Terminator for 80-wire IDE lead to prevent BIOS problem?

  • Thread starter Thread starter John Smith
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John Smith

I often move my hard drives around between my home PCs. I use 80-conductor
ribbon leads. All my hard drives are configured for Cable Select.

When I have two hard drives on my primary IDE port and I remove the one at
the far end then my BIOS recognises the drive in the middle but then it
stops booting and says

"Primary Master Hard Disk fail".

Is there some sort of terminator I can put on the end of the ribbon cable to
fool the BIOS that the primary master drive is there?
 
I often move my hard drives around between my home PCs. I use
80-conductor
ribbon leads. All my hard drives are configured for Cable Select.
Click to expand...

To use cable select with two drives, you need specially modified cable. It
is not uncommon to damage an IDE cable with frequent use.

-Kent
 
I often move my hard drives around between my home PCs. I use 80-conductor
ribbon leads. All my hard drives are configured for Cable Select.

When I have two hard drives on my primary IDE port and I remove the one at
the far end then my BIOS recognises the drive in the middle but then it
stops booting and says

"Primary Master Hard Disk fail".

Is there some sort of terminator I can put on the end of the ribbon cable to
fool the BIOS that the primary master drive is there?
Click to expand...
No. THis is not SCSI.
 
Kent_Diego said:
To use cable select with two drives, you need specially modified cable. It
is not uncommon to damage an IDE cable with frequent use.

-Kent
Click to expand...


Aren't all 80 conductor cables effectively "cable select" with the master at
the far end and the slave in the middle?
 
John Smith said:
Aren't all 80 conductor cables effectively "cable select" with the master at
the far end and the slave in the middle?
Click to expand...

This would explain the original poster's problem. He pulls the master
off the cable and wonders why the computer won't boot. The answer is
because there is no master.

Jeff
 
Aren't all 80 conductor cables effectively "cable select" with the master at
the far end and the slave in the middle?
Click to expand...

No. You can have master/slave anywhere on a normal cable. The reason master
is indicated at end is to minimize signal reflections in one drive systems.
In two drive system you should use master/slave jumpers or cut a wire in
cable between connectors.
 
I often move my hard drives around between my home PCs.
Click to expand...

Why ?
I use 80-conductor ribbon leads. All my
hard drives are configured for Cable Select.
Click to expand...
When I have two hard drives on my primary IDE port and
I remove the one at the far end then my BIOS recognises
the drive in the middle but then it stops booting and says
Click to expand...
"Primary Master Hard Disk fail".
Click to expand...

Thats what it should say, there is no primary master hard drive.

Thats not necessarily a problem tho, many systems will
boot any hard drive visible. Not a terrific idea to have the
unterminated stub on a high speed 80 conductor cable tho
because you will get reflections off the unterminated stub.
Is there some sort of terminator I can put on the end of the ribbon
cable to fool the BIOS that the primary master drive is there?
Click to expand...

Nope the poll for hard drives requires a specific response
from the hard drive to the Identify command etc.

You can obviously put a hard drive there, one that wont be
used for anything except keeping the bios drive poll happy.

Makes a lot more sense to not furiously move drives around tho.
 
Kent_Diego said:
Yes.

You can have master/slave anywhere on a normal cable.
Click to expand...

Define 'Normal'.
The reason master is indicated at end is to minimize signal reflections in one
drive systems.
Click to expand...

Nope, "master is indicated at end" because of how the cable is keyed for
Cable Select.

You can perfectly mount a slave at the end connector in a one drive per cable
situation.
In two drive system you should use master/slave jumpers or cut a wire in
cable between connectors.
Click to expand...

Clueless, but then what else can you expect from someone who can't even setup
his newsclient properly.
 
jeff findley said:
This would explain the original poster's problem.
Nope.

He pulls the master off the cable and wonders why the computer won't boot.
Click to expand...
The answer is because there is no master.
Click to expand...

Right, so has nothing whatsoever to do with cable type nor connector location.
 
John Smith said:
I often move my hard drives around between my home PCs. I use 80-conductor
ribbon leads. All my hard drives are configured for Cable Select.

When I have two hard drives on my primary IDE port and I remove the one at
the far end then my BIOS recognises the drive in the middle but then it
stops booting and says

"Primary Master Hard Disk fail".
Click to expand...

You probably set the drive to manual in BIOS and it now expects to see it.
Set it to auto. Bios will then skip it.
Is there some sort of terminator I can put on the end of the ribbon cable to
fool the BIOS that the primary master drive is there?
Click to expand...

You usually call that a harddrive.
 
No. You can have master/slave anywhere on a normal cable. The reason master
is indicated at end is to minimize signal reflections in one drive systems.
In two drive system you should use master/slave jumpers or cut a wire in
cable between connectors.
Click to expand...

Have a peek between the cable and the connector bodies. You will find
that pin #28 is missing from the middle connector. Hence there is no
need for a cut in the wire, as the cable is already wired for "cable
select". In fact, if you did cut the wire, then you would have to cut
it at the end. This would make the middle connector the master, which,
in a single drive system, would result in the reflections you are
trying to avoid.


- Franc Zabkar
 
and composed:
Click to expand...

Interesting word choice in his case.
Have a peek between the cable and the connector bodies.
Click to expand...

By dismantling it.
You will find that pin #28 is missing from the middle connector. Hence
there is no need for a cut in the wire, as the cable is already wired for
"cable select". In fact, if you did cut the wire, then you would have to cut
it at the end. This would make the middle connector the master, which,
Click to expand...
in a single drive system, would result in the reflections you are
trying to avoid.
Click to expand...

Nope, not if you connect it to the end connector.
 
Howdy!

John Smith said:
I often move my hard drives around between my home PCs. I use 80-conductor
ribbon leads. All my hard drives are configured for Cable Select.

When I have two hard drives on my primary IDE port and I remove the one at
the far end then my BIOS recognises the drive in the middle but then it
stops booting and says

"Primary Master Hard Disk fail".

Is there some sort of terminator I can put on the end of the ribbon cable to
fool the BIOS that the primary master drive is there?
Click to expand...

Why not just move the secondary drive to the master position?

Or tell the BIOS to "Auto" all drives ...

RwP
 
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