Is this possible, or am I nuts?

[The Hunter]

Okay, I've been trying to track down the source of a computer problem I've been having.

I built my brother a new computer, and in it is my old hard drive. The motherboard is an Asus A7V8X-X, and the hard drive is a Maxtor D740X 40GB. The hard drive worked perfectly for two years in my system, no problems at all. I set up the new system, and tried to install windows, and I kept getting an I/O error. Sometimes it wouldn't even get through starting up the install program. I then put in the 20 GB Western Digital from my brother's old system, and Windows installed fine. Then I tried the Maxtor in my brother's old system, and it also installed without a hitch. Is it possible that there's an error in the hard drive controller on the motherboard that makes it able to read/write to the WD but not the Maxtor? Or is there some other element here that I've overlooked?

 

[maxelhombre]

Have you tried using a new cable? I've had drives be more picky than others when it comes to IDE cables.

 

[The Hunter]

Yep, tried numerous cables, including the ones that worked with the Maxtor on the old system.

 

[maxelhombre]

Perhaps formatting the drive in another computer first will help? I suppose something else could be causing the problem in the new system - or it could be just a strange combination of hardware.

If formatting doesn't help, try to install XP with just the CD, HD, one stick of ram and the video card in the comp. That would help to narrow down the suspects. Also you could try putting the HD on a different channel.