 Re: How can I tell if I have a cable select computer or cable?
DJW <ddwr@hotmail.com> wrote
> How can I tell if I have a cable select computer or cable?
One approach is to check how the current hard drive is jumpered,
if the cable select jumper is being used on the drive.
> I have a Compaq Presario 5204. The paper manual says if you connect
> an additional IDE (hard drives?) to set the jumpers to cable select.
Thats pretty conclusive, but that doesnt necessarily mean that its
currently being used that way or that it has to be used that way.
> If I understand cable select allows the derive at the end to be the
> primary (master and the middle on the ribbon cable the slave.
Yes, the master and slave are determined by the
connector on the cable that the drive is plugged into.
Not necessarily master on the end with older systems like yours tho.
That varys depending on whether its got a 40 or 80 wire ribbon cable.
> Western Digital talks about cable select hook up as a cable with a
> black master at the end of the cable plug and a mid way plug as being
> gray. Is that an absolute specification followed by all cable makers.
No, particularly with older systems like yours with 40 wire cables.
Compaq did do a lot of that in those days, before others used cable select much.
> As far as I know my computer has never had it's cable
> changed but both my IDE connectors are black.
Thats normal for those older systems with 40 wire ribbon cables.
> And the cable at the end is marked drive 0 and the middle one drive 1.
> The cable does have the red strip on the farthest out wire out
> for determining the pin it should be connected to so right to left
> is not reversed and pins are damaged due to the missing middle pin?
Correct, not all connectors and cables use polarised
connectors. They can be polarized with a missing pin or
a knob on the plastic body, in the middle of the long side.
Decent systems like Compaqs normally did use polarised connectors.
> WD also talks about either using the master and slave jumper
> or the cable select jumpers on both drives but not both.
Correct.
> Ifs that true for all made drives?
Yes, but some drives can handle wrong jumpering.
> Does it matter that much if both configurations where used at the same time?
Presumably you mean on different drives. It can confuse some systems.
> Or if either is used not much difference if any in operation?
It can work.
Some configs wont work, particularly using cable select
jumpering when the cable itself isnt a cable select cable.
> Also could a hard drive as in a number three be connected
> to the cable middle or end that a CD-ROM is connected?
Not clear what you mean there, you can only have 2
drives, hard drives or optical drives on a single ribbon cable.
> Are second middle cabled installed CD-ROM drives call master primary and slaves too?
Yes, the same jumpering system applys to hard drives and optical drives.
A few hard drive manufacturers like WD also have a unique jumper
config when there is just one drive on the ribbon cable and the drive
isnt jumpered cable select. In other words there are 3 possible ways
to jumper a WD drive if cable select isnt being used, master of a pair,
slave of a pair, just one drive on the cable.
 | 
Linear Mode
