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v Flat signal cables, also called ribbon cables, connect IDE and diskette drives to the
system board. There are two sizes of ribbon signal cables that come with your
computer:
– The wider signal cable has two or three connectors.
- If the cable has three connectors, one of these connectors is attached to the
drive, one is a spare, and the third is attached to the primary or secondary
IDE connector on the system board.
- If the cable has two connectors, one of these connectors is attached to the
hard disk drive, and the other is attached to the primary or secondary IDE
connector on the system board.
Note: If you want to add another device and your computer does not
come with a CD drive or DVD drive preinstalled, you will need a
second signal cable with three connectors. You will need an
80-conductor ATA 100 signal cable if you are replacing the existing
signal cable or adding a second hard disk drive. ATA 100 signal
cables are color-coded. The blue connector is attached to the system
board, the black connector is attached to the master device, and the
gray middle connector is attached to the secondary (or slave) device.
If your computer comes with a CD drive or DVD drive, it has an
ATA 100 signal cable. However, if you are installing a hard disk
drive, you must change the switch or jumper setting on the CD drive
or DVD drive to secondary and change the connector that is used for
the CD drive or DVD drive to the gray middle connector.
– The narrower signal cable has two connectors for attaching the diskette drive
to the diskette-drive connector on the system board.
Note: To locate connectors on the system board, see "Identifying parts on the
system board" on page 16.
The following are some important points to remember when connecting power and
signal cables to internal drives:
v The drives that are preinstalled in your computer come with power and signal
cables attached. If you replace any drives, it is important to remember which
cable is attached to which drive.
v When you install a drive, ensure that the drive connector at the end of the signal
cable is always connected to a drive; also, ensure that the drive connector at the
other end is connected to the system board. This reduces electronic noise from
the computer.
v If two IDE devices are used on a single cable, one must be designated as the
primary, or master, device and the other as the secondary, or slave, device;
otherwise, some of the IDE devices might not be recognized by the computer.
The primary or secondary designation is determined by switch or jumper
settings on each IDE device.
v If two IDE devices are on a single cable and only one is a hard disk drive, the
hard disk drive must be set as the master device.
v If you have only one IDE device on a cable, it must be set as master.
For help in selecting drives, cables, and other options for your computer, see page
6.
Chapter 3. Installing internal options
23
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