From: address@is.invalid   
      
   Paul,   
      
   > You *can* hot plug a ribbon cable drive.   
   >   
   > You need the right kind of housing with the   
   > right kind of connectors on either side,   
      
   :-) You know that, I know that.   
      
   > But, by means of redesigning the connectors that mate between   
   > the housing that slides in and out, and the tray it rests in, it   
   > can be made hot-plug compatible.   
      
   Making sure ground comes first is one part of the equation.  Having   
   electronics which could withstand the (minimal?) surges that came with   
   inserting/extracting while powered is another.   
      
   > I had *absolutely no interest* in testing this, and did   
   > not buy samples of the housing as a result :-)   
      
   For a while (long ago) I had several operating systems on seperate drives in   
   trays.  Though in this case (changing the OS) I always powered-down first.   
      
   Regards,   
   Rudy Wieser   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)