Use a SATA Hard Drive on an IDE Motherboard
For several years following the late 1980s, IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) technology reigned supreme in the field of storage equipment. IDE was once the hard drive standard, and further development through the years allowed IDE hard drives to handle increased capacity and speed. In the early 2000s, however, SATA technology was developed. SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) outperformed IDE's technology, with the first models transferring at speeds of 150MB per second (compared to the IDE's 133MB per second).
Despite SATA's better performance, however, some computer manufacturers still continued to produce IDE devices, due to their more affordable prices. Therefore, some desktop computers manufactured in the new millennium still have IDE-only motherboards. But due to technological advancements, it is now nonetheless possible to use a SATA hard drive on a motherboard that only supports IDE.
Instructions
1. Verify that you have enough IDE drive slots free to install another hard drive. Many computers only come with two IDE slots: one for the main hard drive and one for the CD or DVD drive. If all of your IDE slots are occupied, you will either need to: (a) sacrifice the use of one of the drives; (b) connect multiple drives on a single ribbon cable (the cable must have three connectors, rather than two); or (c) connect a PCI-adapter containing additional IDE slots.
2. Purchase an IDE-to-SATA motherboard adapter. A SATA motherboard adapter will allow you to hook up your new drive to the IDE motherboard by occupying an empty IDE slot. Some adapters will also come with a power cable and a data cable. Check the specifications prior to purchase to make sure the adapter is compatible with your CPU and OS.
3. Attach the SATA motherboard adapter to the free IDE slot. Make sure you have powered the computer down completely, removed all external cords and are wearing an anti-static wrist-strap, so as not to damage the computer.
4. Power on the computer and configure the SATA adapter, if necessary. Some computer may auto-detect the device, but for others, it may be necessary to install special software in order to make the computer recognize the adapter. This software should come packaged with your adapter.
5. Once your computer recognizes the adapter, power down your computer. Connect one end of the power cable and one end of the data cable to the SATA adapter. Connect the other ends to the SATA motherboard. Screw the drive into a free drive bay.
6. Configure the drive, as instructed in your hard drive's instruction manual. This process will vary, based upon the hard drive's manufacturer.
Tags: hard drive, motherboard adapter, SATA motherboard, cable data, cable data cable, come with