Please pay attention to the "key" on the cable connector that matches the slot of the drive. In this picture, the blue connector is used to connect the cable to the mainboard of the computer/device, while the black one is used to connect the drive. These are used for identification of the order of the drives in a paired IDE cable as well as for additional IDE settings.Incorrect cable connection can damage the connector and the drive. It also has a "key" form for correct connection of the power cable. It is used as an index for correct cable connection. Please pay attention to the small hollow in the top center. The following examples will acquaint you with what different hard drive interfaces look like: Examine the holder of the hard drive: if the back panel is covered with an enclosure, remove it and then check the back panel.If the device uses removable hard drives in special bays, simply eject the drive from the bay Open the case to access the hard drive.To identify the interface type, you should disassemble the device and examine the drive: Most modern PCs use the SATA interface for physical connection of hard drives to the computer’s system bus, while the IDE (PATA) standard may be found on older machines. Step 1: Identification of the drive interface type. Choosing the method of connection to the host computer Identification of the drive interface type The process of connecting drives includes the following steps: Improper actions may result in physical damage and permanent data loss. Note: The instructions given below assume that you have adequate skills in handling hardware.
Warning: If the hard drive shows any signs of hardware defects, please, familiarize yourself with the peculiarities of work with damaged disks. The same recommendations will also be relevant in the context of data recovery from RAID or NAS. This article provides detailed instructions on how you can extract a hard disk from the device, find out the type of interface it makes use of (newer SATA or older IDE) and offers several methods you may employ to attach properly it to another PC. In some circumstances, successful recovery of files from an internal hard disk drive is only possible when it is removed from the computer affected by data loss and connected to another working system. Ways and means of connecting drives to a computer for data recovery Ways and means of connecting drives to a computer for data recovery.