T23 - Problem with HDD bay

[Neil]

I've put together a T23 from my parts collection, and the HDD was from a T23 I had some years ago. Anyway, it booted and I was attempting to run R&R, but after formatting the install partition and partway through the Windows install, the hard drive starting making a loud clicking noise and would not complete the installation. I tried booting again to run some HDD tools and see if I could recover the dying drive. But to now avail, it's now dead.

The problem is, two other drives that I have on hard won't work in the HDD slot either. Either of the drives is identified by the T23 BIOS from the HDD slot, but if I boot a live Linux CD, the drive in the HDD slot is not recognized and cannot be mounted. One of the hard drives has a frugal Linux install on it that I use for testing, and it will boot in the T23 ultra bay adapter, but not in the HDD bay, even though the BIOS identifies the drive when in the HDD bay.

I ran out of time, and didn't get very far trouble shooting over the weekend. Would like to figure out what the problem is, maybe tonight. Anyone have any ideas as to what happened, what I should look for, or test?

[RealBlackStuff]

PC Doctor comes to mind, as well as the respective Hard Disk tests from the HD manufacturers.
I assume you use HD-trays to avoid wrong insertion?

[Neil]

Yeah, I'm using drive caddies. And, it's not the drives themselves that I need to check. I know the one drive is dead, and the others I'm testing with work fine in other machines, and in the T23 ultra bay. It's just the hard disk bay that seems to have a problem. I just hope the motherboard wasn't somehow damaged by the drive when it died. Will have to run PC-Doctor when I get a chance, and see what it shows.

[RealBlackStuff]

One trick that sometimes works: remove the mains, main battery and CMOS battery for a few minutes.
Then put it back again.
Somehow sometimes the BIOS 'remembers' a certain state, which gets 'wiped' by removing the CMOS battery.

[Neil]

Resetting the BIOS by removing all power didn't have any affect. So, here is how the story ends...

The first HDD with the T23 R&R partition is truely dead. Won't work in any bay or any machine I have.

The other two drives, a 30GB and a 40GB Hitachi, work in the ultra bay adapter and in my 600X but not in the T23 HDD slot (or my T30 HDD slot either, BTW).

I moved the 40GB drive to my 600X and it is working just fine there. Took the 32GB drive from the 600X and put it in the T23, formatted and installed W2K on it. It's working fine in the HDD slot of the T23. I still don't have the explanation as to why the one drive will work and the other will not, but my problem is solved.

As an additional side note, I'm having a similar problem with a T30 I was trying to set up for a friend. Was trying to use a 30GB drive that had been in another of my 600X machines, but it would not work in the T30 HDD slot. So I took a 40GB Samsung drive from my USB enclosure and it works great in the T30. Put the 30GB back in the 600X and it is fine there.

So, evidently, some drives just don't make good contact with the T series connectors, but work OK in my 600X or the ultra bay adapter.

[RealBlackStuff]

Let me guess, the non-working HDs were all Toshiba?

[Neil]

Nope, not a Toshiba in the lot. All Hitachi, and with IBM FRU numbers IIRC.

[jronald]

I have had several T30's that the HDD pins would not align with the connector on the MoBo. Pop the keyboard off and with a bright light look carefully at the "now" top row of pins to make sure you CAN NOT see them. If you see them, they are not in the connector.

Ron

[Neil]

I assume you use HD-trays to avoid wrong insertion?

RBS, you get the prize, er... thanks, anyway. I answered yes to this before, and while that was/is true, I have since learned that my problems were because I didn't have screws at all four corners of the caddy. I was thinking that the screws were meant to hold the caddy on the drive, but now I've learned that the rear screws act a guides, riding in a channel, and without them there is enough play that the drive doesn't always connect properly.