IDE Hard Drives Explained

Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interface in actual practice refers to ATA or AT Attachment. Any drive with a built-in controller is also called an IDE. Many IDE Hard Drives are plugged into a bus connector on the motherboard. These drives are easy to install and require the smallest number of cables because the controller is on the drive itself. No doubt ATA refers to its drive, but IDE on the other hand refers to the type of interface connector i.e. 40 pin in this case. ATA Packet interface or ATAPI is an extension of IDE which permit various devices like CD ROMs to work by using the IDE norms. Through this packet interface such devices are connected directly to an IDE port, but a device driver is needed to make full use of the device, meanwhile a hard drive is originally supported by IDE without the assistance of any drivers.

IDE Hard Drives can be found with most compatible computers, each computer is equipped with a maximum of four IDE devices. If you intend to buy IDE/ATAPI/Ata Hard disk drive ensures there is available space for the drive to be connected. IDE hard drives are being used during the early Compaq 386 systems by way of WD controllers. During 1980s the ATA IDE was made as an ANSI standard, so a common design was created, but various areas were left open for different manufacturers for their own commands. Later two drives in the same system were considered as a hard nut to crack.

Because each drive has its own controller and both drives usually operate over the same bus. With the introduction of ATA, two drives were able to operate in a chain, thus, primary drive became the master and the secondary drive became the slave. IDE hard drives can be differentiated by a master or a slave with a jumper on the drive itself. While purchasing a second IDE Hard Drive you should stick with the same manufacturer to avoid unavoidable problems because of the compatibility issues involved. For example if you use Maxtor hard drive, choose a second hard drive from the same manufacturer. Sometimes, it could happen if you choose a different manufacturer’s IDE hard drive; it will not work on the same cable but will require a separate cables.

Apart from its interface, it is important to look for the transfer rate of the IDE hard drive. Long transfer rates means slower speeds of your computer while transferring larger files. While buying the IDE hard drive look for specifications like Rotations per Minute (RPM) i.e. 5,400 or 7,200 RPM. 7,200 RPM is ideal today.
Because of its older interface IDE hard drives generally carry a higher price tag like that of Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 1TB, this drive supports incredible space on a IDE interface. There are various manufacturers involved in making IDE Hard Drives like to name a few, Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba and Iogear, they come in varying sizes ranging from 250GB to a whopping 2TB.

About the Author

Sophie Milch currently manages purchasing and inventory control for Comnauts.com. Sophie keeps herself busy by making sure our inventory is filled with quality products, the latest and the greatest. Sophie holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and is frequent contributor to several technology blogs and magazines. When she’s not working; in typical nerd fashion you can catch Sophie twittering friends, beating down Murlocs in World of Warcraft and watching re-runs of the X-files.

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