Esata hdd connection. Differences in connecting IDE and SATA hard drives. Connecting a hard drive via SATA interface

A hard drive is a simple and small “box” in appearance that stores huge amounts of information in the computer of any modern user.

This is exactly what it seems like from the outside: a fairly uncomplicated little thing. Rarely does anyone, when recording, deleting, copying and other actions with files of varying importance, think about the principle of interaction between the hard drive and the computer. And to be even more precise - directly with the motherboard itself.

How these components are connected into a single uninterrupted operation, how the hard drive itself is designed, what connection connectors it has and what each of them is intended for - this is key information about the data storage device that is familiar to everyone.

HDD interface

This is the term that can correctly be used to describe interaction with the motherboard. The word itself has a much broader meaning. For example, the program interface. In this case, we mean the part that provides a way for a person to interact with the software (convenient “friendly” design).

However, there is discord. In the case of the HDD and motherboard, it does not present a pleasant graphic design for the user, but a set of special lines and data transfer protocols. These components are connected to each other using a cable - a cable with inputs at both ends. They are designed to connect to ports on the hard drive and motherboard.

In other words, the entire interface on these devices is two cables. One is connected to the power connector of the hard drive at one end and to the computer’s power supply itself at the other. And the second of the cables connects the HDD to the motherboard.

How a hard drive was connected in the old days - the IDE connector and other relics of the past

The very beginning, after which more advanced HDD interfaces appear. Ancient by today's standards, it appeared on the market around the 80s of the last century. IDE literally means “embedded controller”.

Being a parallel data interface, it is also commonly called ATA - However, as soon as the new SATA technology appeared over time and gained enormous popularity in the market, the standard ATA was renamed PATA (Parallel ATA) to avoid confusion.

Extremely slow and completely raw in its technical capabilities, this interface during the years of its popularity could transfer from 100 to 133 megabytes per second. And then only in theory, because in real practice these indicators were even more modest. Of course, newer interfaces and hard drive connectors will show a noticeable lag between the IDE and modern developments.

Do you think we shouldn’t downplay the attractive sides? Older generations probably remember that the technical capabilities of PATA made it possible to service two HDDs at once using only one cable connected to the motherboard. But the line capacity in this case was similarly distributed in half. And this is not to mention the width of the wire, which somehow, due to its dimensions, impedes the flow of fresh air from the fans in the system unit.

By now, the IDE is naturally outdated, both physically and morally. And if until recently this connector was found on motherboards in the low and middle price segments, now the manufacturers themselves do not see any prospects in it.

Everyone's favorite SATA

For a long time, IDE became the most popular interface for working with information storage devices. But data transmission and processing technologies did not stagnate for long, soon offering a conceptually new solution. Now it can be found in almost any owner of a personal computer. And its name is SATA (Serial ATA).

Distinctive features of this interface are parallel low power consumption (compared to IDE), less heating of components. Throughout the history of its popularity, SATA has undergone development in three stages of revisions:

  1. SATA I - 150 Mb/s.
  2. SATA II - 300 MB/s.
  3. SATA III - 600 MB/s.

A couple of updates were also developed for the third revision:

  • 3.1 - more advanced throughput, but still limited to a limit of 600 MB/s.
  • 3.2 with the SATA Express specification - a successfully implemented merger of SATA and PCI-Express devices, which made it possible to increase the read/write speed of the interface to 1969 MB/s. Roughly speaking, the technology is an “adapter” that converts the normal SATA mode to a higher speed one, which is what the PCI connector lines have.

The real indicators, of course, clearly differed from the officially announced ones. First of all, this is due to the excess bandwidth of the interface - for many modern drives the same 600 MB/s is unnecessary, since they were not originally designed to operate at such read/write speeds. Only over time, when the market gradually becomes filled with high-speed drives with operating speeds that are incredible for today, will the technical potential of SATA be fully utilized.

