How to connect my hard disk

[sap]

HI friends,

I am using dell dimension 5150, in that i have removed dell
hard disk, and i want to connect samsung hard disk.
connection in my system :

Ribbon cable(39 pins data cable) is of three pins.
One end of the ribbon goes to motherboard,and other end goes to CD-ROM,and other connection is left free.
Now how should i connect my samsung hard disk...

 

[llama_man]

I've never used a Dell machine, but I assume that they use industry standard connections (in this case, P-ATA)

Check the jumper settings on your new disk. You want it to be "master".

Plug the spare ribbon connector into your hard disk.

Plug a molex power plug (the one with 4 shielded pins) into your hard disk.


Turn on.


Is your new disk blank? If so, you will also need to install an Operating system (e.g. windows) on your new disk (or copy your existing disk onto the new one). If installing windows, check in your BIOS settings that you have the CD-drive enabled in the boot drives settings.

Also check if your motherboard has more than one hard disk "channel" (look for another socket like the one currently connected to the cable). If so, you should be able to connect both hard drives if you have/get another cable.

 

[sap]

In samsung hard disk 2000 server operating system is already loaded, now
i need to connect this hard disk in dell dimension 5150.
Dell hard disk has a different connection & and winXP operating system,
that the reason i have removed dell hard disk,and i want to connect my samsung hard dsik.

 

[dmroeder]

Can you post the model number of the Samsung hard drive? It sound like it might be a SCSI drive.

Home machines typically use PATA and SATA hard drives where as servers typically use SCSI hard drives.

If it is a SCSI drive, you would need a seperate card installed in your dell in order to connect it. If that is the case, you'd be better off just buying a different hard drive.

 

[llama_man]

Well, if Dell uses a non-standard hard disk connection plug you're going to have problems! Have you tried looking for an adaptor? Google is your friend!
What type of disk is your Samsung? Parallel-ATA or SATA?

Another way round would be to buy a PCI ATA/SATA controller card and use this to connect the Samsung hard disk, but then that's going to cost you more money and you might not have a spare PCI slot anyway.

If you manage to connect the new disk somehow, you'll also need to change all the drivers since the Windows 2000 will have been installed on a machine with different hardware.

If you don't have anything you desperately want to keep on your WinXP disk, you could always just format it and install Windows 2000 onto it. That saves having to swap anything around!

 

[llama_man]

LOL, I hadn't even thought of SCSI! Silly llama.

 

[sap]

Samsung SP0802N

 

[dmroeder]

Sap, it appears to be a regular ol' ATA hard drive. It has a standard connector on it just like any other hard drive.

You should be able to connect it to the middle connector on that ribbon cable. There typically is a little keyway on the connector that will only allow it to go in one way.

I assumed it might be SCSI because the hard drive didn't appear to have the same type of connection and it had Server installed on it.

 

[Zoron]

All the Dimension 5150's I've seen are using SATA hard drives. They have one IDE port for optical drives... but if you only have one optical drive then you obviously have the option to connect a PATA hard drive.

To the original poster: Dell uses cable select on their PATA drives. Be aware of this when connecting that hard drive.

 

[dmroeder]

I guess I was having trouble following what was going on. He cleared it up in the HDD section of Hardware.