Can IDE port for DVD's be used with hard drive?

[need2sleep]

I have an IDE drive with ribbon cable. I wish to pull data off of it in anticipation of moving to a SATA drive. My newer target machine does not have a dedicated IDE ribbon port for a hard drive, but it still has IDE ribbons that attach to DVD writers and CD/ROM readers. Can I temporarily connect an IDE hard drive to one of these instead? Would it boot from this drive? Or would I just be able to read from it, after it booted from another device? Can I use the DVD reader on the same line with the hard drive, as there are generally two connectors to play with? Would I be able to boot from a DVD or CD and then connect to the hard drive?

Thanks,

 

[corroded]

yes, you can use the same IDE cable that is on the DVD to access a HD. Just make sure the drive is in "Cable Select" mode before you plug it in.

 

[need2sleep]

yes, you can use the same IDE cable that is on the DVD to access a HD. Just make sure the drive is in "Cable Select" mode before you plug it in.

Perfect! Thank you. I'll give it a try.