Rerouting cd rom drive

[darkdrake]

yeah im new here and im an is technician. heres my question. is it possible to reroute an internal cdrom/dvdrom. to function outside on computer case. :shrug: im asking cause i want to take out my dvd rom and install it in my sofa so that when ever we want to change movies no one has to get up, its just touch of a button. i dont want to buy an external i just wanted to know if this is possible.

i know it sounds stupid but please humor me.

[darkdrake]

i also want to do it to impress.....

[alinosa]

you would only be able to get it as far as the ide cable. these cables can't too long.

[shellshock]

ya, the longest IDE cables ive seen is 24 inches. Id go with an external, so you can teh USB interface, which can go much longer in terms of cable length

[darkdrake]

see heres the reason.. because my dvd player im using is an xbox. meaning they have same cables as do pc i figured i would try to lengthen ide cable or convert it. i was thinking maybe converting it from ide to usb 2.0 then somehow converting it back to ide and plugging back into xbox. anyone have any ideas on this.

[whooping_a_panda]

I think what Shellshock and Alinosa are trying to say as that with any cable there is natural resistance within the wire. Lengthening the cable will increase that resistance and eventually diminish your signal to something unusable. IDE cables, the flat ribbon cable, that connects your dvd rom drive to the main board can only be so long before loosing your signal. I'm not sure how long an IDE cable can be but I'm sure someone around here does or a quick google search should yield it.

Basically you have two options out of your dilema, use a different interface that can extend longer, USB was mentioned but I dont know if that will be any better, or you may be able to come up with some sort of signal repeater box that will amplify your signal so it will be able to make the entire trip to the couch.

[JKeefe]

I'm not sure how long an IDE cable can be but I'm sure someone around here does or a quick google search should yield it.
The spec length is a max of 18 inches. There are longer cables available, probably up to 30 or 36 inches, but they violate the spec.

darkdrake, it would be far easier for you to move your XBox to the couch and extend the video cables (for which there are designed and functioning products and devices to do just that) than it would be for your to rip the drive out and attempt to lengthen and protect a cable that is not designed for abuse or long runs.

[darkdrake]

im just interested in doing it this way cause if i can figure it out i will buy another and install it in my car.

[Susquehannock]

They do make 36" IDE cables but those usually require a ground strap I believe. Still
more chance of errors.

USB2 is the way to go. :)

[Flewdefur]

im just interested in doing it this way cause if i can figure it out i will buy another and install it in my car.

What people are saying is its flat out not possible to do long runs with IDE. You begin having too much resistance in the wire causing latency's to increase and data to get corrupted.

The Only way to put a drive, CD/DVD/HD that uses an IDE interface far away is to use a USB converter (which will not work with your xbox). Then to extend for distances past the normal 10' usb cable you can use active extensions which boost the signal.

In short, you cannot extend the drive of your xbox.

[YouEatLard]

I have heard of people using 36" IDE cables without problem. Also they make an active USB extension cable that allows USB to be extended to a pretty crazy length (80' if chained). Haven't personally tried one but it may be something to try. Google "Active USB extension cable".

[orionlion82]

wait? what about SATA, and SATA 2? dont they have spec's for longer cables? im not sure... they make 5.25 CD sized multi bay things, but you gotta fill it with drives and jump through all the hoops that go with it... but ad that with a nice IR remote setup, and you could be all set.

[Mr.Guvernment]

firewire? or a wireless device of some sort.

[Flewdefur]

if you guys noticed, he is trying to extend an XBox IDE drive. this isnt a PC with sata ports and firewire and usb to use.