E-7
WHEN USING A PRIMARY IDE CONTROLLER
Most PCs provide one IDE cable to support two devices (one for hard disk, the other for a
second hard disk or a DVD-ROM drive). This IDE cable originates either on the motherboard
or on a controller card. This controller is termed the primary IDE controller, and the hard disk
attached that contains the operating system for boot-up is set up as the Primary Master. Your
DVD-ROM drive should be set to the Slave mode.
Hard Disk Controller Card
(This card may be a connector on the Motherboard)
Primary IDE Channel
IDE cable
Primary Slave
(Hard Disk or
DVD-ROM Drive)
Primary Master
(Hard Disk for
Boot-up)
Card Slot
Motherboard
Figure 4. Primary Controller system Configuration
