[cctalk] Re: ATA-3 50-pin IDE

Picture is on the VCF discussion here: 50-pin ATA to 44-pin ATA conversion options | Vintage Computer Federation Forums (vcfed.org) < https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/50-pin-ata-to-44-pin-ata-conversi… https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/50-pin-ata-to-44-pin-ata-conversi… I could be wrong, maybe it is a SCSI interface. On Sun, Mar 26, 2023 at 3:22 PM Wayne S via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: > Can you post a picture somewhere? > Sent from my iPhone > > On Mar 26, 2023, at 13:20, Paul Berger via cctalk < cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; > wrote: > > > I have seen lots of laptop drives that would fit a 50 pin connector > that is about 2mm pitch Looking at the back of the drive from the left > there are 44 pins in a group then 2 pins missing and the remaining 4 are > for selecting master and slave. > > > Paul. > > >> On 2023-03-26 4:33 p.m., Steve Lewis via cctalk wrote: > >> Is anyone familiar with the 50-pin IDE interface, which I think is > called > >> ATA-3? It is from around 1997-2002. Normally IDE is 40-pin, or in > >> laptops might be a 44-pin. > >> > >> But in a COMPAQ Presario 1220, I've come across its hard drive that is > >> using this 50-pin interface (two rows of 25-pin that are quite > >> small/tightly spaced - moreso than even PCMCIA). > >> > >> I believe it is different (electrically) than the 1.8" 50-pin > interface. I > >> ordered a CF-to-50-pin adapter that is intended for those 1.8" drives, > and > >> it won't work on this ATA-2 port (system won't boot with it inserted). > >> However, all my CF cards are larger than 2GB - so I'm not sure if that > was > >> the issue (don't think so, I think even with 8GB or larger it would > still > >> at least try to boot). > >> > >> > >> The 2GB drive in this Presario (with the "weird' 50-pin IDE) contains > >> Windows ME and Office 2000. That's cute, but I'm not so interested in > that > >> - I was hoping to image that drive for archive, then install something > else > >> (OS2). But I can't find any "ATA-3 to normal 40-pin IDE" adapter. > >> > >> I think the "6 extra pins" on this 50-pin (relative to normal 44-pin > laptop > >> drives of those days) -- 2 of those pins (5-6) aren't used (maybe a > kind of > >> key) and the 4 others (1-4) are vendor specific. So I may just be out > of > >> luck here in upgrading or replacing this drive with a more modern > >> solution. But wanted to run it by the crew here before giving up. > >> > >> Thanks, > >> > >> -Steve / v*