lady_daraine
07-15-2008, 07:03 PM
So I got to play inside my computer for a very long time today, trying to figure out how to use Instantcake with my Dell. The BIOS on a Dell won't allow for the specification of using the primary slave CD-ROM for booting, so I was trying to figure out how to boot from there. I was able to boot from the master drive, which I had plugged in because otherwise the Dell didn't recognize the slave drive at all. However, the software had issues with this, so eventually I figured out this work around.
Of course, this will only help you if you have a version of Instantcake that allows an advanced set-up.
I had to ignore the secondary IDE completely (which was ok, since I have a 320 HDD and don't need to install a second). I flipped the jumpers on the CD-ROM to the slave, and my HDD to master. I plugged both into the primary IDE.
Then, the Dell was able to boot to the slave CD-ROM and and all I had to do was specify that the HDD was the primary master, not secondary, and everything worked out fine.
I searched these forums for a while, and all I could find was vague references to "Dells need something plugged into the primary as a master" but DO NOT USE ANOTHER DISC DRIVE - then the Dell which just force you to boot to that instead of the slave. The only work around is the hard drive - which I would recommend being your new one, since if something else goes wrong you don't want to wipe your pc's main hard drive.
I figured that something a little more specific - such as this - might help anyone else trying to use this lovely program with a not-so-lovely Dell.
Good luck, everyone!
Of course, this will only help you if you have a version of Instantcake that allows an advanced set-up.
I had to ignore the secondary IDE completely (which was ok, since I have a 320 HDD and don't need to install a second). I flipped the jumpers on the CD-ROM to the slave, and my HDD to master. I plugged both into the primary IDE.
Then, the Dell was able to boot to the slave CD-ROM and and all I had to do was specify that the HDD was the primary master, not secondary, and everything worked out fine.
I searched these forums for a while, and all I could find was vague references to "Dells need something plugged into the primary as a master" but DO NOT USE ANOTHER DISC DRIVE - then the Dell which just force you to boot to that instead of the slave. The only work around is the hard drive - which I would recommend being your new one, since if something else goes wrong you don't want to wipe your pc's main hard drive.
I figured that something a little more specific - such as this - might help anyone else trying to use this lovely program with a not-so-lovely Dell.
Good luck, everyone!