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Connecting IDE Drive Cables
Last updated: 11/3/01
Q. What
are the rules for connecting IDE drive cables (hard disk, CD-ROM, ATA/66/100/133,
etc.)?
A. If
it is a 40-conductor IDE (http://duxcw.com/digest/guides/hd/hd3.htm) cable,
it makes no difference which connector is connected to what. Any of
them can be connected to the motherboard or drives. If it is
an 80-conductor (it has 40 pins like the 40-conductor cable) ATA/66/100/133
cable it makes a difference what is connected to what. The
blue connector is connected to the system board. The black connector at one
end of the cable is goes to the MASTER drive. The gray one in the middle
is used for slave devices. Although an Ultra ATA/66 device should work fine
in either the black or the gray connector, if you are having difficulty,
connect the drive to the black connector. ATA/66/100/133 cables (all
are the came ATA/66 cable) vary. Some are labeled “SYSTEM,” “MASTER,”
and “SLAVE.” Most IDE cables have red-strip to identify pin-1; others
have a blue strip. It
goes to pin-1 on the motherboard and on the drives. Pin 1 on all IDE
drives I have seen is towards the power connector (floppy drives vary).
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