retro games 100 wrote:

Just wondering what to do with it. On the back of the unit, there's a familiar row of 2 x 20 pins = 40 pins, with 1 pin missing […]
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Just wondering what to do with it. On the back of the unit, there's a familiar row of 2 x 20 pins = 40 pins, with 1 pin missing. It looks like an IDE connection, but it's labelled "I/O BUS". I think IDE appeared for 4x speed CD-ROMs - this one is 2x speed. Date of manufacture = August 1994.

I don't think Creative Soundblasters had a NEC CD-ROM connector. Also on the unit, there's no "master / slave" setting, just a curious looking 1 to 7 jumper pin block called "jumper block".

(Somehow I feel that if I tried it using a 40 pin IDE cable, connected to a CD-ROM controller, it just wouldn't work.)

Any comments please people? 😀

Sounds like an early ATAPI cd-rom drive made for controllers with IDE channels supporting only one device...my googling on this model told me that 😀

Amigaz wrote:

Sounds like an early ATAPI cd-rom drive made for controllers with IDE channels supporting only one device...my googling on this model told me that 😀

Hehe. Thanks. I prefer to come here for my answers. It's much better than google! 😉

The unit appears to be as dead as a dodo. When I turn on the power to the mobo, no lights come on from the CD-ROM unit, and the disc tray does not open when I press the eject button. The unit seems to have an "earth contact" at the back. Presumably the unit needs to be earthed, to prevent any shock if you touch it. At the moment, I have not got the unit earthed. Could this prevent the device from being switched on, as a kind of safety feature?

retro games 100 wrote:

The unit appears to be as dead as a dodo. When I turn on the power to the mobo, no lights come on from the CD-ROM unit, and the disc tray does not open when I press the eject button. The unit seems to have an "earth contact" at the back. Presumably the unit needs to be earthed, to prevent any shock if you touch it. At the moment, I have not got the unit earthed. Could this prevent the device from being switched on, as a kind of safety feature?

The earth connector is only needed if the unit is mounted without any direct metal to metal contact with the chassis...

Amigaz wrote:

The earth connector is only needed if the unit is mounted without any direct metal to metal contact with the chassis...

When I tested it, there was no contact with any metal (chassis) - although I was careful not to touch any of the metal on the CD-ROM unit - when I pressed its eject button, I prodded at it with a wooden ruler! But no sign of life... 🙁

although I was careful not to touch any of the metal on the CD-ROM unit - when I pressed its eject button, I prodded at it with a wooden ruler!

You don't really *need* that ground connected, since the power connector has a ground of its own... it's not like the thing will shock you if you touch it. AFAIK that extra ground lug is just intended to prevent interference.

Too bad the drive's dead, though. But, that's one of the perils of messing with 15 year old computer hardware, I guess.

retro games 100 wrote:

Amigaz wrote:

Sounds like an early ATAPI cd-rom drive made for controllers with IDE channels supporting only one device...my googling on this model told me that 😀

Hehe. Thanks. I prefer to come here for my answers. It's much better than google! 😉

Well, I see this forum as one of the biggest knowledge databases. So it is no wonder why I try to suck as much knowledge my brain can handle.