Computer problem: Reccuring HD lookup fail

[Niteflier]

My desktop is a 5 year old Dell Dimension 8400, Has run XP since the day I got it, and about three years ago I added a second internal HD to expand its memory.

Recently, its been having trouble finding that second HD. For no particular reason that I can tell, during operations, the HD will vanish from the system, and
I will have to reboot (sometimes several times), to find it again. Once, this happened with my primary HD, but was solved after a friend looked at it. (Just
looked. Didn't mess with the insides at all.)

I've already dug around inside and tried my best to tighten up the connectors in there, but its still recurring.

Any help would be appreciated immensely. I don't have the funding currently to even think about buying/building a new desktop machine, and I have separate
problems with my laptop.

[Sofaspud]

The Dell 8xxx series has had a lot of problems with HD/HDC's; it's possible you're running into one of those. It's a lot easier to test the HD
than it is the controller, but either way you'll need a second known-good system.

Quick cheap test would be to replace the cables with new ones. That's $15 bucks or so unless you happen to have some lying around (or can beg/borrow some
from a friend).

You can also drop that second HD into a friend's machine and see what happens. If it repeatedly works just fine, chances are the drive is okay.

If it turns out to be the controller... you're semi-hosed. You can purchase a drive controller card and switch off the built-in one, but that's not
the optimal solution, and may not be cheaper than replacing the motherboard.

I'd try the cable and HD tests first. If the HD turns out to be wonky, there's free software that'll let you move the partition to a new one, and
new drives are cheap these days.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[Niteflier]

So the drive controller is on the motherboard? Huh. Due to wonky problems with Dell support, I actually have a spare lying around here somewhere. But since I
don't have a spare cable, I'm going to have to go buy that one. Thanks, Spud!

[CattyNebulart]

If it is a sata drive be really sure to check the cables, they have a tendency to cause intermittent errors since the spec for them is apperently not quite
good enough.

if you have a nforce4 memory controler (which i do not believe the dell 8400 has) you are in trouble, it's a known problem but the big coorperations have
been more interested in blaming each other than fixing it. Maxtor is one of the worst affected by the bugs IIRC, but practicaly all drives will occasionally
fail or in rare circumstances be destroyed.

Other than that I don't have any advice beyond sofaspuds.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."