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Industry since 1983

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TASK 04 Unit 1 Basic Computer Assembly and Testing

The next stage is to connect the HARD DRIVE and FLOPPY DISK
Parts List
DRIVE to the MOTHERBOARD.
40 Way IDE Cable
34 Way Floppy Drive Cable
To allow the HARD DRIVE to function
correctly it must be attached to the
MOTHERBOARD through a DATA CABLE. Originally this DATA CABLE consisted of 40
WIRES and had three connectors on it fig 01. This cable was then used to plug into the
IDE PORT found on the MOTHERBOARD. This PORT normally consists of 40 PINS
which are two rows of 20, fig 02 shows two IDE PORTS.

Fig 02

Fig 01

Fig 03

The higher the DATA TRANSFER from the HARD DRIVE to the
MOTHERBOARD the higher risk of lost DATA through radio interference. To
reduce this the number of wires where increased to 80 and these extra wires were
all connected to earth, fig 03

You may also find that one of the pins within the IDE SOCKETS
have been removed (White socket, fig 04) as some IDE CABLES
have one of the holes within the connector blocked off, this is for
alignment purposes.
Fig 04

Fig 05

Fig 05 shows one of the holes on the IDE CONNECTOR blocked off. Another technique that is used to aid correct
alignment is a KEY on the IDE CONNECTOR that corresponds with a cut out on the IDE SOCKET, fig 04 (blue socket).
One WIRE of the IDE CABLE is painted RED and referred to as the TRACER, this TRACER should be connected to
PIN 1 of the IDE PORT and PIN 1 of the HARD DRIVE.

Originally the HARD DRIVE CONTROLLER or electronics of the HARD DRIVE was a separate interface that plugged
into the MOTHERBOARD. Over the years it has been redesigned so the CONTROLLER was built into the HARD
DRIVE. This is known as the IDE (INTEGRATED DRIVE ELECTRONICS) INTERFACE.

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Generally speaking the IDE INTERFACE on the HARD DRIVE has PIN 1 on the RIGHT-HAND SIDE, looking from
the rear of the DRIVE, fig 06

Fig 06

Pin 1 is on the right-hand side

looking from the rear of the drive

The IDE CABLE is attached to one of the IDE PORTS on the MOTHERBOARD. Almost all MOTHERBOARDS support
at least two IDE PORTS fig 07 these are referred to as the PRIMARY and SECONDARY. They have many other names
such as IDE0 and IDE1, IDE1 and IDE2 or IDEA and IDEB. In all cases there is a ‘first’ and ‘second’ IDE PORT. In
some cases one of them will be coloured and so this will be the PRIMARY PORT as shown in fig 07

Fig 07
Secondary Port

Primary Port

In the absence of the missing pin or the KEY you will need to identify PIN 1, this can normally be found by referring to
schematic diagram of the MOTHERBOARD or examining the MOTHERBOARD for a mark or number at one end of the
PORT.
Fig 08
To connect the FLOPPY DISK DRIVE to the MOTHERBOARD we need a 34
WAY CABLE, fig 08 A standard CABLE will contain at least 2 x 34 WAY
FEMALE CONNECTORS and like the IDE CABLE has a RED TRACER. It may
also have a key so it can only be plugged into the MOTHERBOARD one way.
One end will contain a TWIST, fig 09

In many textbooks it is claimed that PIN 1 on the DRIVE is the closest to the POWER PLUG. However most
manufacturers of the DRIVES tend to put PIN 1 on the left-hand side to the rear of the DRIVE, if in doubt always
check on the underside of the DRIVE, fig 10

Fig 09
Pin 1

Fig 10
Twist at
one end

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This cable now needs to be PLUGGED into the FLOPPY DISK DRIVE PORT found on
the MOTHERBOARD, fig 11. This PORT is also known as FDD (FLOPPY DISK DRIVE),
FDC (FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLER) and you will find that this PORT has 34 PINS to
suit the CABLE.

Once we have connected the HARD DRIVE and the FLOPPY DISK DRIVE CABLES
and switch on we should observe that, Fig 11

• The HEAT SINK and FAN on the CPU should immediately rotate

• The POWER SUPPLY FAN should rotate

• We should hear an AUDIO BLEEP

The messages that appear on the screen will now include.

MAKE OF MOTHERBOARD.

CPU DETAILS.

AMOUNT OF MEMORY

This time a HARD DRIVE should have been DETECTED. Since we have just connected it through an IDE
CABLE to the MOTHERBOARD

The FLOPPY DISK DRIVE FAILURE message should have disappeared (Assuming it appeared before). If
the message does reappear then this indicates a problem with the CABLE, DRIVE or MOTHERBOARD

KEYBOARD ERROR OR NO KEYBOARD FOUND. Since the KEYBOARD is still not connected we can still
expect this message.

CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR. We still have not yet reprogrammed the CMOS so this message will appear
again.

Once again not all these messages will appear.

