Floppy Drives

Installation:

As always, make certain that the PC is turned off and UNPLUGGED before touching anything inside the case.  Observe static control protocols (touch the power supply before you start and wear a ground strap if you have access to one).  

Mount the Floppy Drive into the PC case with 4 (don't use less) of the screws provided with the PC Case.  Snug these screws up, do not over tighten.  On a Mitsumi Floppy Drive, the label should be up and the light & eject button should be at the bottom.  You might want to put a floppy disk in and make sure which way is up before you mount it in the PC case.

You must have two connectors plugged into the Floppy Drive for it to work.  

The first one is the power connector and you should be able to find an extra power connector plug inside your PC.  If you do not have an extra one, you will need to get a "Y" power connector that splits one power plug  into two.  There are two types of power connectors in use today and floppy drives use the "Small" type.   If you only have the large type connectors, you can get a adapter cable.  The power connector looks like 4 metal pins sticking out with a small plastic housing under them.  Gently slide the power connector plug over the power connector on the back of the Floppy Drive until it clicks or snaps.  

Next you must connect the Floppy Drive to the data cable.  This data cable is almost always supplied with the PC motherboard.  This is a ribbon cable, normally gray, and has 34 wires in it.  If you look at the end of the connector you can count 17 pins on the bottom and top (a couple may be missing).  One end must be plugged into the Floppy Drive connector on the motherboard per the motherboard instructions.  The other end plugs into the Floppy Drive.  There are normally 3 plugs on the ribbon cable.  One end plugs into the motherboard.  The other end plugs into the Floppy Drive (A) and the middle plug is for Floppy Drive (B).  If your PC will only have one Floppy Drive, make sure and use the plug at the end of the cable and leave the middle plug unconnected.  Here is the most important thing.  You will notice a red stripe on one side of the ribbon cable.  If you look at the back of the Floppy Drive, you will see the number 1 or an arrow stamped in the case at the side of the data connector. This indicates that this is where pin number 1 of the connector is.  The red stripe of the cable MUST go next to pin 1 on the Floppy Drive.  If you get it wrong, it probably won't blow up but it won't work either.  The normal indication that the data cable is plugged in backwards is that the light on the front of the Floppy Drive is always on.  To fix the problem just make certain that the red stripe of the cable is next to the number 1 on the back of the drive.

Troubleshooting

• Light on Floppy Drive is always on.  The data connector plug is plugged in backwards on the back of the Floppy Drive.  Unplug it and turn it the other way with the red stripe next to the Pin 1 label on the back of the drive.
• The PC does not recognize the Floppy Drive.  The PC motherboard BIOS must be set up for the Floppy Drive.  Go into the BIOS settings and set the Floppy Drive (A or B, which ever one that you are installing) to be a 3-1/2 1.44 drive.  See the motherboard instructions for more information.
• The PC sees the drive as the B drive not the A drive.  The A drive plug is always the plug at the end of the cable, not in the middle.  Check to make sure you have the plug at the end of the cable plugged into the Floppy Drive.
• Nothing happens.  No lights, nothing.  Check that the power connector is plugged in.  If it is, try a different one, maybe that one is bad or not plugged in the power supply.  Also check that both ends of the data cable is plugged in securely.

IDE Hard Drives

Installation:

As always, make certain that the PC is turned off and UNPLUGGED before touching anything inside the case.  Observe static control protocols (touch the power supply before you start and wear a ground strap if you have access to one).  

Mount the Hard Drive into the PC case with 4 (don't use less) of the screws provided with the PC Case.  Snug these screws up, do not over tighten.  

You must have two connectors plugged into the Hard Drive for it to work.  

The first one is the power connector and you should be able to find an extra power connector plug inside your PC.  If you do not have an extra one, you will need to get a "Y" power connector that splits one power plug  into two.  There are two types of power connectors in use today and Hard Drives normally use the "Large" type.  Gently plug the power connector into the power plug on the back of the Hard Drive.  Make sure that it is fully inserted.  

