IBM Netvista A20i User Manual

Contents

33Power and signal cables for internal drivesYour computer uses cables to connect integrated drive electronics (IDE) drives to the powersupply and to the system board. The following cables are provided:• Four-wire power cables connect most drives to the power supply. At the end of thesecables are plastic connectors that attach to different drives; these connectors vary in size.Also, certain power cables attach to the system board.• Flat signal cables, also called ribbon cables, connect IDE and diskette drives to the systemboard. 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 IDEconnector on the system board.– If the cable has two connectors, one of these connectors is attached to the harddisk drive, and the other is attached to the primary or secondary IDE connector onthe system board.Note: If you want to add another device, and your computer does not come witha standard CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive , you will need a secondsignal cable with three connectors. You will need an 80-conductor ATA100 signal cable if you are replacing the existing signal cable or adding asecond hard disk drive. ATA 100 signal cables are color-coded. The blueconnector is attached to the system board, the black connector isattached to the master device, and the gray middle connector is attachedto the secondary (or slave) device.If your computer comes with a CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, it hasan ATA 100 signal cable. However, if you are installing a hard disk drive,you must change the switch or jumper setting on the CD-ROM drive orDVD-ROM drive to secondary and change the connector that is used forthe CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive to the gray middle connector.— The narrower signal cable has two connectors for attaching the diskette drive to thediskette-drive connector on the system board.Note: To locate connectors on the system board, see “Identifying parts on the system board”on page 28.The following are some important points to remember when connecting power and signalcables to internal drives:• The drives that are standard 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 whichdrive.• When you install a drive, ensure that the drive connector at the end of the signal cable isalways connected to a drive; also, ensure that the drive connector at the other end isconnected to the system board. This reduces electronic noise from the computer.• If two IDE devices are used on a single cable, one must be designated as the primary, ormaster, device and the other as the secondary, or slave, device; otherwise, some of theIDE devices might not be recognized by the computer. The primary or secondarydesignation is determined by switch or jumper settings on each IDE device.• If two IDE devices are on a single cable and only one is a hard disk drive, the hard diskdrive must be set as the master device.• If you have only one IDE device on a cable, it must be set as master.Installing internal drivesTo install an internal drive:1. Remove the cover (see “Removing the cover” on page 25).Note: If your computer has a CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, you might need toremove the signal and power cables from the drive.