HDD installation problem with Mint

[foreverlastinghot]

I've taken the Maxtor hard drive from my old win98se computer (with Gb of data files) and installed it on my new LinuxMint computer. The slave pin connectors and bios settings have all been adjusted for the old drive to be read as slave. I want to use this drive for data storage. Once this drive is recognised, I will delete the windows folders.

When the power plug inside the computer is attached to this slave hard drive, the Linux boot fails. After the LinuxMint screen "freedom comes elegance" and the loading bar completes, a "Busybox" screen appears with the following message:
busybox v.1.1.3 (Debian 1:1.1.3-5Ubuntu7) Built-in shell (ash)
Enter "help" for a list of built-in commands
(Initramfs) _____ [the underscore represents the flashing cursor]

I've tried numerous commands from the "help" list, but none of them provide any means to get past this screen and complete the Linux boot. Only the CTRL/ALT/DEL option gets me out of the "Busybox" screen. Also, when I leave the power plug for the slave drive connected, the computer re-boots back to the "Busybox" screen. However, when I unplug the power wires from the Maxtor drive, the computer boots up successfully to my Linux desktop.

The LinuxForums and internet searches have some "busybox" messages, but none of them relate to my problem, nor could I understand any of the responses provided. Also, I couldn't find solutions to my problem at any of these sites.

Any suggestions for getting my computer to skip the "busybox" screen in order to boot to my Linux desktop, and to recognise my old drive as a slave are greatly appreciated.

[Husse]

Did you put the old drive on the same ribbon as the drive you use to boot Mint?
If so that's the reason
You should avoid having two hard disks on the same ribbon - some disks don't like each other
Make the disk master and put it on the ribbon with the CD/DVD player
Noter that the master should be at the end and the slave in the middle, but this is not absolutely necessary
If you've got two CD/DVD players move one
If you've got a hard disk and a CD/DVD player the only thing is to try and see if the old disk is tolerated there
If it's an old less than 8 GB disk this could possibly force the other larger disk on the same ribbon to be treated with the 8 GB limit even if I don't think so

[foreverlastinghot]

The 2 drives are connected separately. My primary drive is a SATA; the slave that I'm wanting to attach is an older ATA/IDE drive that uses a ribbon cable. My CD/DVD drive also has a SATA connection. In the end, then, this older slave drive is attached on its own.

[Husse]

In the end, then, this older slave drive is attached on its own.

Well that probably explains it - make it master - hard disks don't like being slave, particularly when they are alone, but it works many times, so....

[foreverlastinghot]

If I understand your suggestion correctly, you are saying that I should shift the plastic pin connector on the Maxtor (slave) drive back to the "master" position. Is that correct? If yes, what will that do when the bios recognises 2 master drives installed?

[Husse]

You got it right

If yes, what will that do when the bios recognises 2 master drives installed?

Nothing what so ever
Master/slave is a per IDE channel setting
To be absolutely correct the boot order may change, but then it's just to set it right again

[foreverlastinghot]

Husse,
I made the slave-to-master pin connection as you suggested, and, after, 3 or 4 failed attempts for my bios settings to recognise this drive as 2nd in order, it finally did so. Sadly, on boot-up, the same busybox screen I described in my 1st post re-appeared. Do you have any further ideas to avoid the busybox screen and to get the boot-up completed to my desktop -- with my 2nd drive recognised, of course?

[Husse]

It's not completely abnormal to have to try a couple of times
What brand and model is the hard disk?
To be sure - you don't even see grub?

[foreverlastinghot]

Husse,
The primary drive is a 250 Gb Sata Seagate. The older drive that I want to add is a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9, 80 Gb ATA/133. It's about 5 years old.
During the normal Linux boot-up, there are 6 screens that appear before the desktop is displayed. The second screen is grub and only is visible 3 - 4 seconds before the LinuxMint memory test screen appears.
With the power plug attached to the Maxtor drive, the grub screen appears at the same time for the same duration. The standard 3rd, 4th, and 5th boot screens continue to show as well. Only after the fifth screen --" Linuxmint, freedom comes elegance", with the sliding loading bar completing, does the busybox screen appear. That is as far as the boot reaches.
I hope this clarifies your latest questions and can help provide direction.

[Husse]

This was strange!
To have that happening so late in the boot process....
I don't know what could cause it, but I have a few suggestions
What happens if you boot from the live CD?
Is the drive empty? Any "traces" of Linux on it? I was thinking that for some reason Mint tries to read something it can't read properly from it.
Can you format it if you are not to keep the data on it?
Out in the blue......

[foreverlastinghot]

Husse,
The drive I want to add is not empty; there is about 20 Gb of files on it that I want to keep and have access to from my Linux computer. Obviously, then, formatting it is not an option. There are no Linux files on this drive.
When the bios settings recognised this dirive as the first drive in order, the boot up was the Windows98 version. It, of course, fails and the computer shuts down. After I change the hard drive order so that my SATA Linux drive is number one and the Maxtor (windows98) drive is second, the Linux boot process occurs but fails after the 5th step as I described previously.
I just tried the Live CD boot and it worked successfully to boot to the desktop and recognised the Maxtor drive. Something I never remembered until I opened the directory is that the Maxtor (windows98) disk has 2 partitions on it so that the Linux directory displayed 3 drives: Linux, disk, and disk-1. The 2nd & 3rd disks are the 2 partitions from the Maxtor drive. When this disk was installed on my old windows computer, the drives were identified as "C" and "D". I didn't do anything with "disk" and "disk-1" other than to browse the contents to confirm that they were being read accurately. And they were.
When I tried to re-boot again from the hard disk, the boot process failed in the exactly the same way as it always has when the Maxtor drive has the power plug connected.
The Live CD test tells me that there are no connection problems; instead, from the hard disk, a problem occurs trying to recognise the Maxtor drive. Could the 2 partitions on this drive be the source of the problem? If the live CD boot can recognise the 2 partitions easily, why can't the hard disk boot? Could some Bios setting on the hard disk be interfering? The only changes I've made are: disable NumLock, Boot Device Priority to Hard Disk Drive, Hard Drive order to SATA drive (my Linux hard disk).
In the Advanced Drive Configuration, SATA Port 0 is the Linux drive, port 1 is the DVD/CD-ROM, ports 2 & 3 are not installed and inaccessible, even when the Maxtor drive is connected.
I'm giving you this information because it may contain some clue to the problem. I, personally, have no idea whether or not it does. The success of the LiveCD boot is good. Hopefully, you will have some thoughts how to get the same from the hard disk drive.