Cables

[cwtlr]

IDE cables: 1) How important is it that the master be on the end and the slave on the middle connector? They look the same to me.
2) Is it permissable to use a longer or extender IDE cable?

[saphalline]

1) I don't think it really matters that much, the master/slave jumpers are more important. The only rule of thumb that I go by is if there's only one drive on the cable, I always connect it to the end of the IDE cable. I probably don't even have to do that much.

2) IDE cables are rated to go a maximum of 24" or 2 feet, I think. Maybe those 80-pin ATA/100 cables can go farther... In any case, yes, longer cables are permissable. I think standard ones (bundled with mobos/cases/drives) are 18" long, which aren't long enough for some server/tower cases to reach the top drive bays. Extenders I don't know about, they sound kind of iffy to me, especially if they try to get your IDE cables over the 24" limit.

[mjc]

Master goes on the end because the little tail left over can act as an antenna and cause signal degradation or even data loss.

[Whyzman]

mjc, thanks for the enlightenment...I thought the antenna thing was just an old wives' tail! Ok, I'm gonna go now...:p

[Jhorner1]

Also if using the cable select setting, the master must be last.