Finally, many physical aspects have been improved. SATA is designed to use longer cables (1 meter versus 46 centimeters that were used to connect hard drives with an IDE connector) with a much more compact size and pleasant appearance. Support for “hot-swap” HDDs is provided - you can connect/disconnect them without turning off the computer’s power (however, you still need to first activate the AHCI mode in the BIOS).

The convenience of connecting the cable to the connectors has also increased. Moreover, all versions of the interface are backward compatible with each other (a SATA III hard drive connects without problems to II on the motherboard, SATA I to SATA II, etc.). The only caveat is that the maximum speed of working with data will be limited by the “oldest” link.

Owners of old devices will also not be left out - existing PATA to SATA adapters will often save you from the more expensive purchase of a modern HDD or a new motherboard.

External SATA

But a standard hard drive is not always suitable for the user’s tasks. There is a need to store large volumes of data that require use in different places and, accordingly, transportation. For such cases, when you have to work with one drive not only at home, external hard drives have been developed. Due to the specifics of their device, they require a completely different connection interface.

This is another type of SATA, created for external hard drive connectors, with the external prefix. Physically, this interface is not compatible with standard SATA ports, but it has similar throughput.

There is support for hot-swap HDD, and the length of the cable itself has been increased to two meters.

In its original form, eSATA only allows for the exchange of information, without supplying the necessary electricity to the corresponding connector of the external hard drive. This drawback, which eliminates the need to use two cables at once for connection, was corrected with the advent of the Power eSATA modification, combining eSATA technologies (responsible for data transfer) with USB (responsible for power).

Universal Serial Bus

In fact, having become the most common serial interface standard for connecting digital equipment, Universal Serial Bus is known to everyone these days.

Having endured a long history of constant major changes, USB stands for high data transfer speeds, power for an unprecedented variety of peripheral devices, and ease and convenience for everyday use.

Developed by companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Phillips and US Robotics, the interface became the embodiment of several technical aspirations:

  • Expanding the functionality of computers. Standard peripherals before the advent of USB were quite limited in variety and each type required a separate port (PS/2, port for connecting a joystick, SCSI, etc.). With the advent of USB, it was thought that it would become a single universal replacement, significantly simplifying the interaction of devices with a computer. Moreover, this development, new for its time, was also supposed to stimulate the emergence of non-traditional peripheral devices.
  • Provide connection of mobile phones to computers. The widespread trend in those years for the transition of mobile networks to digital voice transmission revealed that none of the interfaces developed then could provide data and voice transmission from the phone.
  • Inventing a convenient "plug and play" principle, suitable for "hot plugging".

As is the case with the vast majority of digital equipment, the USB connector for a hard drive has become a completely familiar phenomenon for a long time. However, in different years of its development, this interface has always demonstrated new peaks in speed indicators for reading/writing information.

USB version

Description

Bandwidth

The first release version of the interface after several preliminary versions. Released January 15, 1996.

  • Low-Speed ​​Mode: 1.5 Mbps
  • Full-Speed ​​mode: 12 Mbps

Improvement of version 1.0, correcting many of its problems and errors. Released in September 1998, it first gained mass popularity.

Released in April 2000, the second version of the interface has a new, faster High-Speed ​​operating mode.

  • Low-Speed ​​Mode: 1.5 Mbps
  • Full-Speed ​​mode: 12 Mbps
  • High-Speed ​​mode: 25-480 Mbps

The latest generation of USB, which has received not only updated bandwidth indicators, but also comes in blue/red colors. Date of appearance: 2008.

Up to 600 MB per second

Further development of the third revision, published on July 31, 2013. It is divided into two modifications, which can provide any hard drive with a USB connector with a maximum speed of up to 10 Gbit per second.

  • USB 3.1 Gen 1 - up to 5 Gbps
  • USB 3.1 Gen 2 - up to 10 Gbps

In addition to this specification, different versions of USB are implemented for different types of devices. Among the varieties of cables and connectors of this interface are:

USB 2.0

Standard

USB 3.0 could already offer another new type - C. Cables of this type are symmetrical and are inserted into the corresponding device from either side.

