Using IDE (or Integrated Drive Electronics) Hard Drives
Note: Gone are the days when low level formatting
was required of MFM and RLL hardrives using the old
dos Debug -g=c800:5 command.

CAUTION: Most Hard drives contain electrostatically damageable cmos components. Do NOT touch any part of exposed printed circuit boards while handling unless you exercise extreme caution, including the use of grounding wrist straps.

Onward....

One IDE ribbon cable, (connected to a IDE port socket on a driver card or motherboard) can support one or two hard drives. For a single (Master) hard drive setup, start by checking the tiny black jumpers on the back of the hard drive and make sure they are configured for operation as a Master. The hard drive will either come with a booklet or have the instructions for jumper and other settings on the cover. You must connect the drive to the END of the IDE cable to operate as a Master. If you are going to be connecting the drive to the inside connector, you are connecting the drive as the "Slave" and need to configure the jumpers for that slave setting.

Now that the jumpers are in place, you need to manually attach the drive onto the chassis (screw the drive into the case). For this, you will need some extra case screws (your local computer shop will usually give them out for free - they're cheap) and an appropriate screwdriver. Your best bet is to fasten the drive using at least four screws, two on each side, but two on one side will work.

Now that the drive is attached, you need to attach the power cable. Hard Drives generally use the 12V power cables (they are the big ones with the four holes). You can't really attach it wrong because it only goes in one way, so find one that isn't already plugged into something and plug it in. Don't be afraid to use a little force - those plugs tend to be a little tight and forcing them won't hurt anything (of course, use a little common sense - if you need a hammer to plug it in, you are either a complete weakling or are putting it in wrong). If you don't have a free power plug, you may have to get a Y-splitter from your local computer store - but be warned, if you are running out of power plugs, it's possible that you may be drawing too much power through your power supply.

Lastly comes the IDE cable. Assuming you are connecting this drive as the master, plug the far end of the IDE cable into one of your IDE connectors on your motherboard and then connect the other end of it to the hard drive. If you are connecting the drive to the computer as the slave, take the existing cable and plug it into the interim port on the cable. Note: If you are configuring the drive as the 'slave,' make sure you install it close to the other device on the cable so you can have both plugged in at the same time. Also make sure that pin 1 (indicated by the color stripe along the cable) is plugged into the pin 1 connector on the hard drive. If it's not labled, pin 1 is almost always on the side closest to the power connector.

Now that you've fully installed the hard drive (and before returning the cover on the case), power up the computer and enter the BIOS (Basic Input output Services).

In order for your computer to operate the new drive properly, you must set the drive up in your PC's BIOS. Your PC's owners manual will tell you how to get into the BIOS setup for your particular computer. A typical method is holding DEL while the PC is advancing through the POST (Power on Self Test).

For most newer hard drives and computers, you can choose to have your BIOS auto-detect the new hard drive. Try this setting first. Then reboot your PC and go back into the BIOS setup to verify that all of the settings it chose are correct.

The parameters to verify (and to enter if you find that you must set up your drive manually) are:

Cylinders
Heads
Sectors
Mode

The mode refers to one of two choices for how the system should address your new hard drive. CHS stands for Cylinder Head Sector and LBA stands for Logical Block Addressing. CHS is used primarily for non-FAT operating systems like OS/2. Since we're working with Windows 9x here, and since Windows 9x uses FAT, the choice will be LBA for mode. If you are using an alternative operating system, check the documentation for your OS to see which choice is best for you.

The correct values for cylinders, heads, and sectors will be included in the installation guide for your new hard drive. It may also be printed on the drive itself.

If you do not have your hard drives parameters but at least know the Manufacturer and Model Number, you can go to this Web site to find the Hard Drive Specifications you need.

When all of the parameters are entered correctly, your BIOS setup screen should report the correct size of the new drive. Some BIOS versions, though, will not report the full size of some of the newer, larger drives. Consider updating your BIOS to the latest version if you aren't seeing the correct drive size reported in setup.

Be extremely careful not to touch the inside of the computer while it is running, as you may damage some components. Once the computer is recognizing the hard drive, turn the computer off and reattach the cover, and voila, you've installed a new hard drive for yourself. Note: If the hard drive STILL isn't recognized, turn your computer off and go back over the steps again, making sure you did everything properly. If you still have problems, check the troubleshooting section near the end of this document or the manual that came with your new hard drive.



ATA/33 & ATA/66

This acronym stands for Advanced Technology Attachment or the specification for IDE interfaces. They are fast - and fast is good. The number after the slash refers to a hard drive's burst rate, or rate of peak data transmission per clock cycle. This burst rate is measured in Mb's, so an ATA/33 enabled drive has a burst rate of 33 Mbps while an ATA/66 enabled drive has a burst rate of 66 Mbps.

ATA/33 has been around for a long time now (well, a long time in the computer world). Just about any computer you buy supports it, so using it isn't really a conscious decision. It only requires a standard IDE cable, so as long as your computer is using IDE, you're in the clear. ATA/66, however, is something of an emerging standard. Many hard drives are starting to use this feature, but as of right now almost no motherboards (short of the ones using Via's new 133 MHz chipset) do (there are also a few PCI ATA/66 cards out that will handle the job, if you want to spend the extra cash).

If you are lucky enough to have the option, you should have been supplied with an ATA/66 compatible cable with the motherboard (you can tell because the lines on the ribbon are narrower than usual). Then find the special ATA/66 enabled IDE port and connect the hard drive to that port using the special IDE cable. Your access speeds should be much higher after this operation. Note: depending on your setup, you may need to enable ATA/66 in your BIOS.



IDE Channels and the Master/Slave Thing

"Igor," Dr. Frankenstein said to his 'assistant,' "prepare the hard drive for the operation." "Yes, master," Igor hesitantly replied.

I know that was corny, but that is basically the way that the master/slave relationship of the IDE channel works. The 'master', or drive at the end of the chain, has control over the entire chain, while the slave, or the drive connected to the inner connector on the chain, has to wait for the master to give it access to the data stream. Here's the basic skinny on slave drives, avoid them if at all possible. The only kind of drive you would want in the slave position would be an old backup drive. And by no means should your swap file EVER be on a slave drive.

With most basic computer setups, the CD-ROM drive is going to take up one IDE channel. Depending on your motherboard, you will have a varying number of IDE channels (2 is standard, but 3 and 4 are becoming more common). So, if at all possible, put your hardware as the master of it's own IDE channel, and save the slave spot for your old 1.2 gig backup.



Hard Drive Jumper Settings

The jumper settings on the back of your hard drive are particularly important, because not only to they impact speed, but they also determine if the drive will work at all. Each hard drive is different in this respect, so I can't give you any particulars, but here are some basic rules of thumb:

Set the drive so it is in the appropriate mode for where it will be on the IDE chain (as either master or slave)

The more cylinders the better, so if your hard drive gives you the choice (with mine I could choose from 15 and 16), choose the higher number

(And now the copout line...) Consult your hard drive manual for more information on this subject.



After the Installation

Ok, now that we've been over all of your installation options, it's time to get this hard drive working so you can save data to it. First, you are going to need to partition the drive. This can be done with either the Fdisk utility that is included with DOS/Windows or a commercial utility such as Partition Magic. Once you have done this, you will need to format that partition, and you're in business.



Hard Drive Partitioning

Hard Drive Partitioning is one of the necessary steps to prepare a drive for use. It is the process of defining certain areas of the hard disk for the operating system to use. A Volume is a section of the drive with a letter, like C: or D:. You can give your volume a name later during format if you wish. If you do, it will also act as a password for later FDISK modifications. All hard drives must be partitioned, even if they will have only one partition.

Unless you use a third party software program like Partition Magic, you will need to use the DOS utility FDISK that is included with your Windows 9x installation to partition your new drive. When you use FDISK to manage partitions, you need to decide how you will partition your drive before you add data to that drive. Otherwise, you risk losing your data.

The choices you make for partitioning depend on how you will be using your drive and whether the drive will replace an old drive or used in addition to that existing drive. Let's talk about replacing versus adding a drive first:

When replacing an existing drive, you must have a Primary DOS Partition (PDP) or you won't be able to boot from the drive. This PDP must also be made the active partition in order for it to be bootable.

When adding a second drive, a PDP is not required. Further, if you specify a PDP on your second drive, that partition will become drive D, regardless of whether or not you have Extended DOS Partitions (EDP) on your existing drive.

To sum up, then, if you are replacing a drive, you will first create a PDP. If you are adding a drive, you will first create an Extended Dos Partition.

Do you need additional partitions? This is for you to decide. You can create as many as 24 Partitions; they are, essentially, logical drives. They will act just like more drives in your system, but they won't, of course, give you extra space. Example, a 1000 megabyte drive can be made to behave as two drives, a C and a D, each with an amount of space totaling up to 1000mb. The advantage to creating smaller partitions and many logical drives on a large drive is that they make things easier to organize when you start getting a lot of files on your drive. It can be easier to find a particular file if you don't have to scroll through so many directories and files to get to it. Smaller partitions also offer the advantage of smaller cluster size. A cluster is the smallest amount of space a file will take up on your drive regardless of the file's actual size.

Multiple partitions, though, must be treated as individual drives for backup and maintenance. You must specify each drive individually in your backup program. And you must run scandisk and defrag on each partition. You will also have to format each partition one by one.

Once you have planned out your parition strategy, start your computer in DOS mode and type FDISK at the prompt. Note that if you are replacing an existing drive, you must either have both drives installed while you perform these steps or you must boot from a floppy drive that has the FDISK and FORMAT command files on it!

Because there are many versions of FDISK out there no attempt will be made to take you through step 1 2 and 3 etc. The menu prompts are obvious enough that with the information you have learned here you should be able to skillfully navigate the choices.

If you are replacing your existing drive, first create a primary DOS partition. After you have done this, create any additional partitions you desire as extended. If you are adding a drive, create all partitions as extended.

When you have finished creating all of your partitions, choose the FDISK option to view existing partitions. Verify that all of the partitions are sized properly and that a PDP exists if this disk will replace your old drive.

In order to fix partitions if they are incorrect, you will have to select the FDISK option to remove existing partitions. Remove incorrect partitions first, then add partitions with the correct sizes. As you go, FDISK will calculate the disk space used by all of the partitions you have created.

Once you have all of the partitions correctly created and sized according to your needs, choose the option to exit FDISK. You are now ready to format!

You can format using the DOS format command. If you replaced your old drive, for example, and booted from a dos floppy rather than leaving the old drive installed, type:

format c: /s

This will copy the essential system files to your new drive as it formats so that you will be able to boot from the drive when formatting is complete. For additional partitions on the drive, or to format a drive that you won't be booting from, use the command:

format c:

When you use the FORMAT command in DOS, you will be prompted to enter a label for the drive. This is optional.

If you later decide to put DOS on a previously formatted hard drive use the SYS command:

SYS C:

Once your hard drive is formatted and operating correctly, its time to start planning how you will organize the programs you will copy or install. Typically you will create a number of directories or folders to store files according to the jobs they perform. Example, everyone has their favorite text editors, dos shells, picture viewers etc. These are called utilities in dos lingo. So, it might be a good idea to create a folder called UTILITY. Maybe another called DOS, etc.

To create a folder called "utility" use the Make Directory command known as MD. Example, from the C:> prompt type:

C:>MD UTILITY

Now assumming your utility files are presently saved on a floppy disk, insert the floppy in the A: drive, and copy the files. Here are two popular ways to do this.

From the "C:>" prompt, type: copy a:\*.* c:\utility
From the "A:>" prompt, type: copy *.* c:\utility

Typically you run/load/execute a file by typing its name at the dos prompt. Unfortunately, unless you are inside the C:\UTILITY when you do it, DOS will not know these files exist (unless you tell it previously by means of typing a PATH statement - such as

C:>SET PATH=C:\UTILITY

Unfortunately this is very burdensome; but it can be automated by placing the statement inside a text file called AUTOEXEC.BAT that is placed in the root of the boot or C: drive. Everytime the PC boots up it will run this file and execute every dos command it finds contained therein. Likewise, a file called CONFIG.SYS can be created for similar dos magic tricks; more on that later.

The file called AUTOEXEC.BAT can easily be created with any good text editor and the path statement added, however it can also be done right from the dos prompt with the dos "copy con" command. Here's what to type:

C:>COPY CON AUTOEXEC.BAT
C:>SET PATH=C:\UTILITY
<press Ctrl-Z> to create and save the file.



