I just replaced my hard drive and I replaced the IDE cable that came with it, and I examined my old one and it had some small holes that went all the way through it and the new one didn’t have holes, and today I was replacing one of my burners and I also noticed some holes in different places, should I buy a replacement ide cable or is this normal? Thanks for any help.
Welcome to the forum 
I’ve never noticed any little holes in any of my IDE cables, so from my POV - no, it’s not normal 
I know that ribbon floppy cables have “holes” where a section of the cable is actually reversed. Never seen a IDE cables this way though. Recommend replacing with round cables to promote better airflow and a more asethically pleasing case interior.
yes it is normal some do have holes, These are cable select cables
This would explain why I don’t see any on mine
I use CS in the other machine, have to take a look at the cables over Christmas…
A bit more info on them if anyone wants to read http://www.unixwiz.net/techtips/ide-cable-select.html
id personally stay away from rounded, but hey, I just didnt get as good results with my burns.
Sorry to here that. My burners (except my new Litey :a ) burn nearly flawless with TY and MCC.
Well that could explain it, all the drives in my computer were set to cs, I will take some pictures of where the holes are and post them in about 4 hours.
Best to use 80 wire cables that need no modification ans allow drives to run faster. They have dropped in price making them a better deal.
Mack
I have dozens of 80 wire cables from different sources and quite a few have a gap in the cable at some point. I have to assume this is normal as they are in a specific spot on the cable and there is no problem when using any of these cables.