Simple Question - Please Help

[eopie]

I just need a simple question answered. Are there Ultra DMA/Ultra ATA IDE Ribbon Cable's that can connect 3 devices (CD-ROM Drives) to a motherboard. I've been looking around the internet, and have only found ribbon cable's with 3 connectors ( Able to connect 2 devices). I need a cable that will have 4 connectors, to connect 3 devices. Does anyone know if this is possible, if such a cable exists? Or do you know of any other way to hook up these 3 devices? Thank you for your help.

[Cricket]

Hi eopie,

Unfortunately, each IDE channel can only handle 2 devices. If you want to add more than 4 devices, you'll have to get a IDE controller card (will fit into a PCI slot) and you'll be able to add 4 more devices.

The only drawback to this is the controller card needs a free IRQ and some controller cards will only accept hard drives, not optical drives (CD-ROM, DVD, CD-RW). But I understand some of the newer IDE controller cards can handle optical drives now. Check the manufacturer's website to be sure.

Cricket