# male 4-pin molex to female floppy adapter?



## konsole

I've been racking my mind trying to figure out what this adapter could have been used for.  Any similar to this have the 4-pin molex (non-floppy end) as female which makes sense so you can connect that end to the cable coming out of the power supply, and then the other end to the floppy drive.






So if that end was female then you could convert a 4-pin molex coming from the power supply into the floppy power connector for a floppy drive, but male to male doesnt work.  Also the male 4-pin molex end (not the floppy end) has the cables coming out of it at a 90 degree angle, so maybe that would help identify its purpose.


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## konsole

ok so you say one end is for a fan or fan controller, which end are you referring to and what would the other end attach to?

Every other cable like this that I have seen has a female connector on the larger molex connector side (non-floppy side).  Some have 3 connectors of which 1 is a floppy connector and then it has 1 male larger molex and 1 female larger molex.  The 3 ends cable makes sense as well as the 2 ends cable that has a female connection on its larger molex end, but not the one I have.

Heres some visual aid connected to a dvd drive...

I don't see the point in connecting an IDE drive or fan/controller to a floppy drive


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## Shlouski

Im not sure, but that looks a lot like a 4 pin molex to floppy disk drive power input adaptor. Not sure why its female.
Does the plastic bit on the back of the 4 pin molex come off?


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## StrangleHold

Like said, the backend of the female molex connector should have a connector. If so its used as a pass through with a floppy power connector too.


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## konsole

StrangleHold said:


> Like said, the backend of the female molex connector should have a connector. If so its used as a pass through with a floppy power connector too.



That isnt a female connector its a male connector.  Also I removed the backside and it doesnt look like its meant to be off during use.  Looks like its designed to just be a cover for an unusual angle (90 degree) connector.

Still baffled by this

My only guess is this cable isnt a power cable, but its meant to just transfer data between 2 devices.  I've had it for quite a few years and never used it, so who knows what applications it could have had way back.


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## Geoff

konsole said:


> That isnt a female connector its a male connector.  Also I removed the backside and it doesnt look like its meant to be off during use.  Looks like its designed to just be a cover for an unusual angle (90 degree) connector.
> 
> Still baffled by this
> 
> My only guess is this cable isnt a power cable, but its meant to just transfer data between 2 devices.  I've had it for quite a few years and never used it, so who knows what applications it could have had way back.


That looks like a female cable.

It's not used for data, as data doesn't pass over the power connectors.

As another poster said, generally the floppy connector is attached to a string of molex connectors coming off the power supply.


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## konsole

Whatever the "sex" is of the larger molex connector on this adapter, its the same "sex" as the connector that comes off power supplies.  You can't connect male to male or female to female, that is my point.  The only way this adapter makes sense is if the sex of the larger molex connector on it is different then the sex of the connector coming off the power supply.  Every power supply I have seen has the larger molex connectors being the same sex as this adapter.  Does that make sense now?

Every power supply larger molex connector I have seen is this sex...






but thats also the same sex of the adapter that I have.  So again male/male or female/female doesnt work.

The only way this adapter makes sense is if its this connector sex type (or power supplies use to have this connector sex type)...

It could also be that older power supplies use to have a floppy connector that was the opposite sex of the sex of the floppy connector on this adapter, which could mean this adapter is used the other way around.  Meaning power would flow from the floppy connector end to the larger molex end, and the larger molex end would then connect to whatever device needed power.


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## StrangleHold

You could use it, say if you had a molex case fan and wanted to run it off a powered motherboard header.


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## Geoff

StrangleHold said:


> You could use it, say if you had a molex case fan and wanted to run it off a powered motherboard header.


Good catch, now that you mention that it does look it's meant to run a case fan off the motherboard or a fan controller.


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## bomberboysk

WRXGuy1 said:


> Good catch, now that you mention that it does look it's meant to run a case fan off the motherboard or a fan controller.



Yeah, that's the only way I've them used, I had a fan controller a few years back that was all 3 pin outputs, and a few of those cables came as part of the included accessories.


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## konsole

bomberboysk said:


> Yeah, that's the only way I've them used, I had a fan controller a few years back that was all 3 pin outputs, and a few of those cables came as part of the included accessories.



