terminal block for installation of internal zip drive

hello everyone =)

i am about to install an ide iomega 100mb zip drive into my MPC2000XL. i have read the tutorial about the process on this site. i understand that there are two cables that need to be connected to the zip drive, the ide connector cable and the ide power cable.

why is the terminal block required? why cant you simply use a new ide power cable connecting from the motherboard socket to the internal zip drive (without having to cut the existing ide cable, using a terminal block and connecting new cables to the internal zip drive end).

also, why cant you use the ide connector cable for the floppy drive on the zip drive, ie unplug from floppy drive end and plugin to zip drive? why do you need to use a new cable?

is there a clearer tutorial anywhere? one that explains why you have to do the steps above?

what does the akai internal zip kit involve? what connectors/converters do they use? is it possible to buy the converter kit without the zip drive?

would a computer shop know how to do this conversion? is it a general conversion for zip drives?

any help would be greatly appreciated.

you cannot use a standard IDE cable 'as is' because the power connector inside the MPC is not compatible with the type of connector that comes with a standard IDE cable and to my knowledge, the type of connector used in the MPC is not easily available anywhere.

Hence the only real option is to take the MPC power cable, chop off the connector and join it to an IDE cable.

If you open up the MPC you'll see what I mean.

I've had to do this several times with internal ZIPS also. Had to pull a McGyver AND a Jedi mind trick to make it work right.

there are several posts about this and they will answer your questions. You could try Radio Shack for the Terminal Block