Is it OK to fold IDE cables?

[Xp]

I don't want to cut my cables apart, cause I'm afraid I'll damage it and I don't have spare cables. So..I want to fold it. Is it OK to fold it to the smallest, and tie it with zip ties?

 

[Wingznut]

Sure... I don't see why not.

 

[J3anyus]

Some people report this as working fine, some people have reported that this has screwed things up. If you're using ATA 66/100 cables, it's more likely that folding them won't work.

 

[Xp]

Screw things up?? Whaddaya mean?

 

[alpineranger]

The whole point of having 2x the number of wires you need is so that you can use every other one and get a much clearer signal. Folding the wires together so they are all more or less in a bunch partially defeats this. Although I really am interested in improving my case airflow, it is more important that I'm not getting bad signal degradation over the IDE cables, so I do not, and would recommend against folding them (cutting them and tieing them together is also less than ideal).

 

[Jorrit]

if you really want a clean layout of your computers internals get some rounded ide cables. might be a bit expensive though....

 

[Sybz]

I wouldn't recommend origami with your IDE-cables, but a little folding won't do any harm. Round cables might become a problem if your cable has to follow a certain narrow path (they are thicker then flat cables), but i guess you'd have a really screwed mobo lay-out for that

 

[CoolTech]

if you can afford them, get these :

http://www.plycon.com/silver.htm

 

[Nestico]

I have all of my ata100 cables folded and electrical taped together, no problems here

 

[Fuzzmuncher]

same here, if you have any questions PM me.

not so much rounded as segmented and folded on top of each other to make it square

 

[AnMig]

split my cables every 5 wires then taped them together, looks pretty round and neat no problems so far, didnt even realize there was a potential problem when rounding them yourself

 

[jsbush]

I folded mine in a W shape, I do that to all my ide cables and never had a singel problem. Thats oth ATA 33 and ATA 66/100 cables. I have all my cables folded in my server which is on 24/7 and it never caused a problem.

 

[Fuzzmuncher]

Anmig's advice is for ata33 cables. for ata66/100, it's probably better to do every set of 8(?)

 

[oldfoof]

i have never had any problems cuting mine , and rounding em!

 

[MulLa]

I fold my ATA66/100 cables and no problems so far. (touching wood).

 

[Xp]

Looking at your results, I think I'll do it.

 

[Dundain]

Ive cut my ATA 33/66 cables every 6th and then stacked the ribbens on top of each other and then used zip ties to hold it tight. While its not nearly as flexable as before, its also a heck of alot smaller (except on the floppy cable, cause it has a hug econnecter in the middle that Im thinking of removing). Ive also made w's in the cables for my parents computer because they didnt want me slicing the cables, heeh

 

[Fuzzmuncher]

yeah, you can remove those connectors without any problems. being as anal as i am, i did patch it with electric tape just to be sure, but had no side effects after removing all of my middle connectors or snipping the cable after middle one

 

[Nestico]

Does anyone sell floppy cables with only the two end connectors?
It seems a waste to have that middle connector since nobody has more than a single floppy drive nowadays!

 

[Marine]

Yes, the place that CoolTech recommended at the top of the thread, Plycon sells floppy and EIDE/ATAPI cables without a middle connector. They are here.

 

[Dan]

I have folded a bunch of ATA/100 cables for various systems. I hold the folds in place with a series of zip ties or electrical tape. I've never had a problem with any cables modded in this fashion.

 

[weovpac]

I've rounded all my cables recently, no problems so far.

 

[mstudd]

No problems for me either, just fold them, put the covers on, and forget about it.

 

[ace31216]

I think round cables aren't worth it since they are a bit expensive. They are nice and it keeps yours system from being cluttered but thats pretty much it. It supposed to give you better air flow but i see little or no difference in temperture. I suggest making your own but the ata 66/100 are a bit tricky since the wires are so close together.