IDE Cable question

[Roots]

I just got my Seagate 120GB 7200RPM HDD today, and it says when using a 40-pin, 80-conductor IDE cable, connect the blue end to the mobo, the black end to the master, and the gray end to the slave. Only problem is, if I try this the cables wont reach between the HDD and DVD-ROM drive. Does it REALLY matter what color goes where? Thanks

 

[redbeard1]

In the old days, with most ide cables, you could reverse or switch them and not have issues. My understanding of the new 80 wires, is that they are specific to where and how they are plugged in, and so are not reversable. Most specs say you are not supposed to use over 18 inch long cables, but there are all sort of longer cables available online, that you may be able to get to twist around enough to get the drives plugged in the right order.

What is on the other ide channel? Could something be switched around?

 

[Zepper]

Actually the 80 wire cables are supposed to be configured as CS (Cable Select) cables at the factory. This means that you plug the blue end into the mobo, etc. and you set the jumpers on all drives to CS.
. When you do that, the position on the cable matters - in most cases, the drive on the end of the cable will be Master and the drive in the middle will be Slave. However, you can still jumper the drives to Master/Slave. When you do that, the CS function is ignored and you can put the drives in any position on the cable - you could even plug the middle connector into the mobo and have drives on both ends (which I have done in the past).
.bh.
:beer: time!

 

[Roots]

That's crazy! Why the hell would anyone want this CS function anyway?

So basically as long as I have my hard drive jumper set on master and my DVD-ROM set on slave, it wont matter how I plug this cable in right?

- I did do a temporary re-location of my HDD to my floppy drive bay, but it doesn't have an intake fan in front of it there and I'm worried about the drive overheating on me.

- Currently nothing is on the other IDE channel, because I only have one IDE cable available. I do plan to get a second hard drive sometime this summer and will have to buy a second cable then. I went to Best Buy today and they wanted to sell me an IDE cable for $29.99. Best buy my ass!

 

[Zepper]

CS is mainly a form of idiot proofing for the large PC assemblers (hp/cpq/dell, etc.) The drives come from their OEMs pre-jumpered to CS and the cables they use are stamped with where to connect each drive. So their assemblers don't have to mess with jumpers or otherwise do any thinking...
"So basically as long..." That's right.
You can get a pack of 10 excellent Foxconn 80-wire cables from www.centrix-intl.com for $15.+s/h. The big box stores make a large part of their profits from small add-on sales like cables and ink carts. Usually not a good place to buy those things unless you find an "Open Box" item for cheap. If you can tolerate risk, try buying a cable from www.svc.com . They ship by first class mail w/o insurance if you state you will accept the risk of loss or damage. So if you can't find one cheaper locally, you should be able to get away for less than $5. shipped and if you need a few other small items, their shipping will still be very reasonable.
I did that with a small order recently and everything got here just fine.
.bh.
:sun: