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Perfect A + B HD Cable Solution
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Posted by: Craftsman

I have just upgraded my first TiVo. My new series 2 TiVo standalone now has 2 drives; a 60Gb A drive + 120Gb B drive

I believe that I have an excellent way of folding the dual HD cable.

I have read here of people having to split their HD cables. This is not necessary at all.

Here is how it goes:

OK. So you have 2 drives.
You put the A drive opposite the power supply.
You put the B drive in the middle.
You get a 24 inch long UDMA 100/66 80 conductor cable.
REPEAT, 24 INCH cable.
You want as much length as possible between the Master + Slave connectors.
And get a HD power 'Y' cable splitter too. Mine were 8" long; you can use shorter.
You run your cable from the motherboard like usual.
The blue end goes to the MB IDE connector. If it's not blue, it is the end FURTHEST from the middle connector.

First this tidbit.

These cables use 30 AWG wire. If you bend it 180 degrees flat, and then straighten it, 1 time, it has just lost at least 60 % of it's strength!
So don't SMASH it flat,fold it GENTLY, and don't put the cover back on until you test your TiVo. TWICE; see below.

OK, here we go.

You plug the middle Slave connector into your B drive.

This is the trick part. I promise I will try to explain it as well as I can.

ALL OF THIS IS DONE ALLOWING THE CABLE TO ORIENT/TWIST ITSELF WITHOUT FORCING IT TOO MUCH.

Hold the end connector in your hand.
Now, if you are looking at your TiVo from the left, the A drive side, you roll up the cable counterclockwise and make a spiral out of it about 3/4" in diameter.

Like if you were wrapping the cable around a broomstick handle.
BUT, at an angle, so it spirals towards the A drive.

You roll it 1 1/2 TURNS / TWISTS.

As you roll it up, you keep pulling the end connector towards your A drive.

The closer you get to the A drive, the smaller in diameter YOU HAVE TO ALLOW THE CABLE TO FORM ITSELF.

Plug the Master end connector into your A drive.

Install the HD power 'Y' cable splitter of course, but don't connect it to the drives until the cable has been rolled but not folded (test between steps).

DON'T FORGET TO PLUG THE FAN CONNECTOR BACK IN !

Test TiVo. Unplug TiVo. Let drives spin down.

Gently fold the cable flat on top of the hard drives.

The rest of the cable gets stuffed/folded into the space between the front faceplate, and the drive frame.

Test your TiVo again now that the cable was folded / moved / touched.

Unplug TiVo. Let drives spin down. Put the cover back on.

ENJOY tIvO.

I hopes this makes someones installation easier, it worked for me.