[rescue] WTB Laptop CD-ROM with MASTER/SLAVE/CSEL switch (or alternative hacks)

[md.benson at gmail.com]

Hi,

I am having a heck of a time rebuilding a Compaq Armada laptop. I got it for a song and it’s in really excellent shape. The issue is, like many it’s age, the CD-ROM drive is dying on it is dying and nothing I replace it with works, it just crashes the IDE bus.

I need to replace it with a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM with a Master/Slave/Cable Select switch. I think the IDE is configured to use Cable Select to automatically assign the CD and HDD to their required position and I can’t find any way to force a non-switchable drive into this config.

If anyone has a working drive to spare, preferably in the UK, or knows any sneaky hacks to allow me to force another drive into Cable Select, let me know. Bear in mind this is in a laptop in a caddy/carrier so there are no conventional ribbon cables to mess with.

Thanks,

Mark Benson