On Tue, 2006-09-26 at 08:21 +1200, Hadders wrote: > Expect that usually the mainboard is keyed usually... > and usually your ribbon has a keyed end for the board. I'd say not "usually," just "sometimes". Few of the floppy cables that I've come across are keyed. Likewise few of the 40-wire IDE cables are. Most of the 80-wire IDE cables I've come across, are. > Still, it's often easier to flick open/download the manual as they > always indicate where pin 1 is. If one has the manual. > Also there's usually a white triangle or a tiny little 1 written on > the board outline that indicates it too. Sometimes it's in the tiniest of printing, or under the edge of components, or not actually near the socket. But the usual problem is that you're trying to read what's on the motherboard when its in a dark corner of the room, with no easy way to work on it somewhere else. It's the same problem when servicing someone's television. You do half your work on your knees in a dark corner of the room. Board marking, or the lack, thereof, is an even bigger pain when it comes to other headers on the board. At least IDE cables can only be used in two directions, and only have one use (disc drives). > As for the floppy, usually when you get that in backwards the light is > always on, otherwise, the mainboard is around the wrong way. Easily > fixed. I dunno, rotating the mainboard isn't easy... ;-) Sorry, couldn't resist. The light coming on can be misleading. I've seen ones that don't do that when backwards, and I've seen properly connected ones that have stuck on for some other reason. -- (Currently running FC4, occasionally trying FC5.) Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I read messages from the public lists.
