The Friendliest Computer Club in Ventura County Since 1986
SATA to IDE
This is a reprint from the February 2006 issue of TOE (The Outer Edge)
By Jim Thornton
Recently I wanted to have two different operating systems on my computer so that it would be easy to identify if there were any differences in the way a program behaved with Windows XP as compared to Windows Me (the last version of the Windows 95/98 series). Since my current computer was a Pentium 4 running Windows XP, the simplest solution would be to install the Windows Me hard drive from my old Pentium III computer. Upon opening up my Pentium 4 computer, I discovered that there was a new standard for hard drives. The hard drives that I was familiar with ever since the earliest versions of Windows were the IDE (Intelligent or Integrated Drive Electronics) versions with their flat 40-pin ribbon data cables. But in my Pentium 4 computer, its hard drive is the newer SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) and its data cable was much smaller and round as it has fewer wires.
The SATA drive is an improvement over the existing IDE and similar drives as its transfer speeds begin at 150 MBps (M = Mega or one million + Bps = Bytes per second), which is sufficiently greater than the IDE drives. In addition, the SATA data cable being smaller and round greatly improves the internal cooling of the computer because of its improved airflow and makes it easier to install over the larger flat 2 1/2-inch wide IDE ribbon cable. My XP computer has four SATA connectors on its motherboard as well as one IDE connector. But the two connectors on its IDE cable were already in use serving my CD and DVD drives. The only apparent solution was to buy a new SATA drive and install Windows Me on it or use Norton's Partition Magic and partition (divide) my original single XP hard drive into two hard drives -
one for Windows XP and the other for Windows Me. But wait, there is another option - buy a SATA to IDE converter.
Searching on the Internet, I quickly discovered at least six different manufacturers of the SATA to IDE converters - four months later, I found similar converters in the local Fry's Electronic store. All of the converters are very small and fit onto the 40-pin socket on the rear of the IDE hard drive. What was strange was that less than half (40 percent) of them camwith the needed SATA cable that connects the SATA converter to the motherboard. Also, SATA cable serves only a single drive in contrast to the IDE cable, which serves two - a master and slave dependent on which cable connector you plug the device into and how you have the jumpers on the device configured. The next unusual thing was that just over half (60 percent) of the converters came with an extra internal power cable. The cable is needed as some of the converters required electrical power, and the easiest way is to use an internal power splitter cable that's basically in the shape of the letter Y. Several converters required the smaller mini 4-pin power connector like the one on your floppy drive, as the converter is so small instead of the larger Molex connecter. The price range was $20-29. with $23 being the average price. These converters are effectively Plug-and-Play and require no addition or special software.
These converters are not reversible - a SATA to IDE converter may not be substituted for an IDE to SATA converter. SATA to IDE converters are used for connecting the newer SATA motherboard to an older IDE device, and IDE to SATA converters are for the reverse - for installing the new SATA devices into a computer with the older IDE motherboard. The average price for the IDE to SATA converters is about $17 higher, or $40.
There are also SATA to IDE and the IDE to SATA printed circuit cards for mounting in an empty PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot in your computer. IDE data cables are now available with a round cable instead of a flat one, which again provides better airflow, and they are available in colors - blue, yellow, etc. - to identify which cable from the motherboard serves which devices. There is a new standard for the power cable connectors to the SATA devices, and adapters are available to convert the old standard into the new.
I've tested the SATA to IDE converter both on my IDE CD drive and on my IDE hard drive to my Intel SATA motherboard without any problems and have recommended the converters to family members as well as friends and fellow club members