On the other hand, the third revision no longer provides for Mini and Micro “subtypes” of cables for type A.

Alternative FireWire

For all their popularity, eSATA and USB are not all options for how to connect an external hard drive connector to a computer.

FireWire is a slightly less known high-speed interface among the masses. Provides serial connection of external devices, the supported number of which also includes HDD.

Its property of isochronous data transmission has mainly found its application in multimedia technology (video cameras, DVD players, digital audio equipment). Hard drives are connected to them much less often, giving preference to SATA or a more advanced USB interface.

This technology acquired its modern technical characteristics gradually. Thus, the original version of FireWire 400 (1394a) was faster than its then main competitor USB 1.0 - 400 megabits per second versus 12. The maximum permissible cable length was 4.5 meters.

The arrival of USB 2.0 left its rival behind, allowing data exchange at a speed of 480 megabits per second. However, with the release of the new FireWire 800 (1394b) standard, which allowed transmission of 800 megabits per second with a maximum cable length of 100 meters, USB 2.0 was less in demand on the market. This prompted the development of the third version of the serial universal bus, which expanded the data exchange ceiling to 5 Gbit/s.

In addition, a distinctive feature of FireWire is its decentralization. Transferring information via a USB interface requires a PC. FireWire allows you to exchange data between devices without necessarily involving a computer in the process.

Thunderbolt

Intel, together with Apple, showed its vision of which hard drive connector should become an unconditional standard in the future by introducing the Thunderbolt interface to the world (or, according to its old code name, Light Peak).

Built on PCI-E and DisplayPort architectures, this design allows you to transfer data, video, audio and power through a single port with truly impressive speeds of up to 10 Gb/s. In real tests, this figure was a little more modest and reached a maximum of 8 Gb/s. Nevertheless, even so, Thunderbolt has overtaken its closest analogs FireWire 800 and USB 3.0, not to mention eSATA.

But this promising idea of ​​a single port and connector has not yet received such widespread adoption. Although some manufacturers today successfully integrate connectors for external hard drives, the Thunderbolt interface. On the other hand, the price for the technical capabilities of the technology is also relatively high, which is why this development is found mainly among expensive devices.

Compatibility with USB and FireWire can be achieved using the appropriate adapters. This approach will not make them faster in terms of data transfer, since the throughput of both interfaces will still remain the same. There is only one advantage here - Thunderbolt will not be the limiting link with such a connection, allowing you to use all the technical capabilities of USB and FireWire.

SCSI and SAS - something that not everyone has heard of

Another parallel interface for connecting peripheral devices, which at one point shifted the focus of its development from desktop computers to a wider range of equipment.

"Small Computer System Interface" was developed a little earlier than SATA II. By the time the latter was released, both interfaces were almost identical in their properties to each other, capable of providing the hard drive connector with stable operation from computers. However, SCSI used a common bus, which is why only one of the connected devices could work with the controller.

Further refinement of the technology, which acquired the new name SAS (Serial Attached SCSI), was already devoid of its previous drawback. SAS provides connection of devices with a set of managed SCSI commands via a physical interface, which is similar to SATA. However, broader capabilities allow you to connect not only hard drive connectors, but also many other peripherals (printers, scanners, etc.).

Supports hot-swappable devices, bus expanders with the ability to simultaneously connect multiple SAS devices to one port, and is also backward compatible with SATA.

Prospects for NAS

An interesting way to work with large volumes of data, rapidly gaining popularity among modern users.

Or, abbreviated as NAS, they are a separate computer with some disk array, which is connected to a network (often to a local one) and provides storage and transmission of data among other connected computers.

