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Need help w IDE - SATA adapter

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#1 ·
I notice that only one question on IDE to SATA converters seems to have been asked previously and noone answered it, so if there's a better place to ask please advise me.

I just bought three SY-BIR-IDESA IDE to SATA bidirectional converters to connect my IDE hard drive, CD drive, and dvd drive to the SATA connectors on my new motherboard.

The directions are extremely vague, and the actual setup seemingly tricky. All over the Internet some people report that the adapters work well and immediately, and others couldn’t get the things to work no matter what they tried. It is seldom specified what they tried besides the switch in both positions.

I haven’t yet turned on the computer for the first time, but if the drives are not recognized a dozen things could potentially be wrong and I want to make sure I have the adapters connected right.

First question. I am still using my old power supply with its molex connectors. Three different staff at the computer parts store told me NOT to use the power connector on the adapter to power my IDE drives, because I have MOLEX connectors and the drives do not draw power from the mother board. SATA drives don’t draw power from the mother board either; my power supply also has SATA power connectors. In fact it’s hard to see why anyone would power their hard drives with this adapter unless they didn’t for instance have the correct plugs for their drives.

Do the adapters need to be plugged into the power supply in order to work, or something? The computer parts staff said no.

What is the consequence of using the power connector if you don’t need to?

The instructions don’t mention an option of not using the power connectors; why not if you don’t need to use them?

Second question. I know that the directions say to push the switch toward the power plug for my application, but without the pictures showing clearly how to position that switch, it isn’t clear to me nor to anyone else on line what you mean. Do you mean to push the upper part of the switch toward the power plug, or to push the lower part of the switch toward the power plug?

Third question. Does each IDE drive need to be set as a master using a jumper? A couple of people said that’s when they got the adapter to work, and many people who could not get the adapter to work didn’t mention whether the IDE drives were set as master. Of course, the issue is not mentioned in the instructions.

Fourth question. Is the power plug supposed to be pushed all the way in? It won’t push all the way in, on any of the three of them. A photo clearly shows it pushed only part way in. The computer parts staff told me it isn’t supposed to push all the way in. It is transparently clear that the plug won’t necessarily make contact nor stay plugged in since nothing holds it in, since it isn’t all the way in and it doesn’t snap or get held in. All over the web people are complaining that the plug won’t stay in and may not make contact.

Of course, there is only a need to worry about this if I have to power my IDE drives through the converter.

Fifth question. Is there any thing else specific that I need to do to set up the converters propertly that aren’t mentioned in the instructions?

Thanks!

Dora

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#2 ·
Can you post a link to a photo of the adapter that your discussing ? or let me know if this link I found is what you have. Amazon.com: Syba SY-BIR-IDESA IDE/SATA Converter Bi-Directional IDE to SATA: Electronics


1. based on my link - yes you have to power both the adapter and the drive 1 each. Deskop 3.5" drives do not get power via the IDE connector its always the molex plug.

2. most likely most of them do need power to operate

3. yes in most cases set the IDE jumper on each device to master and some want cable select

4. It looks like a round plug don't see why it won't go all the way in seems like it should.

5. Try one at a time and see if the drive shows up in the BIOS
 
#3 ·
Thanks!

Yes, the link you provided does go to the correct model.

It's the switch you see next to the adapter plug that I just want to make sure that set it toward the power plug means the visible part of the switch toward the power plug rather than away from it.

The plug only goes part way in and then stops. Looks like that's normal - particularly since the plug not connecting properly seems a real problem.

For what reason would IDE to SATA adapters be powered? Do they do more than connect wires in the right configuration? There are clues in the tiny instruction sheet that it may be - like "ultra low power consumption" among the features. The adapter is not described as powered, however.

I also have another question.

. How do I set up BIOS? I have a Gigabyte mobo, GA-H61M-D2P-B3 board.

I’m not sure how to set up the BIOS for a IDE drive plugged into the SATA connector to begin with. Is it still different working with an adapter? This may have more to do with how to set up an IDE drive to work on a SATA connector than with specifically how to work the adapter, like the need to set the jumper on the drive as master. But obviously the adapter will not work if it isn't right.

It often says on these forums that one has to specifically tell BIOS that you are using IDE drives. I find options for drives in two places.

For Standard CMOS features, it has IDE Channel 0, 1Master/ Slave, and IDE Channel 2,3 Master. The options for both consist essentially of whether to tell BIOS you have no SATA drives so that it does not take extra time to look for them while posting.

The Master/Slave thing is confusing; I understand that since there are only ATA connectors there is no such thing as Master/Slave and setting IDE drives up that way is not an option. Not I've been in BIOS yet. I want to make sure the adapter is set up right before powering up the computer.

I’m not clear on whether to tell the system I have no SATA drives, since doesn’t the system think that my IDE drives are SATA drives once they are connected to the SATA connector?

The options provided in BIOS, for “operating mode of the integrated SATA controllers” appear to be whether to operate in Legacy IDE mode or Native IDE mode. Native IDE mode is default. The booklet makes it look as if this choice has more to do with the operating system (Windows XP Pro) than with the drive.

Do I need to set up the serial or parallel ports differently?
 
#4 ·
SYBAUSA - SY-BIR-IDESA >> IDE SATA Hard Disk Drive Interface Converter, Bi-directional

This link goes to the manufacturer's page on the product. More pictures. Under download you can get the instruction sheet. On the last page, on the photo under "B IDE Hard Drive Connection" you can clearly see that the power plug does not appear to insert all of the way - that is just what it looks like when I plug it in.

Well, I have the actual three by five instruction sheet and not the pdf of an apparently crumpled edition.

Droa
 
#5 ·
IDE drives have 3 options MASTER SLAVE or Cable Select. The SATA to IDE adapter needs power to run the chips inside it to work. The info to set your IDE drive to MASTER is normally on the hard drive label. The jumber pins are next to where the IDE cable plugs in. SATA is one drive per Sata connector therefore SATA is always in MASTER mode which is why SATA drives don't have these jumpers like IDE.

Power both the drive and adapter set the IDE to Master connect the sata cable to SATA port 0 see if the drive shows up in the BIOS. with the ADAPTER the Bios only sees the SATA adapter it has NO idea an IDE drive is behind it.

That should get you going start out one drive at a time don't make this more complicated than it already is baby steps.
 
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