HDD Freezing Problems Please Help

Ok here goes I not going to worry to much about formatting just get the info on the page.
moded; ps2 v7; duo2 se
Maxtor 80GB; Model: D740X-6L
Attempting to get hdloader to work, everything else about the install seems to be working plays all games all backups I have tried. already got the mem card thing going and several other programs. However I am having trouble with the hard drive. Whenever I connect the hard drive and launch hdloader it just gets to the splash screen and the freezes there for as long as I can stand to watch (Pretty Long 30 Min). I know this is not normal because it worked once while I was trouble shooting and I was able to format the drive and back up a game. However once I moved the ps2 it has not worked since. I assumed connectivity issue and have already tried many times and returned my adapter once incase that was the problem. But to no avail.

Other Things Tried:
Have tried other hard drives, same problem
Tried many different versions of hdloader and hdadvance
As stated above have tried different adapters
Have dusted with compressed air
jury rigged some small rubber/foam pads so hard drive fits snuggly
Tried different inserting techniques :P

anyway does anyone have suggestions please I am at my ropes end.
And Thanks for any reply no matter how simple or complex.

The other Hard Disks you've tried, different models/sizes or the same? Only ask because I had a similar problem with a HDD, tried a different model and problem was solved.

Have you managed to format the HDD with HDL yet? You might want to try putting your HDD into your PC and using WinHIIP to format it, then trying it again in the PS2.

Edit: Just reading through the other similar freezing post and phreaker47 pointed out something obvious that is commonly overlooked. Have you set the jumper on the HDD to MASTER? They come supplied set to cable select...

Yea I set it to master, and while it was working that one time i was able to format it and backup one game... however has not worked since then I am going to try the computer methods next, but in the meantime any other suggestions... ?

Hey so new dev in this situation. I tried several diff hard drives in a external USB case and it would not detect them either. It said no USB device was attached but I could see the lights on my pen drive so I know it was getting power. Still same problem it just freezes when trying to launch anything that looks for a hard drive... could this be a problem with one of my solder points. Although they all look good I am thinking this has to be in a chip somewhere now, since I have tried two different paths. But other than trying to find a hard drive it seems to function perfectly. I even made a exploit mc and used it on another ps2 to make sure my hard drive work, which it does.

-Any Idea anyone I would really like complete functionality in my own ps2... please help