I just got this error when I rebooted from a system update.

I has happened to my desktop that I have had for 3 years.
I have had no major problems in the past that I have not been able to fix myself.

I went into BIOS to check the boot sequence. Other than the "Primary IDE Master :NOT DETECTED" it looks fine. It is set on Auto, and my CD and floppy drives are recongized, but not the master.

Could the problem be the HD ribbon just went bad?

Any help is appreciated.
Thank you,
Kurt

As far as I can surmise, it seems to be the hard drive itself.

I tried out the CD-Rom ribbons with the HD and vise versa... nothing. BIOS only recognized the CD drives.

I also tried a different ribbone from an older computer.

I swapped the ribbon connections on the system board and it still only recognized the CD drives, but this time as the "master IDE", and no secondary (where the HD was connected).

I tested the power supplies and they are fine and the HD is getting power.

I'm lost as to what can be done. Is the HD trash?

Just a thought, if I install a new HD as the Primary with the OS, could I set the other as the secondary and access the files... I suppose that is not a cut and dry answer, I'll probably have to try it, right?


Thanks,
Kurt

Yes, I guess you will have to try it. Have you tried the freezer trick yet? Place the hard drive into a ziplock plastic bag and stick it into the freezer for a few hours. Quickly reinstall it and see if it works long enough for you to get any important data or files from it.