Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
If you want to boot from a drive greater than 2.2TB using Windows, your system must
have EFI or UEFI firmware and you must use a 64-bit version of Windows Vista or Win-
dows 7. However, recent distributions of 32-bit and 64-bit Linux can use drives above
2.2TB as boot and data drives with either traditional BIOS or EFI/UEFI firmware.
For more information about using drives larger than 2.2TB, see “
GPT and the 2.2TB Bar-
rier
”
in
Chapter 7
,
“
The ATA/IDE Interface
.”
My optical drive doesn't work
Optical drives are one of the more failure-prone components in a PC. It is not uncommon
for them to suddenly fail after a year or so of use.
If you are having problems with a drive that was newly installed, check the installation
and configuration of the drive. If the drive is a parallel ATA type, check the jumper set-
tings on the drive. If you're using an 80-conductor cable, the drive should be jumpered to
CableSelect; ifyou'reusinga40-conductorcable,thedriveshouldbesettoeithermaster
or slave (depending on whether it is the only drive on the cable). Try replacing the cable
withanewoneoraknown-goodspare,preferablyusingan80-conductorcable.Makesure
the drive power is connected, and verify that power is available at the connector using a
digitalmultimeter.AlsomakesuretheBIOSSetupissetproperlyforthedrive,andverify
that the drive is detected during the boot process. Finally, try replacing the drive and, if
necessary, the motherboard.
Ifthedrivehadalreadybeeninstalled andwasworkingbefore,tryreadingdifferentdiscs,
preferably commercial-stamped discs rather than writeable or rewriteable ones. Then try
the steps listed previously.
If you are using a SATA optical drive in Windows Vista, you might need to configure the
SATA host adapter the drive uses in PATA emulation mode rather than the native AHCI
mode or install a hotfix (see Microsoft Knowledgebase article 928253). You could also
install Service Pack 1 (or later) which also contains this fix. Windows 7 can use an SATA
optical drive in either PATA or AHCI (recommended) mode.
My USB port or device doesn't work
Make sure you have enabled the USB ports in the BIOS Setup. Try removing any hubs
and plug the device having problems directly into the root hub connections on your sys-
tem. Try replacing the cable. Many USB devices require additional power, so ensure that
your device has an eternal power supply connected if one is required.
IfthedevicerequiresUSB2.0support,makesureyourportsareconfiguredtoruninUSB
2.0 (Hi-Speed USB) mode. Many systems also offer a USB 1.1-only mode. If the device
