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Friday, October 28, 2011

New computer! But not...

So I got my computer parts today, put them together, and the system turns on, which is always a nice thing.

Just one problem: the new motherboard I got doesn't have a Parallel ATA connector, which isn't that big a deal. My old C: drive is PATA instead of SATA, but I can deal with that by getting a PCI card that adds a PATA port, and install the operating system on my fresh, new 160GB SATA drive.

Just one problem.

My DVD drive is a PATA drive. Which means the system, in BIOS, can't detect the drive, which means I can't install the operating system.

Sigh. Nothing can ever be easy, can it?

It's too late tonight to keep messing with it, but I've already come up with a workaround (mostly involving another computer), so, unless something completely ridiculous happens, which is still a possibility, I should be back to streaming on Monday, and it's about damn time (I'm losing my MIND!).

11 comments:

  1. install windows from a usb drive its faster to top it all off

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  2. Yea, gotta make sure the parts all fit...
    My new pc MB had a legacy IDE slot, so I got lucky in that my DVD drives still worked. SATA seems to be the new standard so if you have anything else tho, then you are plum outta luck.

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  3. instead of the converter, just by a new disk drive and an enclosure. It'll save you a LOT of hassles later on.

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  4. I didn't know you could still get 160GB SATA drives, does your new Mobo support booting off USB?

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  5. consider yourself lucky its a small problem of converting something simple like that, issues i have had to deal with are dealing with outdated imaging equipment where i work, eg, a computer the size of a desk running 4 first generation Pentium processors in parallel on a mainboard the size of fridge and 256 meg of EDORAM, (64 per processor)200Meg SCSI drives, 4 thereof the entire time the head radiologist is screaming as to why it wont start up. upon arrival hes comment is "oh another expert who thinks he knows all" whereupon i walk over to the wall where its plugged in, and reset the breaker next to the wall sockets, oh and it turns on works fine :P

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. you could just get a small adapter i use them every so often all it is the Parallel ATA on one side and the SATA on the other can't think of where to get them though i always had them on hand from the computer maintenance teacher

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  8. Wow....All the technical jargon has frazzled my brain....
    All I can say is good luck and I hope it all works out :D

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  9. if life was easy then it would be boring lol

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  10. Just borrow a friend's SATA drive. No need to try technical crap

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  11. Windows 7 can be installed very easily from a USB Drive (check http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd535816.aspx for instructions). It may work with Vista as well, but it likely won't work with XP.

    Otherwise, I wouldn't try too hard to find an IDE<>Sata adapter. You can get a cheap SATA DVD Burner from Newegg for less than $30. As for the HDD, buy a new SATA HDD for maybe $40-$50, then a cheap USB enclosure for your old HDD and use it for a backup drive (too many people don't back up their computer until it's too late).

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