Nicked IDE Cable, I know, I'm an idiot Options Menu

[John S]

Hey everyone, I'm John and I'm new here. I am just about done rebuilding my first Cube, and in the midst of switching out drives and trying to mount them in the case in a way that would work, I scraped the IDE cable so there is some exposed wire. There are 2 1mm sections on the last wire (opposite the one with the red stripe) that are exposed. I know how sensitive ATA 100 is to things like cable length, and I was wondering how bad this damage could be in practice.

Anyone have an opinion about whether I should repair or replace the cable? If I were to do a repair, I was thinking I could use some electrical tape or epoxy. The one thing about replacement is that I'm not sure where I could get an IDE cable similar to the custom made one for the Cube.

Any advice would be appreciated!

[jbarley]

Hey everyone, I'm John and I'm new here. I am just about done rebuilding my first Cube, and in the midst of switching out drives and trying to mount them in the case in a way that would work, I scraped the IDE cable so there is some exposed wire. There are 2 1mm sections on the last wire (opposite the one with the red stripe) that are exposed. I know how sensitive ATA 100 is to things like cable length, and I was wondering how bad this damage could be in practice.

Anyone have an opinion about whether I should repair or replace the cable? If I were to do a repair, I was thinking I could use some electrical tape or epoxy. The one thing about replacement is that I'm not sure where I could get an IDE cable similar to the custom made one for the Cube.

Any advice would be appreciated!

As long as the actual wire is intact I think a flexible rubber cement like Pliobond or something similar would do the trick.
Just paint it over the bare spots.

This post has been edited by jbarley: Jan 22 2012, 01:33 AM

[Didge]

Hey everyone, I'm John and I'm new here. I am just about done rebuilding my first Cube, and in the midst of switching out drives and trying to mount them in the case in a way that would work, I scraped the IDE cable so there is some exposed wire. There are 2 1mm sections on the last wire (opposite the one with the red stripe) that are exposed. I know how sensitive ATA 100 is to things like cable length, and I was wondering how bad this damage could be in practice.

Anyone have an opinion about whether I should repair or replace the cable? If I were to do a repair, I was thinking I could use some electrical tape or epoxy. The one thing about replacement is that I'm not sure where I could get an IDE cable similar to the custom made one for the Cube.

Any advice would be appreciated!

I had to replace my IDE cable a few months ago in my Cube, it had been partially torn at the fold for the optical drive. I replaced it with a standard one from another PC, if you end up having to go down this route I'll post pictures of how I got a standard IDE cable to go in the Cube. (You'll need one that's a bit longer than the Cube's standard one and you want to make sure the connectors are as flat as the Cubes ones, if its any thicker, when you connect it to the bottom of the logic board the logic board won't seat properly.

[John S]

Well, on further inspection it looks like the cable might actually have a bit of a fray. Thus, I might go with the replacement route. Fortunately, it looks like disk performance isn't especially hindered. I'm getting a disk score in the 130's in Xbench (I have an SSD).

Didge, where did you end up getting your cable? My drive is actually a 2.5", so hopefully cable routing will be a little simpler, even with a long cable...

[jjgd]

First solution is to buy an original Cube IDE ribbon on eBay; unfortunately, none is for sale presently.
Second is to make one from a standard IDE ribbon.

1) Buy a LONG (40") Ultra-ATA/133 80 strands flat ribbon with Mainboard / Slave / Master IDC40 female connectors like this one.

2) VERY delicately unattach from the ribbon the Slave (gray) and Master (black) connectors, keeping the Motherboard (blue) connector in place. Then reattach the Slave, and the Master connector at the same exact distance from the Motherboard connector as in the original Cube ribbon; then cut the excess cable with a cutter.
Make sure you keep EXACTLY the same connectors orientation than in the original cable (connector notch position vs red signal 1 strand). Make also sure your new customized cable is working on all pin connections (except #20 and #34 which are unconnected), using a cheap continuity tester, BEFORE putting it in place, since it is the most troublesome operation : you cannot unplug the original Cube ATA flat ribbon without making loose the main board, which forces you to remove the video card and uncouple the main board from the processor/heatsink assembly.
Note that to be on the safe side (?), I also removed #34 connection since it is cut in the original Cube ribbon.

