Ata Internal
Can any computer techs please explain the difference(s) between ATA, PATA and SATA internal Hard Disc Drives?
Are any of them compatible with each other or are they all completely different?
PATA has been the standard for about 10 years now, but is dying. PATA cables is the wide cable (40 wires) used to connect your hard drive/cd-rom to the motherboard. SATA, which is replacing PATA, uses a much narrower cable (7 wires). There are other differences as well. PATA cables are about 18 inches max, SATA about 40 inches (1 m). Voltage requirements for PATA are 5v, SATA 250 mv. Lastly, SATA is hot-swappable, PATA is not.
ATA = Advanced Technology Attachment (examples: parallel & serial ports, hard drive connections)
PATA = Parallel ATA
SATA = Serial ATA
How to Install Internal Hard Drives : How to Install Serial ATA Hard Drives
