Getting impatient waiting for my replacement hard drive cable, which got me wondering ...

Could I install a standard (desktop) IDE cable ? Is the physical cable length the only issue ?

They are the smaller pitch laptop cables, and the spacing of the connectors is rather important.

I heard the cables were due in to Cambridge any time now (today maybe).

Rob

Drive cables arrived this afternoon and were posted today.

like they said...they are completely different...
they also use a pin for power which is not on the standard desktop IDE cables

for future reference - would a standard laptop IDE cable work OK ?

I would assume so...looks like a standard laptop cable to me...
any one else want to confirm this?

EDIT: IT IS NOT THE SAME, read Tony's message

The connector points on standard laptop IDE cables are slightly different. I recommend getting one of the official ones.

Best bet is to just take your existing (faulty) cable, and use a vise (flat sided, or lined, jaws are best), and squeeze it gently until there are no gaps visible where the flat ribbon cable feeds between the plastic parts.

-ml

That bad crimp wasn't always about the connector not having bit through the sheath all the way. Did the vise thing on my first cable (knowing that a new one was already on the way anyway) and it just made the cable stop working completely (that connector anyway). I still coulnd't see what the problem was, but I pitched it after getting the replacement. Now I've got a couple of extras here for my other units.

Bruno

Errr - wouldn't do this unless you had a sheet of plastic (think Fairy Liquid bottle) on either side of the connector body in the jaws of the vice, and ensuring that the connector is absolutely square to the vice jaws. Also, don't just wind the vice in tight at high speed: bring up the pressure slowly and try to "feel" for the point where compression has finished and the resistance to the jaw movement increases, signifying the crimp is complete.

If you do otherwise, it is remarkably easy to distort the shape of the connector, and it will simply fail to work.