OEM package: what kind of cables and screws would i need?

[Harrier]

UDMA 33 IDE Cable?
Such as this:

or maybe UDMA 66/100 IDE Cable?
Such as this

Thanks.

[BuddhaTB]

UDMA 33/66/100/133 will all work fine for your CD-RW drive. Just make sure it has 40 pins on them.

You might even decide to get some rounded ones. They all work the same, except the rounded ones look better and don't block the air circulation within your box as much.

[cfitz]

Some OEM packages come with a cable and/or screws even though they are OEM packages, so you might not need to buy anything extra. And, of course, depending on what is already in your system you may not need anything extra anyway. What do you have in your system already?

cfitz

[CowboySlim]

Phillips heads screws, 3mm diam x 6mm long are most usual. Be careful putting them in. If they're too long, and 6mm or 1/4" usually aren't, and you apply too much force, you might bend something inside.

Slim

[jase]

As cfitz says, you may not need anything. If you have a CDROM in your machine you may have the two 40-pin cables already installed in your PC, in which case all you need do is connect your burner to one of the free plugs on one of the cables.

As for the screws, again if you have a CDROM drive you can steal two screws from the ROM and secure your writer with them. Most manufacturers fit 4 screws to secure a CDROM but you only really need 2

[Harrier]

Don't i need a UDMA cable to connect directly the Hard-Drive to the CDrw?

[jase]

No, the IDE cable runs from one of two IDE ports on your motherboard and has two extra connectors. One of these will be connected to the HDD, you can use the other one for the CD writer. You don't need to connect directly the HDD to the CD.

[Harrier]

No, the IDE cable runs from one of two IDE ports on your motherboard and has two extra connectors. One of these will be connected to the HDD, you can use the other one for the CD writer. You don't need to connect directly the HDD to the CD.

But i want to read cds with my CDrom, not my cd burner..
What do you suggest?

[cfitz]

But i want to read cds with my CDrom, not my cd burner..
What do you suggest?

Again, it depends on what you already have in your machine, which you still haven't told us. Open up your case and look to see how many IDE cables you already have in there, how many connectors on those cables are free, and where the free connectors are located (sometimes even though a connector is free, it might not be located in a position where it would reach the drive bay where you want to put the new drive).

This really isn't such a big deal. Just do it. Either check your system and end all the speculation, or get a cable and don't worry about it. It isn't a major purchase. How about $1.59 at CompUSA?

http://www.compusa.com/products/product ... pfp=BROWSE

cfitz

[CowboySlim]

Harrier,

Don't what your config is, but the standard would be, HDD as PM and CD-ROM as SM, if you only have two drives. Also, I would expect the CD-RW to be jumpered Slave out of the box. In that case it doesn't really matter where you put it if you leave the other two where they are. But what IDE channel you want things to go depends on how you intend to use them. With those three drives, I'd put the CD-RW as SS, as I don't prefer to do CD-ROM to CD-RW direct copy.

Anyway, if you're not sure, you might think about getting this:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 60-7723904

Slim

[Harrier]

I havn't opened the case yet. Soon.

But, shouldn't it be in this next order:
Hard-drive - Pri' Master
Cd-rom - Sec' Master
Cd-rw - Pri' Slave

?

[cfitz]

Actually it would be better to have the CD-RW on a channel separate from the hard disc, since you will often be burning from the hard disc to the CD-RW:

hard disc = PM
CD-ROM = PS
CD-RW = SM

The above configuation is good if you are thinking about copying on the fly from the CD-ROM to the CD-RW. Another alternative, if you are more interested in copying back and forth from both optical drives to the hard drive, would be:

hard disc = PM
CD-ROM = SM
CD-RW = SS

I personally have my system set up in this second configuration.

You might be able to set up your new system in either of these configurations without buying another IDE cable, since there is a good chance your system already has two IDE cables to support the existing configuration:

hard disc = PM
CD-ROM = SM

And you don't even have to open the case to find out what your current configuration is. One way you can find your current configuration without opening the case (there are many ways) is to run Nero InfoTool and look at the "Configuration" tab.

Have we beaten Sea Biscuit sufficiently now?

cfitz

[Harrier]

Thanks.
One thing though:
Why is it better to have the CD-RW on a channel separate from the hard disc?
Is it because it's faster this way?

