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how to use 3 IDE HDDs with 1 cable?

Welcome to the AT forums.

Peter has it. Only two PATA drives per cable and only one on SATA. You'd have to get an add-on PCI PATA controller like that to run more than two drives if your mobo has only one PATA channel. Or if you have SATA connectors you aren't using, you could get a PATA to SATA converter like that - these generally work well with HDDs but may be iffy with ATAPI drives like DVD burners.

SCSI can do multiple drives per cable and PATA to SCSI converters are available too.

.bh.
 
With SCSI you can have more than 2 devices per chain ... (I had 6 on my old SCSI 50 chain back when I was experimenting with cheap used SCSI drives) ... but as others have said, with IDE ... you are limmited to 2 per chain. There are no exceptions whatsoever.
 
how can i configure 3 hdds with only 1 cable as seen in picture?
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Configure them just like in the pic. They won't work or anything, but you don't actually see them hooked up in the pic either. 😀
 
Originally posted by: montypythizzle The drives look IDE to me. The connectors also look like IDE connectors as well.
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Agree. They are not SCSI connectors. My guess is that this is a IDE cable (40 wire) that has connectors in different places in order to accomodate different placement of drives in a full tower case - and then only three would be used - the mobo, and two IDE drive plugs.

 
Originally posted by: corkyg
Originally posted by: montypythizzle The drives look IDE to me. The connectors also look like IDE connectors as well.
Click to expand...
Agree. They are not SCSI connectors. My guess is that this is a IDE cable (40 wire) that has connectors in different places in order to accomodate different placement of drives in a full tower case - and then only three would be used - the mobo, and two IDE drive plugs.
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Sounds like the best/most reasonable bet.

Never seen anything like it but that pretty much has to be it. The only way to really test if that cable is real and is supposed to work with 3/4 drives would be to put one of the drives on master jumper setting and the other two as cable select.

I still believe there is only supposed to be two drives on that cable.
 
That cable isn't going to work reliably at all anyway. Max length exceeded, and the extra connectors compromise signal quality even further.
 
The limit isn't because of the cable. The limit is due to the ATA controller. It only supports 2 devices per channel.

Originally posted by: Steve
That's a SCSI cable in the picture.
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No, it's an ATA cable. SCSI would have a terminator at the end IIRC.
 
Originally posted by: jonmcc33
Originally posted by: Steve
That's a SCSI cable in the picture.
Click to expand...

No, it's an ATA cable. SCSI would have a terminator at the end IIRC.
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I see now that it's an ATA cable, but bear in mind not all SCSI cables have terminators attached - some have empty connectors on the end that you buy a terminator for and plug it into.
 
thinking way back i remember seeing a old computer (had a 386 or a 486 in it) that had a ide floppy drive on a cable with 2 hard drives. my guess is it was a proprietary controller. i wish i keeped the system for a time like this lol.
 
thats an ATA cable... and you can plug the drives anywhere you want... but only two per cable... this type of multi connection cable is for cases where the cable is tucked at the side in special grooves... then you just plug it where needed, no more then two devices per cable regardless of how many connectors it has.
 
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