Installing the Hardware, Part 3: Hard Disk and CD Drives

		Take a look at these rectangular connectors on the side of the board (called IDE connectors) to which you attach hard disk and CD drives. Usually there are only 2, but more and more motherboards have 4. Also, they can be any color and in different locations. The slightly smaller connector is called FDC1. It connects to the floppy drive.
Each IDE connector supports 2 devices. The first is called the “master,” the second is called the “slave.” This motherboard, therefore, can handle up to 8 hard drives or CD drives.
		This is an IDE cable. They are usually color-coded, but not always. The connector at the long end (blue here) attaches to the motherboard. The connecter at the opposite end (black here) attaches to the master IDE device. The connector in the middle (here gray) attaches to the slave device.
You are going to have to use little pieces of plastic called jumpers to tell your IDE devices whether they are masters or slaves. Most hard drives will have labels that indicate the various jumper placements.
		Here is the rear end of the hard drive. That white spot to the right is the jumper. (The connector to the left goes to the IDE cable, while the connector on the right goes to the power supply.)
A close up on the jumper shows that it is at the rightmost position. That is the correct placement for master on this drive, but every brand's drives are different.
		For example, here is the back of our DVD drive. (The IDE connector is on the right, the power connector on the left.)
We want to make this drive the slave on the same IDE cable as our hard drive. Therefore, the jumper is in the “SL” position for slave. (“MA” stands for master, and “CS” stands for cable select, which allows your device’s postion on the IDE cable to determine whether it it master or slave.)
		Place the hard drive in the appropriate bay in the case and screw it into place.
Do the same for your CD drive.
		Instert the long end of the IDE cable into the first IDE port.
Insert the other, master, end of the IDE cable into the hard drive.
		Insert the IDE cable’s center, slave, connector into the CD drive.