[cfitz]

Sort of. The IDE bus isn't the most efficient when it comes to data transfer. Moreover, it is a shared bus. So only one device at a time can transfer data on a given channel. For example, in your proposed configuration, when the hard disc is transferring data, the CD-RW must wait, and visa versa.

Because of this interference, a good rule of thumb is to put drives on separate channels if you expect to do a lot of transferring of data between those drives. In your case, I expect you will often burn from the hard drive to the CD-RW, so I suggested you place them on separate channels.

cfitz

[CowboySlim]

Have we beaten Sea Biscuit sufficiently now?

cfitz

As they say on the Hertz commercial: "Not Exactly!"

Any optical drive on an IDE channel which doesn't have a HDD, probably only needs a 40 wire connector. However, if you need to buy one, may as well get an 80. If you only have one drive on a channel, i.e., no Slave, don't use the middle connector and jumper to Master, I don't like CS.

BTW: I'm not doing the "Quote" button correctly.

Slim

[cfitz]

Any optical drive on an IDE channel which doesn't have a HDD, probably only needs a 40 wire connector. However, if you need to buy one, may as well get an 80. If you only have one drive on a channel, i.e., no Slave, don't use the middle connector and jumper to Master, I don't like CS.

Good points. I particularly agree with the one about using the end connector first. Doing so improves the electrical integrity of the signals, and it is a requirement for the faster UDMA transfer modes. The same goes for the 80 wire connectors with the 40 extra grounds.

BTW: I'm not doing the "Quote" button correctly.

It should end up looking like this:

Code: Select all

[quote="CowboySlim"]BTW:  I'm not doing the "Quote" button correctly.[/quote]

You can type the quote tags in manually if the button is giving you troubles.

cfitz

[CowboySlim]

You can type the quote tags in manually if the button is giving you troubles.

Perfect! Maybe my mouse is on the middle connector and the quotes are reflecting off the end.

Thanks,

Slim

[cfitz]

Perfect! Maybe my mouse is on the middle connector and the quotes are reflecting off the end.

Sounds like someone with at least a little bit of electrical engineering training. True?

cfitz

[Harrier]

Sort of. The IDE bus isn't the most efficient when it comes to data transfer. Moreover, it is a shared bus. So only one device at a time can transfer data on a given channel. For example, in your proposed configuration, when the hard disc is transferring data, the CD-RW must wait, and visa versa.

Because of this interference, a good rule of thumb is to put drives on separate channels if you expect to do a lot of transferring of data between those drives. In your case, I expect you will often burn from the hard drive to the CD-RW, so I suggested you place them on separate channels.

cfitz

So the HD is Pri' Master
CDrw is Pri' Slave
and CD-rom should be Sec' Master?

[BuddhaTB]

So the HD is Pri' Master
CDrw is Pri' Slave
and CD-rom should be Sec' Master?

My Bad. It was supposed to be Secondary Master for the CD-RW drive that I was approving of. I must have read it wrong. My mind was on Jordans.

[cfitz]

So the HD is Pri' Master
CDrw is Pri' Slave
and CD-rom should be Sec' Master?

No, that's not what I said. Harrier, are you even reading my posts? The above configuration is the same one you originally presented here and which I said wasn't the preferred configuration because it has the CD-RW and the hard disc on the same channel. Please re-read my posts. I was quite explicit and clear in the configurations I was recommending.

cfitz

[CowboySlim]

Sounds like someone with at least a little bit of electrical engineering training. True?

Not exactly, B. S. Chemical Engineering. But, that doesn't mean that I can't try to pick this stuff up "on-the-fly".

Now, for "on-the-fly":

Harrier,

There are two ways to copy:
1. Direct, or "On-the-fly". One copies directly from the CD-ROM to the CD-RW. This method is the fastest (for one copy) but is the least reliable and is recommended only when there is not sufficient HDD space available for the second method. For this method: HDD as PM, CD-ROM as SM, CD-RW as PS.
2. Image copy. One copies from the CD-ROM onto the HDD making an "image" on the HDD, then the image is copied onto the CD-RW. This method is the more reliable and faster for multiple copies. For this method: HDD as PM, CD-ROM as SM, CD-RW as SS.

Note: If using Nero, the Wizard presents an option for method selection.

Slim