Hard Drive Upgrade

Don Boosinger · April 24th, 2006, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Mitchell

Don, have you thought about just checking the cable with a multimeter, finding the broken link and soldering a wire bridge over the broken trace (of course completely unconnected during this procedure)?

Should be a relatively simple and painless repair.

Thanks John for the thought. I can't determine if it is a broken trace or just a solder joint that has gone cold. In any case over the next couple of days I'll work it out.

Don Boosinger · April 26th, 2006, 03:57 PM

I received the ribbon cable, installed and everything seems to be working.

So for those of you that are interested:
Would I go through this procedure again – yes even with my frustrations.
What would I do different. Before I ordered the hard drive I would open up the FS-4 and see if it has a flex cable as mine did. IF so I would not proceed. I would automatically order a new ribbon cable with the hard drive. Once I received the hard drive with cable I would follow the procedure others have outlined here.

Final note ……. Remember if your unit is still under warranty, this will void the warranty.

End of saga………

Troy Davis · May 1st, 2006, 10:31 PM

Hello,

I'm in the process of upgrading my HD in the focus fs-4 to 100 gb. However, before doing so I did a test run removing the hard drive and then replacing it. The problem is that when I replaced the drive I was under the assumption that I would be able to see previous files that I had on the drive. unfortunately when I restarted the FS-4 I received the following message :

unknown volume type...

partition volume?

YES

I decided not to proceed until I totally understood what my options were.
My question is: Have I lost the previous files that were on disk? If not, how do I retrieve them. If I have lost the previous files that okay, but just wanted to know what was happening. I have ordered the 100 gb hitachi from newegg and will replace the current one anyway, so all of this is no big deal. I suspect that I will be prompted with the same message upon adding the new drive anyway?

Thanks,
Troy

Don Boosinger · May 2nd, 2006, 02:17 AM

Try connecting your FS-4 hard drive to a desktop computer. It should show up just like any other hard drive. You will need a 44 pin to 40 pin adaptor similar to the one’s pictured. Your files should still be there.
http://www.sonic.net/kd6hq/images/Firestore-019.jpg

As to why this would happen I’m not sure but I have to ask – what does the ribbon cable look like on the FS-4?

Troy Davis · May 2nd, 2006, 07:16 AM

Don,

It looks like the cable here: http://www.sonic.net/kd6hq/images/Firestore-06.jpg

I guess I will have to purchase the cable you mentioned in order to connect to my desktop?

Thanks,
Troy

Don Boosinger · May 2nd, 2006, 12:36 PM

Troy

I ended up having to replace the cable in the FS-4. I had the same type of cable that you have and once that I disconnected the hard drive from it the cable would no longer work correctly. Do a google search for “44 pin ide” or perhaps contact Newegg to see if they have one. Here is one of several sources.

http://www.mycableshop.com/sku/IDE44-1.htm

Once I replaced the cable the FS-4 worked correctly.

Troy Davis · May 2nd, 2006, 05:59 PM

fyi:

I ended up purchasing a 2.5 usb 2.0 HD Enclosure from tigerdirect for $9.99 and was able to move my files successfully.

Troy Davis · May 3rd, 2006, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Boosinger

Troy

I ended up having to replace the cable in the FS-4. I had the same type of cable that you have and once that I disconnected the hard drive from it the cable would no longer work correctly. Do a google search for “44 pin ide” or perhaps contact Newegg to see if they have one. Here is one of several sources.

http://www.mycableshop.com/sku/IDE44-1.htm

Once I replaced the cable the FS-4 worked correctly.

Don,

I received my hard drive. Formatted using mkdosfs and reconnected to fs-4. When I power up the drive not I get a DISK NOT DETECTED message. When connect the new drive to my PC running Xp the drive is recognized. Could this be the cable issue? Are these cables built to self distruct at first touch :-)
I say this because I was very delicate with the whole process. I guess I will see if I can fine a new cable in the mean time.

Thanks,
Troy

Don Boosinger · May 3rd, 2006, 02:34 PM

Troy

That’s exact ally the problem I ran into so I replaced the cable and it started working as soon as I plugged it in.

