Do I need an 80-conductor cable?

[neo_74]

Hi, my pc is about 5 years old and I recently replaced my dvd burner with a Lite0n 18x DVD Writer Model: LH-18A1P186C . Since doing so I noticed a message repeatedly coming up everytime I boot my system stating "No 80 IDE Conductor cable installed". So I am assuming I only have a 40 IDE Cable. The supported transfer modes of this drive are PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2 and Ultra DMA mode 4. I checked the system manager and it is set to DMA mode 2.
Do I need to replace the cable with an 80 and if I don't what will happen?
I have yet to burn anything since installing the drive.
Thanks for your help.

[TooLFooL]

the 80 pin cable is required to run newer drives at thier maximum rated speed, but whether or not your computer is capable of supporting thier maximum speed could be another story..

[edDV]

Easiest just to use the 80pin IDE cable that came with the drive. If this was bare OEM, 80wire ribbon cables are cheap.

[redwudz]

I would replace it with a 80 conductor cable. They are inexpensive in the flat versions. I don't use 40 conductor cables for anything, even CD drives. I use mostly aftermarket round cables, so I always have lots of spare flat 80s laying around for upgrades or CD drives.

[neo_74]

Thanks guys for the quick reply. I just burnt a dvd at 8x without any issues as I don't usually ever go beyond that write speed. With that said am I doing any damage to the drive if I simply leave it at a 40 wire cable, I don't really care about achieving the max speed that the drive is capable of doing as I'll never use those speeds anyways.

DMA 2 is supported by my drive which normally uses a 40 wire cable, why is my bios suggesting an 80 wire, is the auto-detect finding Ultra DMA instead.

So basically the 80 wire is used in order to get full capabilities out of the drive?

Sorry for all the questions but I do appreciate the help.

[Richard_G]

DMA 2 is supported by my drive which normally uses a 40 wire cable, why is my bios suggesting an 80 wire, is the auto-detect finding Ultra DMA instead.

So basically the 80 wire is used in order to get full capabilities out of the drive?

It is detecting that your drive is capable of running in Ultra DMA mode 4 but can't because you are only using a 40 way cable. You won't damage the drive or the computer but you are throttling the capabilities of the drive by forcing it to run in DMA Mode 2.

[[_chef_]]

Get an 80 wire ide cable or you can easily get into trouble.

[SingSing]

You need the $10.00 80 conductor cable, or else your drive most likely will not stay in the UDMA mode 4 or higher.

[SLK001]

Your computer supports the 80 pin cable (it's obvious, since it is telling you that "you don't have any").

As has been said, they are cheap.
Get one.
Install it.
Don't look back.

[The_Doman]

]Get an 80 wire ide cable or you can easily get into trouble.

You need the $10.00 80 conductor cable, or else your drive most likely will not stay in the UDMA mode 4 or higher.

Pranks..

It will work fine with the 40 pin cable, just not at maximum (possible) speed....
And you already burned a DVD with 8x speed without problems.

[SingSing]

Er, they don't make 8x DVD burner for years. The poster has a 18x Lite-On burner.

[Nelson37]

No problems or damage using a 40-pin cable.

Bios supports it or you wouldn't get the message.

Should be able to get one for free.

[budz]

the OP only has a 900mhz cpu so he may not be able to attain the maximum spd with the LITEON 18x dvd burner he has. as mentioned the 80 wire ide cable is a must. i'd also suggest you upgrading your ram. 256mb of ram is some what little.

[[_chef_]]

]Get an 80 wire ide cable or you can easily get into trouble.

You need the $10.00 80 conductor cable, or else your drive most likely will not stay in the UDMA mode 4 or higher.

Pranks..

It will work fine with the 40 pin cable, just not at maximum (possible) speed....
And you already burned a DVD with 8x speed without problems.

As an example, you can easily sacrifice your burner when you try to flash it using that oldish cable.
I did not say that without sense...