Next you must connect the Hard Drive to the data cable.  This data cable is almost always supplied with the PC motherboard.  This is a ribbon cable, normally gray, and has 40 wires in it and is a bit wider than the floppy data cable.  If you look at the end of the connector you can count 20 pins on the bottom and top (a couple may be missing).  One end must be plugged into the IDE Hard Drive connector on the motherboard per the motherboard instructions.  The other end plugs into the Hard Drive.  There may be another connector in the middle of the ribbon cable and should be left  disconnected.  It is for other IDE devices such as CD-ROM or Zip drives.   Here is the most important thing.  You will notice a red stripe on one side of the ribbon cable.  If you look at the back of the Hard Drive, you will see the number 1 or an arrow at the side of the data connector. This indicates that this is where pin number 1 of the connector is.  The red stripe of the cable MUST go next to pin 1 on the Hard Drive.  If you get it wrong, you can permanently damage the Hard Drive and/or the motherboard.  Check this and recheck this before turning the power on.  This must be correct. 

The Hard Drive normally ships set to the master position.  If this is the second drive in your PC, you may need to set it to the slave position.  See the instruction sheet that came with the drive for instructions on how to do this.  Only one drive can be master on each ribbon cable, the other must be slave.

You must set the BIOS of the motherboard to recognize the Hard Drive.  Normally if it is set to Auto Sense, it will read the information from the Hard Drive and set everything up correctly.  See your motherboard instructions for more information.

After the Hard Drive is installed, you must Fdisk the drive and then Format it.  See your operating system instructions for detailed directions.

Troubleshooting

• Hard Drive does nothing.  No spin up sounds.  Check that the power connector is securely inserted into the power plug on the back of the Hard Drive.  You should always hear the Hard Drive spinning up when power is applied to the drive.
• The PC does not recognize the Hear Drive when it boots.  (1) Check that the data cable connectors are securely plugged into the motherboard and the Hard Drive.  (2)Double check that the red stripe on the ribbon connector is next to the Pin 1 indication on the Hard Drive data plug as well as the motherboard plug.  (3)Your BIOS should be set to the Auto Sense setting so that it will read the Hard Disk information and set the correct parameters on the motherboard.  See you motherboard instructions for more information.  (4)The Hard Drive is shipped set to the master IDE drive which works in most applications.  If this is the second drive on this IDE cable, you may need to set the drive to the slave position.  See the instructions that came with the Hard Drive for more information.

IDE CD-ROM Drives

Installation:

As always, make certain that the PC is turned off and UNPLUGGED before touching anything inside the case.  Observe static control protocols (touch the power supply before you start and wear a ground strap if you have access to one).  

The CD-ROM Drives have instructions with them.  Carefully follow them and you should not have any trouble.  The following are general instructions that can also help.

Mount the CD-ROM Drive into the PC case with 4 (don't use less) of the screws provided with the drive or PC case.  Snug these screws up, do not over tighten.  

You must have two connectors plugged into the CD-ROM Drive for it to work.  

The first one is the power connector and you should be able to find an extra power connector plug inside your PC.  If you do not have an extra one, you will need to get a "Y" power connector that splits one power plug  into two.  There are two types of power connectors in use today and CD-ROM Drives normally use the "Large" type.  Gently plug the power connector into the power plug on the back of the CD-ROM Drive.  Make sure that it is fully inserted.  

