Multiple hardrives or Opticle Drives in a computer that really can't

FIRST EVAR
So I made this instructable after years of trolling and reading around i finally had the guts to make my own. In a nutshell I'm showing you how to install hardware (in this case two IDE hard drives and two IDE optical drives) into an IDE machine.

Step 1: The stuff

A Computer (i have two, I'm using the not so great one)
Drives! Be they optical or hard disk, note that a computer will not boot up with out an operating system.
IDE ribbon cables i have many you probably only have one or two.
POOOOWWWWWWEEEEEEERRRRR (immature eh?) you need appropriate molex power Connections! or if you are doing this with sata... this guide is for IDE mind you... use sata power.
Tweezers you'll see

Comments

[Audey]

What do you mean by "Multiple hardrives or Optical Drives in a computer that really can''t" because I thought it would be something like tricking the PC into using two drives as one. I want SCSI in mah computah now. always set the jumper to cable select. makes upgrading easier.

[Treknology]

I understand, but haven't seen the wiring, whereby you can connect identical IDE drives in tandem so that they function as a single logical device. This involves a small logic circuit to handle the head addresses so that they are directed to the correct drive, and once you've set the bios to the new head count, the whole bundle appears as one device.

Note that such a configuration is not truly a RAID because if one drive fails, its portion of data is unrecoverable.

[lasalite]

nope i mweant 4 HDD in one pc when said max (as said by the manufacturer) is 2 , two HDD as one is raid +5 (right?) one of the RAIDs, SCSI adapters are not exactly cheap and i only had one and i sent it to a friend who uses it alot, most decent adaptors i see are running (NEW not eBay) around $200-$300

[arcane2rox]

You could always buy a Motherboard that has raid built in with a couple identical SATA or Solid State HDDs. It is a lot cheaper than $300 dollars!

[Audey]

yeah, I was just kidding about that. but you said "in a computer that really can't". what does that mean?

[arcane2rox]

I think the title should be " Drives on a PC case that can't fit them all in the inside ".

[Audey]

I hate this formatting. get with the html tags instructables.

[bassbindevil]

If you want to run more than 4 IDE devices, get a Promise controller (or equivalent)... those give you two more plugs for up to 4 more drives.  As a bonus, some of the regular Promise controllers can be hacked to turn them into RAID controllers.  You may be able to scrounge one from a scrapped computer or from a computer recycler; they were popular for upgrading a computer to ATA 66 or 100 without replacing the mobo.

[Hycro]

What makes your keyboard custom?

[ReCreate]

One thing i noticed is that when i connected a CD drive in the same ribbon cable that my main hdd was connected to is that: First, it bluescreened, crashed complaining that it can't access the HDD the CD drive is the only thing that was visible in the BIOS. so...it seems that hdd+Cd drive in the same ribbon cable is a no no.

[theelobo]

lol you guys are a hoot! Thank you for sharing this info I am sure people out there really wanted to know that. I know alot of pc makers do not like buyers modding their PCs and hence put in the instructions this is not supported or can not be done. But good info!

[junits15]

I'll tell you one thing, that is a complete lie! You can do this kind of thing on every and any computer, execpt maybe macs.....

[lasalite]

Thanks for the reply! and yeah hp doesnt like telling you, you can do this

[junits15]

the connectors in the second picture are actually male

[stephenniall]

The little pins are called jumpers Btw just a lil tip

[acaz93]

Hey i have that same computer !

[stranoster]

It's good, but Optical not Opticle drive, and you may want to explain in more detail about setting a drive jumper to slave or master, and the difference between them, because it is a common mistake. Other than that, seems good.

[lasalite]

Thanks for the drive setting advice, yeah im surprised to see someone comment already, and the whole optical thing, i have errors like that strewn everywhere, i did normally put optical tho, i think?

[JakeTobak]

I think you've gotten your genders confused also. Looks like in the picture that the male is on the HDD and the plug is female.

[lasalite]

Nope, the pins come out but never pass the edge, my genders are correct, besides the wire plugs INTO the HDD not the other way around.

[JakeTobak]

mm, I see what you mean. The pins are one way, but the actual plastic connectors plug in the way you said. I probably would have gone the other way with that, but I can't argue your way either :P
MonoPrice seems to agree with me though.

[lasalite]

I could Care Less, as long as they know they are different entities...

[Audey]

I agree with Jake.

[JakeTobak]

If you could care less, you must care at least some amount currently. So I appreciate your concern for accuracy ^_

[GeekGod]

I really did LOL at that response :) And you are entirely correct. The male side of the connector is on the hard drive while the female end from the power supply "plugs" into it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Molex_female_connector.jpg

With the gender of connectors what matters is the part that is actually performing the function. So in this case the pins make it male. The logic is understandable but the fact that the housing of the female adapter plugs into the housing of the male adapter doesn't alter the gender.

[cyrozap]

True dat.