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Primary Master HDD error

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11 replies

by topcat8

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I keep getting the error message "Primary master HDD error" along with secondary error "ATAPI incompatible" then you have to hit f1 and it looks for the boot on floppy, cd and hd, but does not find it, so you have to restart again and the primary hdd error comes up again and you have to reboot and then it will finanlly start Windows. This is every time. I have tried different hd's, and os, and cd drives, but it still does it. Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance,
Dave

11 replies

by dmiles

The problem could be that you have bad IDE cable or worst motherboard problem

Check the Bios Configuration and change it so that the first device in boot seek is the C:drive,if problem still persist then check the CMOS battery,after that you can try replacing the cable to drive

by dmiles

The problem could be that you have bad IDE cable or worst motherboard problem

Use the startup disk and at command prompt run setup without cd-rom support

Check the Bios Configuration and change it so that the first device in boot seek is the C:drive,if problem still persist then check the CMOS battery,after that you can try replacing the cable to drive

by thanetadmin

Hi ,
Try these
1. Swap the HDD to secondary controller, with a new cable
2.connect the CDROM drive to primary controller,
check the jumper settings of HDD & CD drive for master.
3.Reset the BIOS by booting once without the battery .
4.Change the boot seqence CDrom,HDD 0,floppy.

Hope this helps, if not give me the error message.

Thanks,
Kias

by angsax

If you've confirmed the HD is good (in another machine perhaps), make sure that the CMOS is set to AUTODETECT the master on the primary IDE (you can always set it back to user AFTER it detects it the first time). This is sometimes overlooked.

Failing that, try a new battery!

by mowens

I'll tell you what I have found. This might not be the answer that you want to here but here it is. I feel that your motherboard is dying. It is acting as if it is either that or the IDE cable that the HD is on is either not fully seated in one of its slots. The IDE cable itself could be bad, but this is rare. Try your connections first, then try upgrading your motherboard. These should do it.

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