The adapter should be attached correctly to connect PIN 1 of IDE cable to PIN 1 of the laptop drive. Usually, IDE cables have red stripe marking pin 1. Adapter and drive have pin 1 as indicated below.

CONNET ONLY AS ON THE PICTURE. Do not connect anything to master/slave pins. Do not reverse the direction/sides of IDE cable, adapter or hard drive. Such improper connection may damage the drive's controller.

Some IDE cables have one pin blocked. This pin is not used in all cables and drives, and can be safely removed from the adapter.

Most Laptop drives will have a "slide" type attachment on the mini-IDE pin header. This attachment can safely be removed. It has the same connector as our adapters and is not permanently attached to the drive. The following picture shows such an attachment commonly used in HP and DELL laptops: