Installing a HDD on a A1200 standard

[EnyGmaTiK]

ok, i have a HDD cable to connect the HDD, now the questions:

1. Which cable do i need to power it up?

2. If i can't get a 2.5" drive can i get a 3.5" to fit in the case?

Thanks in advance.

PS. Great forum  :-)

[StevenJGore]

1. Which cable do i need to power it up?

2.5" hard drives get their power down the IDE cable, a separate power cable is not necessary.

2. If i can't get a 2.5" drive can i get a 3.5" to fit in the case?

Some people have managed it! Getting hold of a 2.5" hard drive is easy enough though, since they are standard on all laptops and have been for years.

Steve.

[Vincent]

With a little bit of shaving you can fit a 3.5" in.  Quite tightly.  The main problem is power - either a seperate psu with the cable leading into the side of the case (beside the Escape key is the best place) or a small cable with 2 floppy type connectors and one HD connector to replace the floppy one that's already in there.

One more thing though, the keyboard ribbon cable might get slightly damaged (the 3.5" has to sit on top of it and it gets creased) which could cause problems.  Saying that, I had a 3.5" 2.4Gb hd in my 1200 using the A1200 PSU only and got about 2 years out of it before towering the whole thing.

I would strongly recommend getting a 2.5" if you can get it cheap enough.

--Edit--

Oh, one more thing.... Welcome! :pint: :-)

[Khephren]

Iv'e had a 3.5" HDD in my A1200 since 1993, no problems at all (+it's faster, cheaper, with more storage than a 2.5")I also had a 030/50/FPU/8mb all running off my standard PSU. So you should be ok. One thing you have to do (or at least I had to) was trim the metal shielding near the drive (2.5" to 3.5" converter came with instructions for this, as I got it from an Amiga dealer, should be instructions on the web somewhere).

[EnyGmaTiK]

Thanks for the help.

Yes, i intend do buy a 2.5" HDD off e-bay, but since 3.5" are more common and easy too find, if i could stick one on the A1200 would be easier.
But in that case, i will try to get the 2.5"  :-)

[EnyGmaTiK]

Ok. I have an Ribbon cable 44 pin for the Amiga 600 or 1200.

Can i connect a 3.5" on it?

[StevenJGore]

Ok. I have an Ribbon cable 44 pin for the Amiga 600 or 1200.

Can i connect a 3.5" on it?

No. The ribbon cable for a 2.5" hard drive is 44-pin, with pins 41-44 carrying the power. The ribbon cable for a 3.5" hard drive is 40-pin and carries no power. Converters for connecting 2.5" to 3.5" and vice-versa are cheap and plentiful on eBay, and consist of a 44-pin connector on one end, and a 40-pin connector with separate 4-pin PSU-style plug on the other end (of which generally only two pins are used).

Steve.

[EnyGmaTiK]

Thanks a bunch  :-D