Computer Hard Ware

Computer Hard Ware

IDE Cable

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IDE stands for Integrated Device Electronics. EIDE is a newer standard of IDE and it stands for Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics. EIDE is three to four times faster than the IDE standard. The picture above shows how to connect an IDE cable to two devices. The top device should be made the "master" and the bottom device should be the "slave." The master drive is the primary drive, and is normally on the end of a two connection IDE cable.

The slave, or secondary drive, is connected to the IDE cable between the master drive and the motherboard IDE connection. Since data can not go to and from each drive at the same time, it is necessary to make one a master drive and the other a slave drive. This is done with a little jumper connection on the back of the drive. IDE cables consist of either 40 individual wires, or 80 individual wires (for newer Ultra ATA/66 drives). Most of these wires are used to transfer data between the motherboard and the drive(s).

MotherBoard Bettery | CaseFan | Chipset | DIMM Sockets | PCI Audio Accelerator

Optional CaseFan | 3.5 Inch Drive | 5.25 Inch Drive | IDE Cable | I/O Ports

Panel Connector Cable | PCI Slot One | PCI Slot Two | PCI Slot Three

ISA Slot Two | Shared PCI/ISA Slot | Expansion Slot | AGP Expansion Slot

IDE & Panel Connectors | Case Speaker | Case Front Panel

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