Check the jumper settings to make sure that the DVD drive is set to be the slave. When the computer starts up, go into the BIOS and check to make sure that it can properly identify the drive. If you notice that both the HDD and the DVD drive are shown as "Unknown," then the jumper settings on one of the two are off.

Normally I would agree with Myke, but this is a special case since the drive is a SATA interface and does not rely on jumpers. Since you have a SATA HD, make sure you plug the drive into the slave SATA port.
You didn't list what brand or model your motherboard is, so I can't tell if you have more than one set or not, but for the sake of simplicity, we'll say you only have two physical SATA ports.
In this case, make sure your HD is plugged into the first port, usually marked with a (1) next to it, and the DVD ROM is plugged into the slave port, marked with a (2).
In the case of Windows incorrectly identifying the drive, SATA is a newer technology, and SP2 adds additional support for it, so it may be that you require Service Pack 2 for Windows XP to fully recognize the drive, not to mention being able to utilize it's full abilities.
 
If the computer is still not booting, try unplugging your IDE drive and leave the SATA drive plugged in. There could possibly be a conflict.
 
Good luck, and keep us informed.

Oops, I did forget the motherboard. It's a Sapphire Xpress 3200. One IDE port and four SATA, with the HDD in the first and the Samsung drive in the second. I have tried booting without the IDE drive in, but I get the same problem.
 
Upgrading to SP2 sounds like the best plan at this time, although I'm wondering if I would maybe just need to reconfigure something in the BIOS to allow for two SATA drives to coexist without interfering with one another. Then again, I really don't know anything about it.
 
Thanks for the help, I'll look into tracking down SP2.

If you are not getting a post on attempted boot with the DVD drive connected, then this is not an XP problem. Well at least not at first. What exact model of the motherboard is this? There are four models.
 
I wonder if the bios is set for RAID rather than IDE for the sata interface in the bios. get into the bios (delete key on boot) and choose Integrated Peripherals-->SouthOnChip PCI Device--> and see if the onchip SATA Type is set to IDE Controller.
 
Once that is set (save the changes), then try to boot into XP.

No such luck. It was already set to IDE so I changed it to RAID just for fun. When it's stuck on the startup, pulling the plug on the drive instantly results the POST and subsequent hitch-free startup.
 
Sorry so vague with the motherboard specs. The motherboard is a Pure Crossfire 3200 Advantage PC-AM2RD580Adv.
 
Call me ignorant, but do I need to install the RAID software that came with the motherboard before I can run multiple SATA drives?
 
Anyway, thanks for all the help so far.

Check the motherboard CMOS/BIOS settings and verify that the IDE/SATA controller mode is in ENHANCED mode rather then SATA ONLY or AUTO.
 
With Win 2K and above you can control up to 6 drives but only in ENHANCED mode.
 
Since it's also an ATi chipset motherboard, be sure you have their latest chipset/inf drivers for Windows, but don't install these until after you change to ENHANCED mode first

Couldn't find anything IDE/SATA related that had "enhanced" as an option, let alone "SATA only".
 
I did screw around with it some, and set the "ATI SATA Type" to "RAID", which resulted in a screen displaying a list. First on the list was my hard drive, and second on the list was the Samsung drive, but it was blinking. The screen sat for a few seconds, then proceeded to boot up. When it hit the welcome screen, it flashed the BSOD and restarted. Had to set it back to IDE Native to get it to boot up again.
 
Should I just try my luck with the motherboard update? Samsung's website was so worthless and poorly-translated that it wasn't even worth it to seek answers there.

That was going to be my next suggestion, a motherboard BIOS update for you make/model could resolve this.
 
I was also going to suggest a firmware update on the Samsung optical drive as well.
 
Here is the LINK for their latest firmware download.

Problem with a firmware update is that the computer can't detect the drive at all. I don't see how I could even get it in there.
 
I read in the Newegg review section for this drive that it wouldn't work on the same SATA controller as a SATA hard drive, which is how I have it now.
 
I'm getting the updates for the motherboard now though.

Getting a refund from Newegg. I'm just going to get the IDE version and suck it up with the ribbons for a while.
 
Thanks for all your help!

Hi, everyone...
I hope that someone will read this, 'cause as I see this topic is allmost 3yrs old.
 
I have similar, maybe same, problem as CragHack.
My config:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-M56S-S3
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4000+
HDD: ATA WDC WD1600AABS-0 (Serial ATA Hard Drive)
DVD: Optiarc DVD RW AD-7173A (PATA)
 
To continue...
Anyway, I bought new DVD-RW Drive because old one (named up) couldn't write any more (although reading works). New one is Samsung SH-S223C. (SATA)
 
I have two sistems on PC (dual boot), Windows7 and Linux Mint 8.
New DVD Drive works fine under Linux (reads and writes DVDs/CDs normaly), but under Windows not so fine.
It shows new drive (DVD Drive (F:)) but when I try to read some DVD it just bloks and when I "stop" it (close window or take out DVD) it just disappear from the system, it's like it does not exist, like it isn't connected (there is no more "DVD Drive (F:)").
I tried to reinstall drivers, made some adjustments to BIOS and it didn't help.
 
So, help, please.
 
P.S. I hope I wasn't too confuse.

Try the suggestions in this Microsoft kb article.

thanks. I'll try it.