09-06-2004, 08:08 PM | #1 (permalink) |
Insane
Location: NY
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IDE cable question
Normally on an 80 conductor IDE cable the blue end plugs into the motherboard and then the middle grey and black ends plug into the drives. Due to a unique drive arrangement (the drives are arranged side by side) this standard configuration renders my cables too short. Is it possible to plug the black end into the mobo and use the blue and middle grey connectors for the drives? I would just try it to see if it works but since I'm using it in my Tivo I'd like to experiment as little as possible.
I wouldn't be opposed to buying a new cable but all of the cables I've seen online (even the 36") seem like they would also be too short. So if anyone has any suggestions where I could find a cable where the two drive connectors are seperated by a longer distance that would be great too. |
09-06-2004, 09:20 PM | #2 (permalink) |
Addict
Location: Central PA
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is there any room in the box to move ur harddrives? i have done that before...usually have them in the normal spots but the one i had to hook up once wasnt gonna work so i moved it next to the cdrom drive so they were close enough...also if u move them u may need to buy a 3.5 to a 5.25 kit
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09-06-2004, 11:22 PM | #3 (permalink) | |
Watcher
Location: Ohio
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Quote:
I can't imagine what you're trying to do that 36" cables aren't long enough, but I think you may have a problem here. From reading the above you should gather that even 36" cables are pushing it. I would suggest using SATA drives, because that standard allows for a "to standard" length of one meter. I imagine people will streach that for all it's worth. But, alas, you have a TIVO, and I don't think it's going to have SATA. Bummer. Not sure what you're up to buddy, but I think you'd better find some way to restack them drives. Good luck!
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09-07-2004, 09:06 AM | #4 (permalink) |
Professional Loafer
Location: texas
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yes, you can reverse the cable if need be.
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09-07-2004, 09:51 AM | #5 (permalink) | |
Insane
Location: NY
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Quote:
The drives have to be set side by side next to each other in order to fit in the box. The problem is that since the drives are set side by side I need a long distance between the two drive connectors. When I look at longer cables they seem to only get longer from the mobo connector to the first drive connector, allowing you to install the drives farther away from the mobo. This is precisely not my problem. The two drives are very close to the motherboard but because of the way they are stacked the drives are far away from each other. The only solution I see is to reverse the way the cable is connected, that would give me perfect length for everything. I just don't know if it would work. |
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09-07-2004, 02:31 PM | #6 (permalink) |
Upright
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Regardless off the Coloring - you can plug in the cable in any manner you want as long as Pin one on the cable is plugged into pin one on the MB or drive. I have had strange configs before and even had to plug the middle on to the MB and both ends to different drives.
Have fun. |
09-07-2004, 02:36 PM | #7 (permalink) |
Desert Rat
Location: Arizona
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Remember, they're just wires. As long as the right pin goes to the right pin, it doesn't make a difference. Just make sure you do what guardian said above
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09-07-2004, 09:11 PM | #8 (permalink) |
Insane
Location: NY
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Yet another IDE cable question.
When I was examining some of my cables I noticed that some of them have what looks like the 21st pin hole sealed off. I examined my hard drives and I also noticed that they don't have the 21st pin either. Meaning that they actually only have 39 pins. I had never noticed this before, but I was trying some of my different cables in the Tivo and some of them didn't go into the IDE mobo connector. Of course some of the cables didn't plug in because they only had 39 holes not 40. What's going on here? I thought all IDE connectors were supposed to be 40 pins, yet it turns out my hard drives are only actually 39 pins. This is an ebay picture of what I'm talking about: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...705546332&rd=1 You can see what I'm talking about by looking at the 3rd picture on the page. Look at the grey connector and you will notice that the 21st slot is sealed off. I can also take better close up pictures with my digital camera and email them for more clarity. I would post them here but I don't know how |
09-10-2004, 03:27 PM | #10 (permalink) |
Rookie
Location: Oxford, UK
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Pin 20 on an IDE cable is the 'key' pin. ie it doesn't exist. So ideally there should be no pin, and no hole on the connector.
Of course it's not always cheapest to do it that way, so you may see connectors with 40 holes. You shouldn't see drives with 40 pins though (as a lot of connectors wouldn't work with them). Any use?
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09-10-2004, 06:56 PM | #11 (permalink) |
Insane
Location: NY
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The problem is that the motherboard ide connector does have 40 pins, therefore a lot of the cables I have won't work with it. So how can I make sure that when I buy a new ide cable that it actually has 40 holes? For example the cable I was going to buy on ebay above is listed as a 40 pin cable but the picture shows that is actually has only 39.
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09-10-2004, 09:12 PM | #12 (permalink) |
Not so great lurker
Location: NY
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Sounds like you have an older motherboard there. The best that I can suggest is to either find an IDE cable from an older pc (which didn't have the key) or maybe try drilling a notch in the connector for the extra pin (i.e. hack the cable to make it fit). You could also try a local computer shop for the ide cable so that you can see if they have the specific cable you need.
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09-10-2004, 09:52 PM | #13 (permalink) | |
Upright
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Quote:
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09-16-2004, 07:55 PM | #16 (permalink) |
Addict
Location: Central PA
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i was checking some things out and i came across this abit mb, it is one of 3 abit mb's that one of which has the fastest intel chipset out there atm....imo something like this would only need the use of a 500 watt power supply...
i am curious what mb and processor u have still...maybe send a pic on what u r trying to do? |
Tags |
cable, ide, question |
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