Re: Question: EMI Shielding for IDE cables

From: tempus fugit (toccata_at_no.spam.ciaccess.com)
Date: 08/19/04 

Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 22:48:13 -0700

I think the 80 connector (but still 40 pin) IDE cables are already shielded,
arent they (that's the extra 40 connectors)?

"blue" <user@host.com> wrote in message
news:ErUUc.1159$v34.923@news04.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com...
> (Long story)
> I am having problems with hard drive data corruption.
> I have recently rebuilt some of my computers in rackmount casings. After
> running them for a few weeks, I noticed that all of my files were becoming
> corrupted. I have 4 x 160GB + 4 x 120GB hard drives where this is becoming
a
> problem. 2 of the drives lost their partition tables and became completely
> useless.
> I made valiant efforts to recover and preserve my data, but I have
basically
> given up.
>
> After much investigation, I suspect the cause for these problems to be
> related to my IDE cables.
> 1. With the chassis layout, the power supply is located at the front of
the
> case, leaving an AC power cable running directly under the hard drive bays
> and the ide cables.
> 2. The rack itself houses 6 computers, 2 UPS, 2 power bars, and about
10-15
> other devices (modems, switches, etc), so I expect that there is quite a
bit
> of interference here.
> 3. I am using flat ribbon 24" and 36" IDE cables, because shorter cables
> will not reach from the drive bays to the ide controller connectors.
> 4. All drives are running ATA100
>
> When doing data recovery, I removed the drives from the cages and ran
short,
> <18" ribbon cables. This seemed to greatly reduce the incidence of new
data
> corruption.
>
> I have recovered whatever I could from the drives. They are now all
freshly
> formatted and repartitioned. Because of the problems I have had, I am
afraid
> to use them for anything.
>
> I truly do believe that the IDE cables are my problem. I ordered a bunch
of
> rounded 36" ide cables, but when I got them, I realized they have no
> shielding at all (I thought the point of rounding a cable was to put a
> shielding around it!).
>
> I expect that shielding these cables may help fix my problems. I am
looking
> for any advice on doing this. I initially thought I'd just get some
aluminum
> muffler tape from the auto parts store, and wrap the cables, but I'm not
too
> sure.
> - Do I need to put a ground wire onto the shield? I think it would make
> sense to have a drain on one end of the shield and attach it to the
chassis
> - Should I put one of those ferrite clamp shields on the ide cables?
> - Should I put one of those ferrite clamp shields on the internal AC power
> cable?
>
> I also think it would be smart to wrap any shielding in an insulating
> material, like electrical tape or something. But when electrical tape
heats
> up, the adhesive makes everything gooey. I don't know if I can fit heat
> shrink tubing over the connectors. Any other ideas?
>
> Thanks for making it to the end of this long email!
> Keith
> creekchubbAThotmailDOTcom (replace AT with @, and DOT with .)
>
>

Relevant Pages

  • Question: EMI Shielding for IDE cables
    ... related to my IDE cables. ... All drives are running ATA100 ... shielding around it!). ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)
  • Re: Having hard time retrieving Laptop hard drive data
    ... interface instead of USB. ... Get a 2.5" to 3.5" ide cable adapter and try ... < USB external adapters are fine for drives that work ok and don't have ... female IDE cables have one of the pins in the middle blocked. ...
    (comp.sys.laptops)
  • Re: Having hard time retrieving Laptop hard drive data
    ... But, no, with the pin present, the female PC IDE cable automatically ... So if the male adapter plugs in to the female IDE cable then you broke ... If there were other drives on the secondary channel, ... female IDE cables have one of the pins in the middle blocked. ...
    (comp.sys.laptops)
  • Re: Having hard time retrieving Laptop hard drive data
    ... But, no, with the pin present, the female PC IDE cable automatically ... So if the male adapter plugs in to the female IDE cable then you broke ... If there were other drives on the secondary channel, ... female IDE cables have one of the pins in the middle blocked. ...
    (comp.sys.laptops)
  • Re: Having hard time retrieving Laptop hard drive data
    ... It creates a drive for the hard drive whether in the USB adapter or on ... But, no, with the pin present, the female PC IDE cable automatically ... If there were other drives on the secondary channel, ... female IDE cables have one of the pins in the middle blocked. ...
    (comp.sys.laptops)