Note also that while rebuilding the cable, you could also exchange the position of Master and Slave connectors, and remove the pin #28 from the (new) Slave connector (farthest from the Motherboard connector), which would then make any Optical Drive with a Cable Select compatible firmware switch to Slave without any other modification and make the IDE connectors colors right for the Cube; just in case, to make you Cube a bit more future-proof...

[John S]

First solution is to buy an original Cube IDE ribbon on eBay; unfortunately, none is for sale presently.
Second is to make one from a standard IDE ribbon.

1) Buy a LONG (40") Ultra-ATA/133 80 strands flat ribbon with Mainboard / Slave / Master IDC40 female connectors like this one.

2) VERY delicately unattach from the ribbon the Slave (gray) and Master (black) connectors, keeping the Motherboard (blue) connector in place. Then reattach the Slave, and the Master connector at the same exact distance from the Motherboard connector as in the original Cube ribbon; then cut the excess cable with a cutter.
Make sure you keep EXACTLY the same connectors orientation than in the original cable (connector notch position vs red signal 1 strand). Make also sure your new customized cable is working on all pin connections (except #20 and #34 which are unconnected), using a cheap continuity tester, BEFORE putting it in place, since it is the most troublesome operation : you cannot unplug the original Cube ATA flat ribbon without making loose the main board, which forces you to remove the video card and uncouple the main board from the processor/heatsink assembly.
Note that to be on the safe side (?), I also removed #34 connection since it is cut in the original Cube ribbon.

Note also that while rebuilding the cable, you could also exchange the position of Master and Slave connectors, and remove the pin #28 from the (new) Slave connector (farthest from the Motherboard connector), which would then make any Optical Drive with a Cable Select compatible firmware switch to Slave without any other modification and make the IDE connectors colors right for the Cube; just in case, to make you Cube a bit more future-proof...

So something like this? I'm not so sure I'm up to the challenge; I feel like I'd probably ruin a bunch of cables before I got the method down. If you were able to pull it off, though, I bet the results are pretty cool, and doing a pin 28 mod would definitely come in handy for some optical drive setups. In the meantime I'm on the hunt for a cable I can jam into the empty space in my HD cage or someone who has an extra Cube IDE cable...

[jjgd]

So something like this? I'm not so sure I'm up to the challenge; I feel like I'd probably ruin a bunch of cables before I got the method down.

Yes, same approach except that you need an 80 strands ribbon for Ultra-ATA, not a 40 strands one, as in your instructables.com reference.
It looks more complicated than it is and takes about 10mn; disassembling the Cube to put the cable in place on the motherboard is actually much more complicated.
But since those cables are cheap, it may be a good idea to order 2, just in case (I actually destroyed the first I tried). Or alternatively you may use the original Cube cable to "train" yourself, since it is already faulty (BUT carefully note connectors position and orientation BEFORE).
The delicate part is removing the original cable from the Slave and Master connectors, without bending any of the 80 pins; and use a Tongue/Groove Plier similar to this one instead of a hammer, so that you can delicately adjust the pressure on the cable when you put the connectors back.

[Didge]

Didge, where did you end up getting your cable? My drive is actually a 2.5", so hopefully cable routing will be a little simpler, even with a long cable...

I salvaged mine from an old PC, I'm sure it would be much easier with a 2.5" drive. If you end up getting a standard IDE cable let me know and I'll show you how I wired mine up for it to work inside the Cube. Its not very difficult to do.

This post has been edited by Didge: Jan 25 2012, 03:51 PM

[John S]

After much patience and some good luck, I was able to source an original Cube IDE cable on an auction website, and it's now on its way from Canada. Looking at the pinout and cable specifications for ATA 100, though, it looks like the wire I frayed was ground anyway, so the fact that disk performance in practice didn't take a noticeable hit isn't too surprising to me. Thanks everyone for your help!