1. Connect the IDE DATA CABLE to the HARD DRIVE

HOW:
a) Notice that the CABLE has a RED TRACER.
This indicates PIN 1 of the CABLE, fig 12 Fig 12
b) PIN 1 on the HARD DRIVE is on the right- Pin 1
hand side, looking from the rear of the DRIVE.
c) Align the IDE CABLE with PIN 1 of the HARD
DRIVE and push it home.

If you are using force it could be that the IDE CABLE has
not been aligned correctly, or some of the PINS on the
IDE INTERFACE are bent. Remove the CABLE and check
that it has been aligned correctly and that there are not
any bent PINS.

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2. Connect the other end of this CABLE to the MOTHERBOARD

HOW:
a) Check for the PRIMARY PORT or the first IDE Primary Port
PORT
Fig 13
In our example (fig 13) it is clearly identifiable since one is
WHITE and the other is BLUE. So in this instance the BLUE
PORT is the PRIMARY PORT.

If the PORTS are not coloured look for some identification on

them, example IDE01 etc. If you did by chance connect the DATA CABLE to the wrong PORT it will cause no damage,
but the messages you see when the computer BOOTS will be different to the ones explained at the end of this TASK.

b) Check that the PINS are straight and locate PIN 1 on this PORT

Finding PIN 1 can sometimes be a problem, however there are a number of things we can look for. Obviously the first
thing is to check the PORT for a number, this maybe PIN 1 or PIN 40.

Next we could look for an arrow, a triangle or a thick white line and all these indicate the lowest PIN number or 1.

c) Align the RED TRACER of the IDE CABLE with PIN 1 and push it home.

3. Connect the 34 WAY CONNECTOR to the 3 ½” FLOPPY DISK DRIVE

HOW:
a) Notice the TWIST at one end of the CABLE of the FLOPPY DISK DRIVE CABLE
fig 14, this is the end that plugs into the DISK DRIVE
b) Check the RIBBON CABLE for a RED TRACER, fig 14 Fig 14
c) Normally PIN 1 on the DISK DRIVE can be found on the left-hand side to the rear
of the DRIVE, fig 15

Twist at
Pin 1 one end

Fig 15

d) Check that all the PINS on the DRIVE are straight and align the cable-locating PIN 1 of the DRIVE with
the RED TRACER of the CABLE, then push it home

4. Connect the other end of this CABLE to the MOTHERBOARD

HOW: Fig 16
a) Locate the FLOPPY DISK DRIVE PORT on the MOTHERBOARD, fig 16
b) Check for PIN 1, once the CABLE has been aligned with the PORT, push it
home.

In some cases PIN 1 will not be marked, instead the PORT will rely on a KEY to ensure correct alignment. You may also
find that if the KEY SYSTEM is adopted then PIN 1 may NOT always be on the same side on all of the PORTS

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5. SWITCH ON and TEST

HOW:
a) Ensure that the HEATSINK & FAN is free to rotate
b) Reconnect the MONITOR and the MAINS LEAD
c) Check that when the computer is first switched on the FAN on the HEATSINK should immediately rotate, if
it does not the computer should be switched off
a) The INTERNAL POWER SUPPLY FAN should also rotate, , if it does not the computer should be
switched off
b) If both FANS start, check for an AUDIO BLEEP then any messages that appear on the screen, it should be
similar to fig 17

Phoenix – AwardBIOS v6.))PG, An Energy Star Ally

The quick(C)
Copyright brown fox
1984-2005, Phoenix Technologies, LTD
WinFast 760GXK8MC Series 54EW1P23 100805

Main Processor : AMD Sempron (tm) Processor 2600+

Installed Memory : 256M OK
Our Hard Drive has been detected on IDE
1 IDE Channel 0 Master : Maxtor 6K04L0 NAR61HA0 Channel 0 Master.
1
IDE Channel 0 Slave : None
IDE Channel 1 Master : None
IDE Channel 1 Slave : None

IDE Channel 2 Master : None

IDE Channel 3 Master : None

2 Since THE Floppy Disk Drive has been

2 connected the error message has been
CMOS checksum error – Default loaded
removed.

Fig 17

Press F1 to continue, DEL to enter SETUP

10/08/2005-SiS-760-6A7I7FKAC-00

Now that you have connected the HARD DRIVE it should have been detected, if not you need to check its connection. It
should be listed as the first IDE DEVICE and if it had appeared IDE MASTER in fig 17 then the IDE CABLE would have
to be moved to the other IDE PORT. This will become much clearer during the course work.

If you had an error message before about a FLOPPY DISK DRIVE FAILURE, this message should also have been
removed, if not you will need to check its connection.

It didn’t BOOT !!

In this TASK we have connected the HARD DRIVE and FLOPPY DISK DRIVE. If it fails to BOOT you should check
your connections. Disconnect the last CABLE to the FLOPPY DISK DRIVE then try and BOOT the system (don’t forget
to DISCHARGE THE CMOS), if it fails remove the IDE HARD DRIVE CABLE. You should have to disconnect one end
only.

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If it still fails to BOOT it could be possible that you may have disturbed some other component. As an example you could
have dislodged the RAM or the CPU or MOTHERBOARD POWER CONNECTOR

Complete ASSESSMENT 04

Date Students
Signature
Notes:

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