Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
latch snaps into the locked position when you connect a cable to either the
motherboard or a drive. (Not all SATA cables have these latches; if you use a
cable without a latch, simply make sure it's fully seated in the socket.)
Use a permanent marker to draw a single line on each end of one cable, as
shown in Figure 7-18. Although it may be obvious when you're building the
system which cable connects which motherboard SATA port to which drive,
it will be less so with the cables bundled and dressed months later, when you
want to upgrade or replace a drive. If your system uses more than two SATA
ports, label the remaining cables as well: no lines for port 0, one line for port 1,
two lines for port 2, and so on.
Figure 7-17.
Align the main ATX power connector and press it
firmly into place
Figure 7-18.
Label both ends of one SATA cable with one stripe for
SATA port 1
Next, locate the Slimline SATA adapter in the Antec parts bundle. One end of
this adapter has a single connector that fits both the SATA power and SATA
data connectors on the slimline SATA optical drive. The other end of the adapt-
er branches into a power cable with a Molex jack that connects to a Molex plug
from the power supply board and a standard SATA data cable that connects to
a motherboard SATA port. Connect the Slimline SATA adapter SATA data cable
to motherboard SATA port 0 and one end of the standard SATA data cable to
motherboard SATA port 1, as shown in Figure 7-19.
The next step is to connect the front-panel switch and indicator cables, as
shown in Figure 7-20. Refer to section F on the diagram in Figure 7-16 for the
pinouts. Each of the front-panel switch and indicator cables is labeled descrip-
tively, e.g., “Power,” “Reset,” and “HDD LED.” Match those descriptions with the
front-panel connector pins on the motherboard to make sure you connect the
correct cables to the appropriate pins.
The power switch and reset switch connectors are unpolarized, so they may
be connected in either orientation, as long as you connect each cable to the
correct pair of pins. The HDD activity LED cable is polarized and should be con-
nected with the correct polarity. (If you get it wrong, though, the worst that
happens is that the LED fails to illuminate.)
