be "cable select", provided by the little adapter board.)

Also, for sanity's sake, make sure your HD isn't set slave. That'd also cause a bit of a problem.

--Peace

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Last seen: 17 years 9 months ago
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If it boots from CD, it doesn

If it boots from CD, it doesn't see the hard drive at all. If I disconnect the CD, it boots from the HDD. It just won't see both at once.

I tried all the different jumper settings, they have no effect.

My apple tech friend suggests I try a different optical drive. He says he has encountered this before when fo no reason a cd-rom won't let you see anything else connected to it.

I should have access to a slot-load DVD-rom next week. I'll see if that works.

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Last seen: 1 year 5 months ago
Joined: Dec 20 2003 - 10:38
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Optical drive setting

Some optical drive have a small slider switch that allows you to select Master Slave or Cable Select. But some are fixed at Slave or Master from factor. From experience, Panasonics/Matsushita, older LG's like to solder the jumper on permanently.

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