Computer guys...PC motherboard question
 

Since I am the family computer geek, it has fallen to me to try and resurrect my father in law's PC. No big deal, he wanted to put it together to have for the grandkids to play on. He has another which he uses for his work.

Anyhow, the thing has a bad IDE connector. There are only two on the board. So, you can either plug in the hard drive or the CD ROM, but not both. I pulled the motherboard out and was planning on just buying a cheap replacement off the net.

Here's the kicker. The damn thing is a Dell. So of course it is a funky mobo with non-standard connections. The computer in question is a Dell Dimension 4550. It has a P4 2.5 ghz processor on it. I have read that Dell also uses non-standard power connections and such so you can't use the power supply unless you buy another Dell mobo. Of course their replacement sells for $120, which is ridiculous.

Any ideas? I guess I could just buy a new case and mobo and start from scratch...problem is I'd have to buy a heat sink too.

I put an Intel MB in a Dell case. I think I lost the front USB and sound connection. You can get everything else to work.

Can you post a photo of the power supply connectors?

I don't know your specific machine, but yes, Dell mobos tend to be non standard, along with their cases. Processor, memory, and HD are all usable, but chances are you will need a new case, mobo, and possibly a power supply. Given how cheap one can get a new PC these days, not sure its worth your time.

Power supply connections are standard.

Does not compute: a single IDE channel is capable of supporting two drives and you can mix Hard Drive and CD-ROM on one channel. You just need an IDE cable with two connectors - few $ - and make sure the jumper on the back of the CD-ROM is set to slave. The Hard Drive should already be set to Master but check that also.

Might notice a bit of a performance hit if it's trying to access both drives but it will work.

Why not buy a pci IDE card and run the hard drive off it? Do they still sell those ? I'm on my BB, otherwise I would look it up.

Bonkers is right in trying to connect both to one channel.

In old/IDE cable, there usually 2 connectors, one can be for HD and one can be for the CD/DVD. If this cable doesn't have both, maybe a visit to a computer store for a cable?

Yes, 2 drives on an IDE port, 1 master and 1 slave. Or lose the internal CD, and plug in an external DVD through the USB.

+1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150410%201193212 548&name=IDE

Promaise sells cards to add hard drives, check on eBay. Promise Ultra100TX2, I believe...

There's no reason to spend money until he tries to hook the HD and optical drive to the second channel.