Corvalent Gator Mini-ITX, Installation Manual

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Chapter 1: Pre-Configuration
Installing Peripheral Cables
Now it is a good time to install the internal peripherals such as floppy and hard disk drives. Do not connect the
power cable to these peripherals, as it is easier to attach the bulky ribbon cables before the smaller power
connectors. If you are installing more than one IDE drive double check your master/slave jumpers on the drives.
Review the information supplied with your drive for more information on this subject.
Most modern HDDs are UDMA-5 capable. To make use of the Ultra DMA-5 capabilities, 80-conductor cables must
be used. The BIOS and the HDD will check for the existence of the 80-conductor cable. The long leg of the cable
must be connected to the board; otherwise it won’t work as an 80-conductor cable. If connecting another peripheral
that is not UDMA-5 capable (most optical devices are not), the whole IDE channel will be downgraded to UDMA-2.
In that case, it is recommended to use a different IDE channel for the non-UDMA-5 capable peripherals.
Connect the floppy cable (not included) to the system board. Finally, connect the IDE cable (not included) to the
system. If using a Solid State Device, connect it to the mini-ATA connector. Connect all interface cables to their
headers. Then connect remaining ends of the ribbon cable to the appropriate peripherals.
This concludes the hardware installation of your Gator Mini-ITX system. Now it is a good time to re-check all of the
cable connections to make sure they are correct.
Figure 1-2 Location of Connectors on the Back Panel
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