I just went the IDE-CF adapter route myself. I used a 266x 16GB Kingston card.

Boot time from chime to loaded desktop went from 1:45 to 1:15. It also feels a lot faster, directory listings show quicker, etc. I'm not sure what to benchmark it with, ideas?

I bent that pin 90 degrees away from the connector and have never had an issue with it.

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I had to do that also.