An Old IDE Drive May Not Work With A New IDE Drive?

Why is it that an Old IDE drive may not work with a New IDE drive?

The reason is the fact that many hard drive manufacturers were already making and selling drives before the IDE standard was clearly defined. Older IDE drives have problems functioning in dual-drive configurations. This scenario is more prevalent when the hard disk drives are from different manufacturers; in some cases, two drives may not function together at all. However, in rare circumstances even new drives will not work together.
Solution:

  • Separate the drives and have them on their own cable. Designate one drive as the Primary Master and the other as the Secondary Master.
  • Try not to jumper the drives as Cable Select. Have the drives jumpered as a “Master” drive.