Next you must connect the CD-ROM Drive to the data cable.  This data cable is almost always supplied with the PC motherboard.  This is a ribbon cable, normally gray, and has 40 wires in it and is a bit wider than the floppy data cable.  If you look at the end of the connector you can count 20 pins on the bottom and top (a couple may be missing).  One end must be plugged into the IDE Hard Drive connector on the motherboard per the motherboard instructions.  There are normally two other connectors on the ribbon cable.  One normally plugs into the IDE Hard Drive and you can use the other one for the CD-ROM Drive.  Here is the most important thing.  You will notice a red stripe on one side of the ribbon cable.  If you look at the back of the CD-ROM Drive, you will see the number 1 or an arrow at the side of the data connector. This indicates that this is where pin number 1 of the connector is.  The red stripe of the cable MUST go next to pin 1 on the CD-ROM Drive.  If you get it wrong, you can permanently damage the CD-ROM Drive, Hard Drive and/or the motherboard.  Check this and recheck this before turning the power on.  This must be correct. 

You can also hook up the CD-ROM Audio cable to a sound card if you have one.

The CD-ROM Drive normally ships set to the slave position.  If this is the only drive on this ribbon cable the CD-ROM Drive should be set to master.  See the instruction sheet that came with the drive for instructions on how to do this.  Only one drive can be master on each ribbon cable, the other must be slave.

In most cases, you will need to install software for the PC to recognize the CD-ROM Drive.  Follow the manufacturers instructions.

Troubleshooting

• CD-ROM Drive does nothing.  No sounds and no lights.  Check that the power connector is securely inserted into the power plug on the back of the CD-ROM Drive.  Try another power cable.  Check that the data cable connector is plugged securely into the data plug on the CD-ROM Drive.  See the manufacturers instructions for other troubleshooting help and for their web site and phone number to technical support.

IDE ZIP Drives

Installation:

As always, make certain that the PC is turned off and UNPLUGGED before touching anything inside the case.  Observe static control protocols (touch the power supply before you start and wear a ground strap if you have access to one).  

The Zip Drives have instructions with them.  Carefully follow them and you should not have any trouble.  The following are general instructions that can also help.

Mount the Zip Drive into the PC case with 4 (don't use less) of the screws provided with the drive or PC case.  Snug these screws up, do not over tighten.  

You must have two connectors plugged into the Zip Drive for it to work.  

The first one is the power connector and you should be able to find an extra power connector plug inside your PC.  If you do not have an extra one, you will need to get a "Y" power connector that splits one power plug  into two.  There are two types of power connectors in use today and Zip Drives normally use the "Small" type.  Gently plug the power connector into the power plug on the back of the Zip Drive.  Make sure that it is fully inserted.  

Next you must connect the Zip Drive to the data cable.  This data cable is almost always supplied with the PC motherboard.  This is a ribbon cable, normally gray, and has 40 wires in it and is a bit wider than the floppy data cable.  If you look at the end of the connector you can count 20 pins on the bottom and top (a couple may be missing).  One end must be plugged into the IDE Hard Drive connector on the motherboard per the motherboard instructions.  There are normally two other connectors on the ribbon cable.  One normally plugs into the IDE Hard Drive and you can use the other one for the Zip Drive.  Here is the most important thing.  You will notice a red stripe on one side of the ribbon cable.  If you look at the back of the Zip Drive, you will see the number 1 or an arrow at the side of the data connector. This indicates that this is where pin number 1 of the connector is.  The red stripe of the cable MUST go next to pin 1 on the Zip Drive.  If you get it wrong, you can permanently damage the Zip Drive, Hard Drive and/or the motherboard.  Check this and recheck this before turning the power on.  This must be correct. 

The Zip Drive normally ships set to the slave position.  If this is the only drive on this ribbon cable the Zip Drive should be set to master.  See the instruction sheet that came with the drive for instructions on how to do this.  Only one drive can be master on each ribbon cable, the other must be slave.

In most cases, you will need to install software for the PC to recognize the Zip Drive.  Follow the manufacturers instructions.

Troubleshooting

• Zip Drive does nothing.  No sounds and no lights.  Check that the power connector is securely inserted into the power plug on the back of the Zip Drive.  Try another power cable.  Check that the data cable connector is plugged securely into the data plug on the Zip Drive.  See the manufacturers instructions for other troubleshooting help and for their web site and phone number to technical support.
  

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