Remember though that the adapter I have doesnt have a 3-pin connector.  One end is the regular large 4-pin molex and the other end is the smaller 4-pin floppy drive connector.  Unless a 4-pin connecter can be used on a 3-pin fan or fan controller, I still don't think we have figured it out.


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## Okedokey

It simply converts 4-pin Molex power connector into 4-pin floppy power connector used on some devices...  Unless you have really ancient gear, you don't need it.


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## konsole

Okeydokey,

We have already covered how an adapter of this type is most likely meant to convert larger 4-pin molex from the power supply, into smaller 4-pin floppy molex for the floppy drive.  However, it seems like people are simply not getting the point about how male/male or female/female doesnt work.

Guys, whether you call the larger connection on this adapter male or female, doesnt matter, what matters is its the same *SEX* connection as the connection that comes off the power supply in every power supply I have seen.  In other words this adapter probably cant connect a power supply with a floppy drive.  The 90 degree angle on the end doesnt help prove that it connects to the power supply either.  I doubt that the designer would have designed a 90 degree angle into a connection that connects to the power supply.  Angle connections like that are usually designed for the other end that connects to the device.

Most responses seem to be overlooking the point I keep pushing about the importance of the sex of a connection, where a male connection is designed to connect to a female connection and no other way will work.  If you guys want to keep making guesses go ahead, but to me it seems like we still havent figured it out, so I might as well just forget it and throw it out.


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## Geoff

konsole said:


> Okeydokey,
> 
> We have already covered how an adapter of this type is most likely meant to convert larger 4-pin molex from the power supply, into smaller 4-pin floppy molex for the floppy drive.  However, it seems like people are simply not getting the point about how male/male or female/female doesnt work.
> 
> Guys, whether you call the larger connection on this adapter male or female, doesnt matter, what matters is its the same *SEX* connection as the connection that comes off the power supply in every power supply I have seen.  In other words this adapter probably cant connect a power supply with a floppy drive.  The 90 degree angle on the end doesnt help prove that it connects to the power supply either.  I doubt that the designer would have designed a 90 degree angle into a connection that connects to the power supply.  Angle connections like that are usually designed for the other end that connects to the device.
> 
> Most responses seem to be overlooking the point I keep pushing about the importance of the sex of a connection, where a male connection is designed to connect to a female connection and no other way will work.  If you guys want to keep making guesses go ahead, but to me it seems like we still havent figured it out, so I might as well just forget it and throw it out.


Male connections have pins that stick out, just like a man.  Female connections are plugs that receive the pin, just like a woman.  It's really not that difficult.


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## johnb35

I'm gonna try and put this to rest.  Its not a standard adapter for one, as you said its the wrong sex.  Here is a situation in where it would work.  You have a molex coming off the power supply, you have a case fan that has both a male and female molex connection such as this.  

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...-cooling-fan-12v-0-15a/930148_1835844561.html

In fact I just had to replace this exact same fan in a case for a client as it quit working.  

In this case you would just plug in the adapter to the other molex.


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## Geoff

johnb35 said:


> I'm gonna try and put this to rest.  Its not a standard adapter for one, as you said its the wrong sex.  Here is a situation in where it would work.  You have a molex coming off the power supply, you have a case fan that has both a male and female molex connection such as this.
> 
> http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...-cooling-fan-12v-0-15a/930148_1835844561.html
> 
> In fact I just had to replace this exact same fan in a case for a client as it quit working.
> 
> In this case you would just plug in the adapter to the other molex.


That could work, but usually that's just a pass through so you still have an available molex connector after connecting your fan.


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## Okedokey

johnb35 said:


> I'm gonna try and put this to rest.  Its not a standard adapter for one, as you said its the wrong sex.  Here is a situation in where it would work.  You have a molex coming off the power supply, you have a case fan that has both a male and female molex connection such as this.
> 
> http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...-cooling-fan-12v-0-15a/930148_1835844561.html
> 
> In fact I just had to replace this exact same fan in a case for a client as it quit working.
> 
> In this case you would just plug in the adapter to the other molex.



Except its not a fan connector.