Troubleshooting a Failed Installation

Here are a few troubleshooting tips if you are having trouble getting your new hard drive working:

Check the jumpers and make sure they are set properly

Check all the connections on the motherboard and the hard drive to make sure things are connected properly

Change IDE channels to see if it is a problem with the motherboard

Switch power connectors to make sure you don't have a faulty connection

If the new hard drive "grinds" when you start the computer, make sure it is properly enabled in the bios

Also check to see if the drive is properly partitioned and formatted

If you continue to have problems after you have checked these issues out, there are a few possible culprits. They are as follows:

Faulty IDE Cable
Faulty Hard Drive

If it's just the IDE cable, it's a cheap fix - spend $5 at any computer store and you can grab an IDE cable - and if you shop there a lot, they may even give you one for free. However, if it turns out not to be the cable, then you're stuck with calling technical support and getting a replacement drive. Sorry.



MORE FDISK TECHNICAL FACTS

A partition program writes a master partition boot sector to cylinder 0, head 0, sector 1. The data in this sector defines the start and end locations of each of the other partitions. It also indicates which of these partitions is active, or bootable, thus telling the computer where to look for the operating system.

All systems can handle 24 partitions, either spread out on the same drive or many drives. This means that one can have up to 24 different hard drives, according to DOS. DOS can't recognize more than 24 partitions, although some other operating systems may. The limiting factor is simply the availability of letters. All partitions must have a letter. There are 26 letters, A: and B: are reserved for floppy drives, leaving 24 letters available.

Although there are third party partitioning programs that boast added capabilities, DOS FDISK is the accepted program for partitioning. FDISK sets up the partition in an optimum way and allows more than one OS to operate on one system.

FDISK only shows two DOS partitions, the primary partition and the extended partition. The extended partition is divided into logical DOS volumes, each being a separate partition. The minimum partition size is one megabyte, due to the fact that FDISK in DOS 4.0 or later creates partitions based on numbers of MB. Partition size is usually limited to 2G. DOS versions earlier than 4.0 allow max partitions of 32 MB. Using the FAT32 system under DOS 7 and Windows 95 OSR2, max partition size is kicked up to 2 TB (2 TB = 2048 GB = 2,097,152 MB = 2,147,483,648 KB = 2,199,023,255,552 bytes).

The first partition is your primary DOS partition. This is your C: drive and can't be divided. This is also called the active partition. You can only have one active partition.

The second partition is optional. It is called an extended partition. This is the space left over after the primary partition. Each extended partition must be labeled with a letter D: through Z:.

To start this, type "fdisk" at the A: prompt. If this doesn't work, it is because your drive is not installed correctly.

First, you have to setup a primary DOS partition. Choose Option 1 (Create DOS partition or Logical DOS drive). Choose Option 1 in the next menu. Now you can make your entire or only part of the C: drive the primary partition. Many people make the entire drive one partition just to stay simple. If you don't want to do so, specify the amount of drive space you want to partition in either megabytes or percentage of total drive. If you are using a percentage, be sure to follow the number by a "%" or the computer will think you're talking MBs.

Next, you'll need to make this partition active. Return to the main FDISK menu and choose Option 2 (Set Active Partition). Follow the prompts.

If you're going to create an extended partition, choose Option 1 again, but this time choose Option 2 in the next menu (Create Extended DOS partition). Plug in the percentage of drive to partition for this one. Do not make this partition active. Only one can be active.

After you create an extended partition, you will be given the Create Logical Drives option in the extended partition menu. Follow the on-screen instructions to assign drive letters to your partitions D: through Z:. Keep in mind that D: is often used for the CD-ROM.

After all this is done, you can choose Option 4 (Display Partition Information) and check your work.

FDISK in DOS 5.0 or later is more powerful than most people know. There are several options available with the program that are undocumented in the DOS manuals. The bad news is that these commands are unavailable with Windows 95. Instead, you will have to purchase a third party program such as Norton Utilities.

The most useful, in my opinion, is the "/MBR" parameter. This parameter tells FDISK to rewrite the Master Partition boot sector based on the partitions present on the drive without damaging the partitions on the drive. This is very useful when recovering from a virus that infects the boot sector of the drive. Use it by typing "FDISK /MBR" at the A: prompt.