Major problem with both my DVD and CD drives on XP

[pete_kwok]

Here's a really tough one for you guys, as it's been almost driving me mad... here we go:

Inserting a blank disc in the CD Rom drive (or any disc in the DVD drive) causes windows to freeze, when either of drive are connected to the Promise IDE Controller. The reason why I have a Promise IDE controller is because my motherboard only has one socket for an IDE cable. And i have 4 hard drives plus 2 Optical drives.

If i reboot and I leave the disc in the drive that caused the PC to freeze, Windows will not boot up after all the drive detection and memory checks.

I've recently built a new PC with the following specs:
Intel Mobo D925XCV (new)
Intel Pent 4 3.2 GHz (new)
Leadtek GeForce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3 (new)
Corsair 1Gig RAM (Dual 512) (new)
EMU-1820 Sound card (new)
Toshiba DVD Rom SD-M1502
Lite-On LTR 24102B CD Rom
2 western digital 160Gb drives
Seagate Baracuda 80Gb drive
IBM 120 Gb drive
Promise UltraTX100 IDE Controller
650W Enermax Silent PSU

The storage devices are a few years old and are working fine.
I've installed Windows and SP2 with the latest updates. Currently I have my Main drive and DVD drive connected to the motherboard, whereas the other drives are connected through a PCI slot with the UltraTX100 PCI card.

I have tried to update drivers/bios for all devices - with some success. The Promise IDE controller's BIOS has been updated, but does not seem to take the new drivers...(maybe this bios update is sufficient so it doesn't need the new driver?)

I know that my previous system was able to handle this many drives and it was older than the current motherboard design.

I think I've tried most updating... but perhaps I've missed something very crucial.

I've thought of the following if I can't get this resolved:
1) buy a new IDE Controller card
2) buy a DVD/CDRW combo drive
3) or buy a docking station that connects one of the optical drives through USB2 or Firewire.

Obviously, i've spent a shit load of money on this system but would like to resolve it without having to purchase any more items.



I'll be extremely glad if anyone can offer me some suggestions!


~Pete

[neil121183]

If i was you, I would forget about the PCI drive controller, raid the two 160GB drives with serial ata (sata) - as long as they are the same make and model. Then connect the primary drive to the primary IDE slot with one IDE cable, then connect the secondary drive and the dvd drive to the secondary IDE slot using another IDE cable.

Just my opinion.

If that is not possible I would get a docking bay. They are very handy.

Hope that helps.