Computer Woes, Part II

[jenepherre]

Posting from Mom's computer tonight.

It is truly sad when I know more than Dell tech support. I shouldn't be surprised - it's happened before. But what good are they if I've already tried every idea they have?

Got a new Western Digital HD to install. They come with some fucked up connector they call "Secure Connect" which blocks the serial ATA power connection, but does not supply power to the HD. So you're supposed to use the old type of legacy power connector. But whoever built the Dell Dimension 8400 provided only serial ATA power connections for use with hard drives. I think I can use the power connector that was intended for the optional zip drive, but still... WTF?

So I'm done for tonight. Hopefully ::fingers crossed:: I'll maybe at least have Windows installed on the new hard drive by tomorrow night. ::sigh::

Thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday's post. And earlier posts. Quick shout-outs:
amelialourdes - now that the show is over, I find someone who lives near me... isn't that always the way... we'll have to talk more when I'm back on my own computer.
darksylvia - you're a lifesaver!! The pineapple kind, cause that's my favorite. ;-)
larissa_j - you're getting all my tech questions from now on... any idea what I need to do to make sure the computer sees the new HD as the one to boot from and the old HD as the secondary? Apparently SATA drives don't use those master/slave jumper thingies.
viola69 = marry me! Um, as long as you're willing to continue providing those things you provide so well. ;-D
And to drkcherry, who is always there for me.
Hugs to many many others too. I am severely internet addicted, and the withdrawals are BAD... very very BAD.

G'nite all.

Comments

[mi-nion.livejournal.com]

hang in there Jen, us fellow internet addicts miss you!

[darksylvia.livejournal.com]

The pineapple kind, cause that's my favorite. ;-)

OMG, mine too! :D

[paddies.livejournal.com]

Awwwwwww....being computer-less sucks. :((

Hope you'll be back on top soon!! :x:x:x

[cori1950.livejournal.com]

Jen- If you are not happy with tech support, call back and request your problem be escalated (ask for L2 support). The L1 support people have scripts to follow, and that is why they do through everything you have already done (and yes you do know more than the L1 people). I am a server test engineer at Dell, and one of the new company initiatives is to improve customer experience. We want to know if you are not satisfied. I also have a Dimension 8400 at home, and you should get a drive with the correct power connector.

[larissa-j.livejournal.com]

For the third time (OY don't ask me what I was doing this morning) How'd I comment on the wrong post? Caffeine plz.

I can't remember if the Dell 8400 has an intel or nvidia SATA controller (or both). You should probably download the drivers from Dell and copy them to a floppy as XP doesn't support loading drivers from a USB key yet, Vista will. XP doesn't have inbox drivers for SATA SATA/RAID controllers. Make sure the SATA controller is enabled in the BIOS. The OEM probably already set this or told you how to do this. Most OEM's preinstall OS's so the average user doesn't have to do these steps.

In addition. Set the SATA drive as the Primary boot HDD in the BIOS. It would probably be best to just unplug the IDE drive while installing Windows, otherwise, Windows is going to bypass the option to load the drivers for the SATA drive and simply default to the IDE drive for install. You might still get the STOP 7B error during the install. Try restarting and hitting F6 during install. Setup should prompt for storage drivers when it doesn't find them but not always.

Later, after plugging in the IDE drive - verify that the WD drive is still the Primary boot device under HDD in the boot device settings.

If you have an existing windows installation on the IDE drive, it won't be a problem, you can just rename the %windir% on your folder on your IDE drive to windows.old or something and migrate any needed data to your new installation. Providing you don't plan on using the older installation again.

*blushes*

[viola69.livejournal.com]

And crossing my fingers for you that your computer woes are nearly fixed if not fixed by time you read this. :-)

[amelialourdes.livejournal.com]

Okay, I have missed all previous posts because I didn't know that you had friended me! It seems to have definitely been a large mistake on my part. Apologies!

And you're definitely right about that! You're not too far away from me at all. How are you enjoying this "wonderful" heat? I think that you guys are getting the brutal end of it. :\ Hope your computer problems improve and my screen name is in my user info!