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Lv 7
? asked in Computers & InternetHardwareDesktops · 9 years ago

Weird IDE ribbon cable querie?

I have an IDE ribbon cable with capacity to connect 5 devices. From memory I think it's from a mainframe, and it's over 1.5 meters long. But still I don't get how 5 devices can work on one IDE channel.

Just after information on how these work and their purpose if any.

Update:

They are definitely 40 pin IDE connections.

Update 2:

Dude am I writing in Chinese or something, I know the difference between IDE and SCSI. It's okay if you don't know, not even google could tell me what this cable's purpose is.

4 Answers

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  • starpc11
    Lv 7
    9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    It was hook up in a RAID, a bunch of low storage hdd devices hook up together , this is a normal connector for that type of system, nothing unusual about it , you can read up on RAID system online for personnel info, is why there are hook up to 5 devices on the ide connector , also a old dell i had to clean out for this guy had a ide ribbon with 2 floppy disk connectors, 3 hdd connectors on it

  • John H
    Lv 5
    9 years ago

    It's not an IDE ribbon cable. It's probably a SCSI bus ribbon cable. It probably has 50 or 68 conductors, unlike the 40 or 80 of an IDE cable. SCSI can have 8 or 16 addressable devices on one cable.

    The 50 pin IDC connectors used by SCSI devices look exactly like those used on IDE disk drives, except they are slightly wider due the the extra 5x2 pins.

  • gicutale
    Lv 4
    9 years ago

    Maybe it's just an IDE cable with several connectors, designed for several position of drives in the mainframe. In any case, as you knew it, only 2 drives can work (and may be installed) on an IDE cable.

  • The Thinker
    Lv 6
    9 years ago

    % = 4 and 1 actually used in setting up whats called a daisy chain most commonly used for ANTIQUATED raid configs its a 50 pin + its a scsi.. There is a Ultra DMA (80-Conductor) IDE/ATA Cable

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_ATA

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