do I need a special 40 pin IDE cable to connect a DVD/CD-RW ROM?

simonchipmunk · Aug 29, 2014

am thinking about buyine an internal IDE DVD/CD-RW ROM drive.
does this drive require a special IDE cable to connect it to the motherboard?
If so, please advise where I can buy one from/
thanks for any assistance.
simonchipmunk

USAFRet · Aug 29, 2014

If you buy a new SATA dvd drive, no. It uses regular SATA connections.

simonchipmunk · Aug 29, 2014

USAFRet :

I did not ask about a
SATA drive. Please read my posting again.
thank you for your reply, but it doesn't help.

kenrivers · Aug 29, 2014

If it is an IDE drive then you will need an IDE flat ribbon cable. Does your motherboard have a IDE header (a place to connect and IDE drive) on it?
If yes, then this is the cable you need - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200416 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200117

You will need to make sure your power supply has a molex power adapter as well to supply power to the drive.

Just out of curiosity, why an IDE drive?

USAFRet · Aug 29, 2014

simonchipmunk :

Why are you considering buying an IDE drive? Does your motherboard have native IDE headers?

christinebcw · Aug 29, 2014

Any IDE cable will do, fine. At this point, all IDE cables and drives are completely compatible.

Some DVD Burners from the good ol' IDE days used The Best parts and chipsets - Sony Optiarcs, NECs, Pioneers, some LiteOn's - and are highly prized now for their precision burns. While there are SATA-IDE converter attachments to continue using those Old Drives, putting these older PCs to good use as mere Burners remains an excellent use rather than adding to landfill.

simonchipmunk · Sep 10, 2014

Dear ken Rivers and christinebcw thank you for your replies.
ken,the reason for the iDE is I am building a computer for a relative whois home bound due to disabilities and thought it would help keep her occupied .
Christine,those converter adapters are not what they were hyped up to be. I have tried at least 4 different types and the end result is the same; my computers won't recognize them. So sve your money and get a good ROM/Burner ROM or DVD ROM/Burner, or combo ROm/burner ROM.

kenrivers · Sep 10, 2014

simonchipmunk :

That is quite noble of you to help a homebound relative. I applaud you for your kindness. Did you get the cable you needed? If yes, were you able to install the drive?

christinebcw · Sep 10, 2014

Simon, all converters can be flakey. And "flakey" may be the worst of all - working at some point, then not, then again. I'd much rather deal with DOA units than waste time assembling, de-assemblying, re-assemblying flakey units.

You never described your rig, though, and that led to other questions. We ended up snagging a lot of 1-2 generation old ASRock motherboards (both AMDs and Intels) which had an IDE connector along with a large quantity of SATAs just so our customers could continue to use their tried-and-true DVD burners for their product excellence.

The other option is to use modern motherboards and buy an IDE add-in card - usually in the $20-30 range. These are a bit tricky because the instructions (to install the needed drivers) are poorly written. But since this is a new memory-controller, you must add drivers. With this realization, it's then only a matter of locating the correct ones, based on the chipset of the card you've purchased.

These work quite well - we've bought 50-60 of these and never had failures outside of the deciphering poorly-written instructions.

simonchipmunk · Sep 10, 2014

kenrivers :

Dear ken: yes I already had the cable but wanted to make sure I had the right one.
I had seen those weird looking ones on amazon and ebay that looked like a 2-headed scraper(haha)and someone told me I had to use one of those.

christinebcw · Sep 10, 2014

IDE Cables are pretty nifty, able to host two devices on one cable. There are some tricks, though.

First, there is a Right Side and a Wrong Side. In the picture, there are notes about Pin 1, and while this pix isn't clear, IDE drivers have a "stripe" or a colored or marked 'edge' to them - in this pix, it's a red stripe. But it can be dashed, hashed, white - any color. But it is distinct from the 'other' side. That striped side is considered "Pin 1".

Second, the devices will have 3 different settings - Master, Slave or Cable-Select - using little jumpers on the back of the device. Most, by default, are set as Master or Cable-Select.

Third, the Final Connector on the IDE cable is the Master Connector. The Inner Connector is considered the Slave Connector.

Since you're only dealing with one device, plug the Last IDE connector into the optical drive, and the other end to the motherboard. (And no, it doesn't matter which "end" - these are two-way comm cables so signals travel back and forth constantly.)

simonchipmunk · Sep 10, 2014

christinebcw :

I am only connecting the one drive to the IDE cable.As I can only afford the one drive. I already have the Hard Drive and the IDE cable for it.

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