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## konsole

WRXGuy1 said:


> Male connections have pins that stick out, just like a man.  Female connections are plugs that receive the pin, just like a woman.  It's really not that difficult.



ok so this adapter has a female connection on the larger molex end.  Don't power supplies have all female connectors for their larger molex connectors?  So this adapter wouldnt connect straight to the power supply then.

If power supplies ever had a male connection for their larger molex or floppy power connectors, then this adapter could have converted a large molex connector from the PSU into a floppy power connector, or a floppy power connector from the PSU into a larger molex connector, but makes the 90 degree angle still a bit strange)

When I consider the 90 degree angle connector and how it orients the wires up from it in almost all setups (i.e. the device isnt installed upside down), then the only thing I think is left is for this cable to connect two devices directly.  So Its gotta be something installed just below a floppy drive, which sends or continues power to the floppy drive or some other device that uses a floppy power connector.  Either that or the manufacturer screwed up and put a female connector on this adapter by accident.

johnb35,

This wouldnt be a power continuation cable between a case fan and a floppy drive because it would occupy the case fans male connector, which leaves the case fans female connector to connect to the power supplies female connector.  Again female to female doesnt work and no power supplies I have seen have male for their larger molex.  Unless there are any case fans that have 2 larger molex connectors, to continue the power to another device, and both of the connectors are male.  Have you seen any?


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## johnb35

Do I need to take pictures of the fan I just replaced?  It has a male and and a female molex.  One side would connect to the power supply molex and the other one would accept the molex that is on that adapter you posted.  

As I said before, the adapter isn't a standard adapter.  I've seen these a lot.  I don't know why its so hard to understand.


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## StrangleHold

Basically its nothing but a pass through. The, what your calling the floppy connector is the lead end. It can connect to a powered header on the motherboard 3 or 4 pin header doesn't matter, will work on both. The other end can be connected to a fan or what ever you need to power that has a molex.

 Like said, I don't know why its so hard to understand.


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## konsole

johnb35,

Yes I know that some fans have a male and female molex connection, I use to have some that had both.  Maybe its just not clicking with me, but I'm still seeing problems with the sex type connections in your setup.  Some fans have male and female molex connections, the female connection coming off the psu would connect to the male connection coming off the fan.  Which would leave the female connection coming off the fan open to connect to the female connection on my adapter (again female/female doesnt work).  You still dont see this conflict in "sex type" connection?

Maybe If I broke down your described setup for you...

1. female molex coming off psu connects to male molex on fan
2. this leaves the female molex on the fan open
3. the open female molex on the fan would then connect to the female molex on this adapter? (no of course not)

I know your getting frustrated, but a picture of what you installed would be helpful.

What Stranglehold describes sounds possible, but even that doesnt make any design sense.  If the 4-pin floppy connector on my adapter can connect to a 3 or 4-pin header on the motherboard, then the other end of the adapter (larger molex end, which is female), could connect to the male connection on a dual molex connection fan.  However this would leave the other connection on the fan (which would be female), to connect to the female connection coming off psu?  If the female connection on the fan was left open then ok, but seems like bad design.  I don't see how a 4-pin floppy connector can connect to a 3-pin or even 4-pin header coming off the motherboard anyways.  I tried it and it didnt fit well.

If I broke down the steps of his setup also...

1. 3 or 4-pin header coming off motherboard connects to 4-pin floppy connector on this adapter (tried this and I doubt this was ever designed to connect)
2. Then the other end of the adapter (female larger molex) connects to the male molex on the fan
3. This leaves the open female molex connection on the fan to connect to the female connection on the psu, and once again female/female doesnt work.

I really really think the larger molex end was designed to connect to a drive due to its 90 degree angle wiring.  The floppy connector end could then connect to a floppy drive, but using a power cable to connect a hard/optical drive to a floppy drive doesnt make sense.  I'm thinking that older motherboards may have had a floppy connector header on them, so this cable would connect the floppy connector header on the motherboard to a hard/optical drive powering the drive.  Its a stretch I know.

I know some of you guys are getting frustrated with this.  If you are and dont feel like responding anymore don't, I know identifying this adapter isnt that big of deal.  I feel like figuring it out and don't mind a little aggravation.


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