IDE to SATA

[BobH]

As you might remember, the DVD/RW drive on my wife's desktop refused to recognize that media was loaded. Presuming that the drive was defective, I ordered a replacement that came with today's post.

I did not remove the defective drive before ordering a new one and failed to realize that it was an IDE drive. The new drive is SATA. I have a free SATA data port on the mobo, but the available SATA power connector is only a couple of inches down the cable. The HDD is SATA but is positioned in the case about a foot away (maybe half a metre) from the bay where I must install the DVD/RW replacement drive.

Can I just use an IDE to SATA adapter cable for the power supply to the new DVD/RW? I can see no other way to get power to the new drive. I might possibly install the HDD in the space reserved for a floppy drive and get it close enough to use the 2nd SATA power connector, but it looks to be stretching the cable too much.

Anyone?

[viking33]

You should be able to just use a SATA to IDE adapter cable set.
I have one of my IDE drives running with the adapter fine.
Down your way is http://www.directron.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A good source of all kinds of things like this.

[StuartR]

YES, you can just use an IDE to SATA adapter cable for the power, and then connect this new drive to the existing SATA data cable.

[BobH]

Thank you, Gentlemen!

I have the adapter cable on order. We'll see how long it takes to get from Dallas to Temple (~110 miles).

Good to know that my instincts were OK but with my knowledge of electronics any decision I take might be dangerous.

Thanks again!

[BobH]

To say that Direction.com is fast does not begin to describe my experience. I ordered the cables yesterday and they arrived at my door this afternoon when UPS rang the doorbell. That is phenomenal even though the distance is only 110 miles.

I installed the IDE to SATA power cable adapter and installed a SATA data cable in the empty port on the mobo, but when I boot the system I get the following error:
Drive 2 not found: Parallel ATA, PATA-0 (PRI IDE Master)
Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility.

I can press the F1 key and the boot continues, but when I pressed the F2 key and went into setup, the keyboard no longer functions. The arrow keys, + and - and Esc produce no effect on the system.

I searched on the error message, but so far all the hits talk about and IDE problem.

Can anyone tell me how to troubleshoot this error? There are only 2 SATA data cable connectors on the mobo from an old Dell Dimension E310.

[StuartR]

What IDE disk drives do you have in this computer?
Check that you have each IDE configured with just a master drive, or with a master and a slave.

[BobH]

What IDE disk drives do you have in this computer?
Check that you have each IDE configured with just a master drive, or with a master and a slave.

OK! All is well and working now on the wife's desktop.

Apparently, the F2 key on that keyboard was sticking. I went back through all the connectors and even disconnected the parallel ribbon cable from the mobo. I went back through the routine and was able to enter Setup where I found that SATA2 was turned off. On the first try, I got the same response to a DVD in the drive; Speccy said the drive was OK but media showed FALSE. My Computer showed the drive but with no contents for the media. I switched out for another DVD and it loaded and I was able to see the file directory in File Explorer.

Problem solved and lessons learned.

Thank you very much for the help, Stuart! You help me think my way through it again which showed me the error of my ways.

-b


There are no IDE drives installed now. Before I discovered (or suspected) that the IDE DVD/RW drive had failed (WinXP 'saw' the drive but Speccy showed False for Media Present; I tried 3 or 4 different DVD disks) there was a SATA HDD that is connected with SATA power and data cables and the DVD/RW - the old one - that was connected with a Molex power connector and parallel ribbon data cable. I bought a new DVD/RW drive before I opened the case to remove the old one without thinking that the old drive might be IDE instead of SATA. The new DVD/RW is SATA. There are 2 SATA ports on the mobo labeled SATA0 and SATA2 (I was surprised to see that it was not 0 and 1). The port nearest the top of the diagram (below) is SATA0 and the one below is SATA2. The HDD data cable is plugged into the mobo port labeled SATA0.

After installing the Molex to SATA power cable adapter, I installed and new SATA cable in SATA2 and connected it to the new DVD/RW.

I just rechecked everything to be sure that I'm reporting the situation accurately.

When I boot, I get the error message but pressing F1 allows the boot to complete. Looking at Device Manager, I see no DVD drive but I do see the HDD (obviously, because it boots).

Thanks for the help!

Here are screen shots from the Dell Owner's Manual:

[viking33]

I've been happy with directron for some time now, Good prices, selection and lots of info on their site for setup and configuration of hardware.
I would go into the BIOS to see what it has for your HD comfig. I would have to go into my BIOS to check how I'm setup. ( memory lapses ) Let us know and I'll check if need be.

[BobH]

I've been happy with directron for some time now, Good prices, selection and lots of info on their site for setup and configuration of hardware.
I would go into the BIOS to see what it has for your HD comfig. I would have to go into my BIOS to check how I'm setup. ( memory lapses ) Let us know and I'll check if need be.

See corrected post above.

Thanks for helping, Bob.