IDE cable length?

i was wondering.. last i heread the max PATA IDE cable length on a HDD is 60cm...
them some other guys told me its 45cm... and round cables 30cm...

i bought 2x60cm, is there a way to test if its to long... so i dont wake up with data corruption

tx

IDE Cable length should be no longer than 18", 45cm. This is part of the IDE specification.

so between a 45 and a 60cm cable... there could be data corruption? or is the speed influenced too?

I hade cables 3 feet long for 2 years ,,,,Dont worry about an ince or 2 out of spec

hey i have a Q:
what is with 80 pin ide cables??
and 40 pin ide cables???
when i got my asus mobo the HD ide cable had so many small wires but the ide for the drives was like 40pin it had 1/2 the wires.....
so i never thought about this untill i just now and i have these Antec cobra cables but there was only one type for drives and one type for floppy so whats with this??

EDIT i found what i wanted finally sorry i had to bug this thread..
http://www.dvhardware.net/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=31

Heres a good story about IDE cable lengths...