I'm trying to put an old IDE hard drive into a brand new computer (all SATA). I bought a converter card from Tiger Direct which they assured me was what I needed. It came with no instructions at all. The box says something like "simply plug it in and start using your hard drive". Its never quite that easy is it. I can't get the drive to show up in the BIOS. Something else I didn't understand is that my old hard drive has 40 pins and the converters in all the pictures have 40 pins, but my converter only has 36 pins. The plug doesn't catch the two pins on each side, but otherwise plugs into the old hard drive just fine. Does anyone here have any experience with these? Are there special jumper settings I need to know about? The converter has two jumpers in addition to the ones on the hard drive. HERE are some pictures of what I have. MORE pictures.
The only thing on the mobo is something that looks like an IDE hookup, but only has 32 pins (17 spaces on the top and bottom rows with 2 pins missing - male end on the mobo) I'm not sure what that is. I was really surprised too. It belongs to a relative so I didn't get to look at it before they bought it. Its an HP Pavilion A6312P. Of course the online manual shows how to hook up an IDE drive with the ribbon cable, but the actual PC doesn't have anywhere to plug a ribbon cable. I spoke to a guy at Geek Squad on the phone and he had never heard of an IDE converter. He said there was no solution to my problem and that the old hard drive would never work in the new computer. I don't believe him. There has to be a way to make anything backwards compatible. The people at Tiger Direct were no help either.
Well, the manual does show it having a IDE port. Can you take a pic of the mobo and post it? Another option is using this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1733195&Sku=M501-1182
Does this drive have to be installed in the case? Are you booting to it? If not, the easiest thing to do would be to get an external IDE drive enclosure and connect it to the PC via USB.
I am willing to bet you are not using a standard IDE. Is your ribbon on the IDE you have currently that small? I am betting this is for an EIEDE.
I agree...but SATA's are cheaper now. I would say just buckle down and buy a faster more reliable SATA. Then use the External for data offload.
The motherboard in that PC is an Asus IPIBL-LB or by HP product name it's a Benicia-GL8E. Here's the link for the board. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...12&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3662251&lang=en The slot that looks like an IDE is a Floppy port. You have no IDE's. Most Serial ATA cards require a 4 pin SP4 power supply. HP power supplies only have 1 SP4 and it is needed on the motherboard. You are S.O.L. if your new card needs one. As for the "Geek" squad he's F.O.S.! Typical for their quality of service personnel. PS: I forgot to add that your motherboard part number at Asus is a P5K-E. Here's what the Tiger Direct rep should have sold you: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=698690&CatId=468
Wow you guys are awesome. You got the right pic of the mobo ddrdan. I do have another (maybe 2) 4 pin SP4 plug on this power supply and the pins line up fine, but the little tab on the side of the male end doesn't fit well with the plug. Your Tiger Direct link is exactly what I told her to get, but of course the salesman talked her into something else when she was in the store. I assumed the prices for the external cases were higher, but at those prices that seems like the best idea. I just hate losing the money on this card I've already opened. ServerSnapper, the IDE is just a standard 40-pin hard drive. I thought IDE and EIDE both had 40 pins. I'm just confused by the 36-pin female plug that fits perfectly onto the middle of the 40-pins on the back of the hard drive. I've always known how to install a hard drive, but this one is making me feel like an old man who is way behind the times. So if I can't get it to work, I'll just get the external case. Thanks again for your input.
