-=> Quoting The Valyard #1 @1206008*1 to Dracken #59 @1419001*1 <=-

 -=> Quoting Dracken #59 @1419001*1 to Green Dragon #35 @1916006 <=-

 D#@> To: Green Dragon #35 @1916006
 D#@> Subject: Drive cables

 GD>>  and visa versa, remembering drive A: is the one at the end of the twist.
 >>  You may be limited tho' by the choice of pin/edge connectors on the cable

 GD>So the position of the drive with respect to the cable has an effect on the
 >drive letter?!??!?!?!!?  That sux!  So howz about if I have a Maxtor on the
 >nearest end & a Conner on the farthest end, then my Conner would be the
 >master & the Maxtor the slave?!?!?!?!?!!?!  Also, can a Conner & Maxtor exis
 >together?  A salesperson at a comp store said they can never be mixed...

 D#@> That only applies to floppy drives, for IDE hard drives it doesn't
 D#@> matter.

 TV#@> If I recall right, the end that a 3.5 uses has a twist in the ribbon
 TV#@> cable just before the connector, while the 5.25 doesn't. Hard disks are
 TV#@> mix and match, however you want to put the cable in to get the drives
 TV#@> hooked up is usually fine.

 Well, the second part of your sentence is correct, two IDE hard drives can
 be switched on the 40-line ribbon cable (and as always, there is probably
 some exception out there). As far as the floppies go, it is not the capacity
 of the drives themselves that determine which goes on the end with the
 twist as it is more of a personal or practical preference. In -standard-
 configuration (again remembering some exception will likely mess ya up!),
 the twisted end is "always" drive A:, the middle is drive B:  A few CMOS's
 will allow you to change this AFTER you set it up properly initially.
 One bugaboo that I am aware of is with older machines that use older FDD's
 requiring removable terminating resistors; in this case, the FDD at the
 end (drive A, -must- have the terminator on it (to dampen return signal
 noise on the ribbon cable), the middle does not. FDD's today are self-
 terminating (self-trimming) and have done away with this little hassle.
 ZED!


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