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How_To

Misc
Compare 2.5-3.5" HDD Pins
Install WXP from HDD
N.B. All the information in this page is
Obtain Floppy Image Files intended only for guidance. It is believed to
be correct and not everyone adheres to
Connect USB Headers standards. The information is used at your
own risk.
Use WinXP Command Prompt

Have Handy DOS Partition 40-pin IDE/ATA Connections for 3.5" Desktop
Send Pics Sensibly Hard Drives
Compare 2.5-3.5" HDD Pins

Bare Bones Boot

Fig 1. Female slots
Network

Share WinXP Folders

Fig 2. Male pins

Note:
1. Pin/Slot 20 (arrowed above) may have an absent pin or be
blanked of as a key identifier. It carries no data nor power.
2. The outside notch beside Pins/Slots 19 and 21 may or may
not be present.
3. The ribbon cable normally has a red line going to Pin/Slot 1.

44-pin IDE/ATA Connections for 2.5" Laptop

Hard Drives

Fig 3. Female Slots

Fig 4. Male Pins

The first 40 are the same as their desktop cousins but there are an
additional four pins (41 to 44) which use 5V power normally carried
by a molex connector on a desktop hard drive.
Don't confuse the four pins (41 to 44) with another bank of four pins
(- usually separated from the other 44 pins by a gap -) which are for
jumpering the laptop hard drive. These are usually not jumpered at
all on laptop hard drives.

Complete end-view of 2.5" Hard Drive (inc. 4-

pin jumper block)
Fig 5. End-view of 2.5" drive - (PCB on top here).
The four-pin jumper block seldom actually has any jumpers on it and
this is commonly the Master setting. There is however much variation
and the drive itself should be examined carefully for the correct
jumper settings or the internet browsed for supporting documentation
for the make and model in question.
Dont confuse the above layout with the less commonly seen 60-pin
blocks, where the first six pins are customisable and the last 44 are
the same as the 44-pin ATA/Power layout as in Fig 5. The absent pin
(if it is absent) for Key at posn 20 can often be very useful in
orientation.

The ATA Pin-Outs consist of:

Pin Name Dir Description

1 /RESET OUT Reset
2 GND ------ Ground
3 DD7 IN/OUT Data 7
4 DD8 IN/OUT Data 8
5 DD6 IN/OUT Data 6
6 DD9 IN/OUT Data 9
7 DD5 IN/OUT Data 5
8 DD10 IN/OUT Data 10
9 DD4 IN/OUT Data 4
10 DD11 IN/OUT Data 11
11 DD3 IN/OUT Data 3
12 DD12 IN/OUT Data 12
13 DD2 IN/OUT Data 2
14 DD13 IN/OUT Data 13
15 DD1 IN/OUT Data 1
16 DD14 IN/OUT Data 14
17 DD0 IN/OUT Data 0
18 DD15 IN/OUT Data 15
19 GND ------ Ground
20 KEY - Key
21 n/c - Not connected
22 GND ------ Ground
23 /IOW OUT Write Strobe
24 GND ------ Ground
25 /IOR OUT Read Strobe
26 GND ------ Ground
27 IO_CH_RDY IN
28 ALE OUT Address Latch Enable
 29 n/c - Not connected
30 GND ------ Ground
31 IRQR IN Interrupt Request
32 /IOCS16 ? IO ChipSelect 16
33 DA1 OUT Address 1
34 n/c - Not connected
35 DA0 OUT Address 0
36 DA2 OUT Address 2
37 /IDE_CS0 OUT (1F0-1F7)
38 /IDE_CS1 OUT (3F6-3F7)
39 /ACTIVE OUT Led driver
40 GND ------ Ground
41 +5VL ----> +5VC (Logic)
42 +5VM -----> +5VC (Motor)
43 GND ------ Ground
44 /TYPE -----> Type (0=ATA)

Ribbon Cables (40 versus 80 wire)

80-wire data cables, when used, still only attach to pins 1 to 40. They
are part of the UDMA (Ultra DMA) Transfer Mode specification of the
ATA/ATAPI-4 standard. The extra wires are interposed between the
original 40 wires and all run to earth to prevent stray signals crossing
over between adjacent wires. This allows for faster trouble-free data
transfer and automatically supports the CableSelect feature. The
same standard allows for colour-coding of the connectors on the
cable. Blue to motherboard, Grey (in the middle) to any Slave Drive
and Black to the Master or to a Single Drive. Under the specification
it is not allowable to attach a single drive to the middle connection.

Smaller and Smaller Drives

More and more Solid State (NAND and CompactFlash) as well as
Spinning 1.8" Hard Drives are coming on stream. These usually have
a 50-pin interface for which we don't yet have the specifications.
Some come with a ZIF (zero force clip on connections) and some
with mini-ATA or micro-ATA 50 pin sockets. The latter can be quite
easily interfaced using a 1.8"-to-2.5" converter. There is also an
adapter to connect these small 1.8" drives inside a 2.5" USB external
enclosure.
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