[SPARCbook] Off Topic, Assistance with Laptop Drive conversion

[Michael Lorenz]

Greetings !

> Anyway, since the G4 uses IDE drives with the standard connectors,
> and the PowerBook uses IDE drives in a 2.5 inch form factor, I was
> wondering if there exists a 2.5" -> 3.5" converter, or if anyone
> could recommend any other solution for attaching the PowerBook drive
> to the new machine.
Well, there is a solution - I did the opposite in an Amiga that used to
have a 2.5" IDE port inside and I attached a 3.5" drive by ripping a
2.5" cable. What you want to know is this: The 44pin 2.5" IDE cable uses
exactly the same pinout as the 40pin 3.5" cable, plus the additional 4
power lines. From left to right the pin assignment is the same, the
piwer connector on the right side of a 3.5" drive maps to the rightmost
4 wires on the 2.5" drive. With this you should be able to make your own
cable ( *very* error prone, but the worst that happened to me was an
inaccessible harddrive, no damage ). Adapter cables should be available
cheaply, when you have one of these die-hard Amiga shops in your area
this may be a place to ask for it.

bye
Michael