Don

Troy Davis · May 3rd, 2006, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Boosinger

Troy

That’s exact ally the problem I ran into so I replaced the cable and it started working as soon as I plugged it in.

Don

Thanks Don. I ordered the new cable, so hopefully that will clear things up.

Troy Davis · May 15th, 2006, 04:00 PM

received new cable and all is well. Now I guess I need to get the battery.

Don Boosinger · May 15th, 2006, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Troy Davis

received new cable and all is well. Now I guess I need to get the battery.

Glad to here it Troy

You might try this site for a battery.

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.as...S&Category=894

April 26th, 2006, 03:57 PM	#17
Don Boosinger Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rohnert Park, Ca. Posts: 99	Success I received the ribbon cable, installed and everything seems to be working. So for those of you that are interested: Would I go through this procedure again – yes even with my frustrations. What would I do different. Before I ordered the hard drive I would open up the FS-4 and see if it has a flex cable as mine did. IF so I would not proceed. I would automatically order a new ribbon cable with the hard drive. Once I received the hard drive with cable I would follow the procedure others have outlined here. Final note ……. Remember if your unit is still under warranty, this will void the warranty. End of saga………

May 1st, 2006, 10:31 PM	#18
Troy Davis Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Raleigh,NC Posts: 263	fs-4 hard drive issue Hello, I'm in the process of upgrading my HD in the focus fs-4 to 100 gb. However, before doing so I did a test run removing the hard drive and then replacing it. The problem is that when I replaced the drive I was under the assumption that I would be able to see previous files that I had on the drive. unfortunately when I restarted the FS-4 I received the following message : unknown volume type... partition volume? YES I decided not to proceed until I totally understood what my options were. My question is: Have I lost the previous files that were on disk? If not, how do I retrieve them. If I have lost the previous files that okay, but just wanted to know what was happening. I have ordered the 100 gb hitachi from newegg and will replace the current one anyway, so all of this is no big deal. I suspect that I will be prompted with the same message upon adding the new drive anyway? Thanks, Troy

May 2nd, 2006, 07:16 AM	#20
Troy Davis Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Raleigh,NC Posts: 263	Retrieving files from FS-4 hard drive Don, It looks like the cable here: http://www.sonic.net/kd6hq/images/Firestore-06.jpg I guess I will have to purchase the cable you mentioned in order to connect to my desktop? Thanks, Troy

May 2nd, 2006, 02:17 AM	#19
Don Boosinger Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rohnert Park, Ca. Posts: 99	Try connecting your FS-4 hard drive to a desktop computer. It should show up just like any other hard drive. You will need a 44 pin to 40 pin adaptor similar to the one’s pictured. Your files should still be there. http://www.sonic.net/kd6hq/images/Firestore-019.jpg As to why this would happen I’m not sure but I have to ask – what does the ribbon cable look like on the FS-4?

May 2nd, 2006, 12:36 PM	#21
Don Boosinger Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rohnert Park, Ca. Posts: 99	Troy I ended up having to replace the cable in the FS-4. I had the same type of cable that you have and once that I disconnected the hard drive from it the cable would no longer work correctly. Do a google search for “44 pin ide” or perhaps contact Newegg to see if they have one. Here is one of several sources. http://www.mycableshop.com/sku/IDE44-1.htm Once I replaced the cable the FS-4 worked correctly.

May 2nd, 2006, 05:59 PM	#22
Troy Davis Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Raleigh,NC Posts: 263	fyi: I ended up purchasing a 2.5 usb 2.0 HD Enclosure from tigerdirect for $9.99 and was able to move my files successfully.

May 3rd, 2006, 02:34 PM	#24
Don Boosinger Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rohnert Park, Ca. Posts: 99	Troy That’s exact ally the problem I ran into so I replaced the cable and it started working as soon as I plugged it in. Don

May 15th, 2006, 04:00 PM	#26
Troy Davis Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Raleigh,NC Posts: 263	received new cable and all is well. Now I guess I need to get the battery.