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There are a few variations on IDE controllers,
commonly known as ATA. ATA refers to "Advanced Technology
Attachment" which was invented by IBM and uses a
second controller that is integrated into the hard drive. This second
controller allows for larger and faster data transfers. In recent
years ATA-3 and ATA-4 have increased the performance making it feasible
to use them in digital audio workstations. If you are not sure which
type of hard drive controller you computer has you should check
your motherboard and hard drive manual. It will tell the exact type
of controller it is using.
Protocols
There are a number of different types
of ATA drive protocols available:
ATA-1
The original hard drive controller and is
normally referred to as IDE.
ATA-2
Normally referred to as FAST ATA or Enhanced
IDE (EIDE). EIDE was originally introduced by Western Digital and
used a new BIOS that allowed hard drives to store more than 504
MB. At the same time Quantum and Seagate introduced Fast ATA. Fast
ATA allowed for faster transfer times, supported drives larger than
504 MB, allowed up to four drives to be connected and implemented
CD-Rom and Tape Support.
ATA-3
ATA-3 built on the success of ATA-2 but it
did not improve performance. Normally ATA-3 is referred to as EIDE
or Fast ATA.
ATA-4
ATA-4 is also known as Ultra ATA or Ultra
DMA and includes ATAPI 4 protocol. ATAPI "AT Attachment
with Packet Interface" is a protocol that allows CD-ROM
and Tape drives the ability to share the ATA Bus with any ATA hard
drive. ATA-4 is a commonly found in most PC’s today.
ATA-5
ATA-5 is a proposed protocol that is currently
in the works. It will support up to 66 MB a second in burst mode.
It also enhances reliability though internal correction algorithms.
There will be a new UDMA 80 wire cable requirement; so new motherboards
will have to support ATA-5.
Apple-ATA
Most Macintosh computers including G3’s
and G4’s implement IDE, EIDE or UDMA protocols. Any standard
PC hard drive can be used in a Mac, it just needs to be formatted.
Make sure you check your Mac to see which type of hard drive controller
it uses.
Throughput
Since the introduction of these drives specifications
they have increased the throughput of these ATA standards.
ATA/66
ATA/66 can be of any drive protocol but allows
a maximum bust rate of up to 66MB a second. To implement ATA/66
your motherboard and your hard drive must support ATA/66
ATA/100
ATA/100 just like ATA/66 can be of any drive
protocol but can burst up to a maximum of 100MB a second. To implement
ATA/100 your motherboard and your hard drive must support ATA/100.
There are third party PCI cards available that you can install on
your computer that will allow you to run ATA/100 drives on your
computer. These are very similar to SCSI cards and can also be used
in Macs
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