Installing Ide Devices - ECS P5TX-Apro User Manual

P5TX–Apro User's Manual
3: Reconfiguring Your Mainboard – 3.18

Installing IDE Devices

The mainboard's Enhanced IDE controller supports four de-
vices in two channels, IDE1 and IDE2. These are called the Pri-
mary and Secondary IDE channels.
Each channel supports two devices, the first device is called
the Master device and the second the Slave device. You must
configure any IDE device you install to operate as one or the
other. To find out how to configure the device you plan to install
you should refer to the manual that comes with the device. You
may need to set jumpers or switches to configure it.
IDE Cables
The mainboard comes with one IDE ribbon cable to connect
two devices to the mainboard. If you need to install devices on
the second channel you will need to get another IDE cable. These
are a standard and inexpensive item that you can generally find
at any computer supply store. One edge of the cable is colored to
indicate the Pin 1 side. When you connect the cable to the main-
board and a device you must orient the cable so that this colored
edge is at the Pin 1 side of the connector you are attaching it to.
The mainboard IDE connectors have an orientation cut-out to
ensure correct orientation, and the supplied cable has an orienta-
tion tab on the side of the connector. Some IDE cables do not
have this tab and therefore are not forced to use the correct orien-
tation. You should check that any cable you buy has orientation
tabs on the side of the connectors. If you get a cable that does not
have them, make sure the cable is correctly oriented when you
attach it to the board and the device.