Hard drive and optical drive only work when IDE cables are disconnected

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I was given a pc (asus K8N-E) the problem is that although it powers up, mobo light works cpu fan spins and system fan spins front panel lights work, the hard drive and optical drive wont power up unless i disconnect the IDE cables, when disconnected the hard drive spins and the light on and drawer on the optical drive work. its as if the IDE is somehow disabled, i have tried different cables but to no avail any help appreciated.
 
hi

check that the cables are plugged in the right way round, the red stripe on the cable goes next to the power socket on the device and the board is usually marked pin 1 or has a dot on it.

does it happen when you plug in a single device or only when you plug in both.

are you using seperate cables or are you putting both devices on the same cable.
 
I have come across this caused by a bad optical drive.
On the basis that you have the jumpers in the proper places and you know the ribbon cable is a good one, try each device on it's own as in the post above.
 
Thanks for the reply, both hdd and optical are on separate cables, ive tried several different IDE cables, different hdd's, ive tried with just one device plugged in, ive tried changing the jumper settings, its as if as soon as i connect the Ide cables to the drives, power stops going to them, unplug the cables and the drives seem to be working i.e hdd spinning optical lighting up, drawer opening.
 
If they stop responding when you connect the signal cable then the problem is either the cables or the board - and as you have tried different cables there is only one conclusion!
Have you tried setting the motherboard BIOS back to default??
 
sorry for my ignorance, if you mean taking the cmos battery out to set the motherboard back to default, then yes i have tried it.
 
Not ignorance!
In that case I would not bother with it any more - it might be repairable by a specialist but that would cost more than it is worth.
Sorry!
 
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