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I've got a 10-month old Athlon based system with Windows98 SE. I'm about to fit a CD-RW IDE drive. My current config is:
IDE1 master = Hard drive - IDE1 slave = Free
IDE2 master = DVD-ROM - IDE2 slave = ZIP drive
I don't want the ZIP drive anymore, so my new config will be:
IDE1 master = Hard drive - IDE1 slave = Free
IDE2 master = CD-RW - IDE2 slave = DVD-ROM (as recommended by CD-RW supplier)
My question is; if I just go ahead and re-cable as above, will the BIOS/OS sort everything out, i.e. realize the DVD-ROM has moved and the ZIP drive gone? Or do I need to do anything else (apart from installing the CD burning s/w afterwards)? Thanks

The short answer is no, you don't have to do anything else. Just make sure you have set the Master/Slave jumpers on the devices correctly. The BIOS reads the firmware of the devices on the IDE cables and passes their existence on to Windows. The drive letters are then assigned and you can access them via their own software or the Windows Explorer.

If you find, however, that the drive letters are backward from what you expected (or wanted) on the DVD and CD-RW, you and switch them in the System Properties section of the Control Panel.



 


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