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SATA DVD Writer

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by tripodd

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I purchased 2 replacement DVD writers for my system. Not being up to date on all of the configuration and cabling selections, I apparently got one IDE and one SATA. The IDE connected without a hitch. Now I'm trying to play catch up on the SATA terminology. My system is an HP Media Center PC m7167c, running Windows XP Media Center Edition. It came with a Limestone-GL8E motherboard. It shows to have 4 SATA connectors, which I have identified. Now for the dumb questions: As stated, the old drive was IDE, so I now have an unusable ribbon cable and power supply connection, conveniently located. The HDD appears to be SATA, with a red SATA cable connecting it to the motherboard. The power (?) connection appears to come from a ribbon cable that has an extra connection nearby, but too far away to use. I located connectors that can turn a standard supply cable into a SATA supply. Is this all I need? I guess I'm really not sure of which cable is the power and which is the data. Help, anyone?

3 replies

by maniacman

As long you have power and data cable supplied to the drive, you're good to go. Just be sure to do this when the machine is off and remove the power cable from the power supply so as not to electrically shock yourself if there is a ground fault somewhere.

Good luck, you're on the right track.

by tripodd

So the red cable is truly data, and a standard power source can convert to a SATA power source? Don't want to fry the computer...
Thanks!

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