Attach ATA/IDE Hard Drive to Linux Computer

[0rthodontist]

I need to attach an ATA/IDE hard drive to a Linux computer and I'm pretty clueless about how to go about it. I have installed Linux on my desktop computer's SATA hard drive (pretty much the only computer available to me that I can open up and poke around in) and I also have a linux livecd. However, my main problem now is that I don't even know how to hook up the other hard drive. The drive has 47 pins over about 2-3 inches, and nothing on the inside of my computer looks like it fits that. What do I need to be able to hook this up?

 

[chroot]

You should have an IDE connector on the motherboard, and it should look identical to the one on the drive. If the computer is SATA, rather than IDE, you will not have this connector, and you cannot use that hard drive with it -- at least, not without some kind of adapter.

- Warren

 

[Integral]

Sounds to me like you have a standard IDE Hard drive. Your motherboard should have 2 connectors, primary and secondary which will accept a cable connected to the hard drive. Do you have a cable? If not it is time for trip to your nearest computer store, you need a 80 conductor IDE cable. Most HDs, motherboards and cables are keyed now so you cannot get it on wrong. The actual connector is 40 pins but there is usually 6 or 7 pins beside it which are used with a jumper to select, master, slave or cable select. There should be a diagram on the HD defining the jumper location for each. If the HD is the only one on the cable set it up as a Master.

 

[0rthodontist]

Yeah, my computer's hard drive is SATA. What kind of connector do I need?

Edit: wait, I think you already answered my question integral, thanks

 

[jpr0]

If you don't want to boot from this drive, then you can by external casing for it, which will allow you to attach it to the computer via USB or firewire. Here are some examples:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/usb_hard-drive.html

 

[0rthodontist]

Further information about this: the hard drive is actually a laptop IDE/ATA hard drive which is different from a regular IDE drive. I have available to me a connector that goes from a laptop drive to a regular IDE port. However, my computer has no IDE ports, only SATA ports. I think what I'm probably going to have to do is borrow the use of someone else's computer.