Please Help: Unable to Install new DVD Burner

So I just bought a brand new dvd burner without checking if my computer could use it. So I opened up my computer and took out one of my two dvd drives and found out that they were connected only by a sata power and sata data cable. (No IDE cable) The new dvd burner has a slot for an IDE cable and some other slots very different from my old dvd drives. I found a suitable power cable for the new burner but I could not get my IDE coord which I later found was attached to some card beneath my optical drives. I don't think it even has a slave, only a master which is connected to that card. I tried taking the master IDE cable out, but it was cramped in a small place and very hard to take it. So do I need to buy another IDE cable or is it safe to try to take off the IDE cable already connected to something else?

I forcibly took out the IDE cable attached to the card, which I still have no idea what it is and found out that it is not the right type of IDE cable that is needed for the DVD burner and now I can't even attach it back to where I found it. So I guess I don't even have an IDE that fits...

If you bought IDE drive it will need 80 wire cable. it is the same connector as old IDE, but cable has extra grounding wires which will make it 80 wire.
Main IDE connector is usually part of the mother board, unless you bought some extra IDE card.
I think you better check the motherboard manual to see what you can plug in.

I'm not sure what your talking about..I did not buy an IDE drive, I bought a dvd drive that requires an IDE cable. I do not have the IDE cable and the one I was talking about that is connected to the motherboard isn't the right IDE cable.

Ok, that computer won't even turn on now... I'm using my laptop. Must've been because of the IDE.

There are usually two types of DVD drive. One that require IDE connection and one that need SATA connection.
IDE is a normally flat cable about 2" wide so is the plug, where SATA is thin rectangular cable about 1/4" wide.
You cannot mix connectors because they a totally different.
You better check what you bought.
If you have IDE type DVD drive, than you need 80 wire IDE connecting cable.
Power plug is also different from SATA.

As CD said, you either have a dvd drive with a SATA interface or an IDE (also known as PATA) interface.

All IDE cables have 40 pin connectors.
The older variety cables (almost extinct , I suspect) are 40 wire/40 pin.
The newer version IDE cables are 80 wire/40 pin.

Here are IDE descriptions and pics:
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/id...Cable80-c.html

And here's some info and pics re: SATA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA