IDE cable identification?

[srsanborn]

I have a bunch of IDE cables I've collected over the years of upgrading hard drives, cdroms, motherboards, etc. I know some are super old (5 years) and some are relatively new (3 months), so I'm assuming they range from 33 on up.

Is there any way to identify these cables... either visually or by plugging them into a windows box and determining speeds through hardware identification? This'll help me choose which ones to toss and which ones to keep. Any inputs are appreciated.... thanks!

 

[amdskip]

Older ones work just fine for cdroms, etc. and they are the 40 pin cables. 80 pin cables are used for hard drives. Just post some pics if you would like.

 

[Calin]

There are definite differences between the ATA-33 cables and the ATA-66 and ATA-100. The ATA-66 are 40 pin, and you can easily see the plastic cover of the wires. The 80 wire cables (while 40 pins) use the same connectors, but they have much much finer wires in them.
I know no definite way to differentiate between the original ATA-66 cables and the older ATA-100 and ATA-133 rated.

Calin

 

[Calin]

Originally posted by: Calin
There are definite differences between the ATA-33 cables and the ATA-66 and ATA-100. The ATA-66 are 40 pin, and you can easily see the plastic cover of the wires. The 80 wire cables (while 40 pins) use the same connectors, but they have much much finer wires in them.
I know no definite way to differentiate between the original ATA-66 cables and the older ATA-100 and ATA-133 rated.

Calin

EDIT: the IDE cables that looks just like the floppy cables but are wider (more wires/pins pe connector) are ATA-33. The other cables with the same connectors are the ATA-66 to ATA-133 ones.