Computer Tech: Old HD Problems

Factual Questions
1
      • I have somebody’s old HD I salvaged out of a computer I raided for parts. The drive has a problem: on the three different computers I have, it displays the same problem, if it’s connected as a master or slave: it causes the PC to reboot first at about the 45 second-mark, and from then on, about every 15 seconds. I’d like to copy the files off it just for fun, but it causes any PC I put it in to take a long time to boot initially and then it makes them reboot, so I don’t get any time.
  • The HD is a Seagate model ST3283A. I notice now that it has the usual power and ribbon cables on the one end, but on the other end it also has another 14-pin male plug. What is this other plug for?
2

http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/specs/ata/st3283a.html

3

Use a boot disk to get it into dos and then do what you need to do.

4

If it is rebooting the entire system when connected as a slave there is likely some electrical/board level problem or possibly you are reversing the master slave jumpering orientations. The pins at the other end are the options jumper block (see sailor’s diagram link) none of which should be jumpered for normal operation.

You might also want to try a different cable.

5

245.36 MB?

Be sure the bios sees it right, otherwise forget it.

6
      • It’s really loud spinning up. The older two computers I have are autodetect HD parameters only, but the newer one I have to set it manually (because the BIOS comes up on its own and says “WTF?”, and gives places to set the tracks/cyls/sectors), and it caused the same results in all three cases. What happens if you plug a slave HD in “hot”? -with the computer already booted up?
        ~
        If I had 45 seconds to move files, that might work a few files at a time, but, you see, it takes the first 45 seconds to boot, where normally my main PC only takes ~25 seconds. So the bad drive is hanging something up…