Patent ID: 7003608

Claim:
A modified IDE cable for causing an IDE device set to cable select mode to automatically configure itself appropriately as either a master or a slave device regardless of said IDE device's location on said modified IDE cable, said cable comprising: said IDE device including a cable select pin wherein said IDE device utilizes a value of said cable select pin to determine whether said IDE device should configure itself as either a master or a slave, further wherein said IDE device is a master when said value of said cable select pin is a master value and said IDE device is a slave when said value of said cable select pin is a slave value; a middle connector including a first ground pin coupled to an input of an inverter and a first cable select pin for coupling said middle connector to a cable select wire; a host connector for coupling to a host controller, said host connector including a second ground pin for coupling said host connector to a first ground wire, and a second cable select pin for coupling said host connector to said cable select wire; and an end connector including a third ground pin for coupling said end connector to said first ground wire, wherein said first ground pin is isolated from said second ground pin and from said third ground pin, said end connector further including a third cable select pin coupled to an output of said inverter, wherein said third cable select pin is isolated from said cable select wire, wherein said first cable select pin is a master value and said inverter pulls said third cable select pin to said slave value when said IDE device is coupled to said middle connector; and wherein said inverter pulls said third cable select pin to said master value when said IDE device is coupled to said end connector wherein no IDE device is coupled to said middle connector.