Acting as a network storage device, this mini-server is connected to other devices via an ordinary Ethernet cable. Further access to its settings is provided through any browser connected to the NAS network address. The available data on it can be used both via an Ethernet cable and via Wi-Fi.

This technology makes it possible to provide a fairly reliable level of information storage and provide convenient, easy access to it for trusted persons.

Features of connecting hard drives to laptops

The principle of operation of an HDD with a desktop computer is extremely simple and understandable to everyone - in most cases, you need to connect the power connectors of the hard drive with the power supply using the appropriate cable and connect the device to the motherboard in the same way. When using external drives, you can generally get by with just one cable (Power eSATA, Thunderbolt).

But how to properly use laptop hard drive connectors? After all, a different design requires taking into account slightly different nuances.

Firstly, to connect information storage devices directly “inside” the device itself, it should be taken into account that the HDD form factor must be designated as 2.5”

Secondly, in a laptop the hard drive is connected directly to the motherboard. Without any additional cables. Simply unscrew the HDD cover on the bottom of the previously switched off laptop. It has a rectangular appearance and is usually secured with a pair of bolts. It is in that container that the storage device should be placed.

All laptop hard drive connectors are absolutely identical to their larger “brothers” intended for PCs.

Another connection option is to use an adapter. For example, a SATA III drive can be connected to USB ports installed on a laptop using a SATA-USB adapter (there are a huge variety of similar devices on the market for a variety of interfaces).

You just need to connect the HDD to the adapter. It, in turn, is connected to a 220V outlet to supply power. And use a USB cable to connect this entire structure to the laptop, after which the hard drive will appear as another partition during operation.

Modern “hard drives” are presented in a wide range of models and technological versions. There are those that connect to the PC through motherboard slots. You can also use an external hard drive connected to the computer via a USB port. There are even more exotic media formats - wireless, working via Wi-Fi. But today we will talk about modifications of hard drives that are more or less familiar to Russian users. Let's figure out how to connect an internal or external hard drive and get it to work correctly. In the first case, we will “climb” into the PC system unit (or by opening the laptop case). In the second, we will use a USB connection.

PC hard drive: main interfaces

It will be useful to take a short theoretical excursion into “disk” technologies. What is the difference between the IDE and SATA interfaces that we just talked about?

The IDE standard appeared quite a long time ago - in 1986. But it remains relevant to this day. Its main advantages: versatility, as well as a data transfer speed that is fast enough even for most modern user tasks. SATA is a significantly newer format. It appeared on the market in the late 90s. There are, of course, other standards for connecting a hard drive to a PC - such as, for example, SCSI, which, like IDE, appeared in the mid-80s.

The most widespread today (if we talk about the desktop segment) is SATA. But on those computers that were introduced to the market in the mid-2000s (many of them are still used by their owners) IDE interfaces are installed and fully functional. The SCSI standard, due to its relative high cost, is used mainly in servers.

One of the main reasons for SATA's leadership is its high (for home-level PC) data transfer speed. As a rule, it reaches values ​​of several hundred megabits/sec. Of course, the same SCSI interface works much faster - the typical value for it is 600 Mbit/sec or more.

There is also a separate class of hard drives connected via a USB connector. From a technological point of view, they are practically in no way inferior to the “classics” in the form of hard drives with IDE and SATA interfaces, and at the same time, connecting them is much easier. You just need to find a free USB connector on your PC.

Inside the system unit

If we are talking about a desktop PC, then how to connect a new hard drive to it? Unlike, for example, a laptop (not to mention a tablet or PDA), “desktops” make it possible to connect not one, but several internal “hard drives” at once - the dimensions of the case allow it. And user tasks, one might say, also require it. In practice, the need to connect a new “hard drive” may arise if the current one is full (nowadays this is not uncommon, even if you have a 1 TB hard drive - modern games and HD movies consume a lot of space) or for some reason its functionality is not suits the PC owner. The steps for connecting the media are as follows.

First of all, you need to determine what data connection the new hard drive uses (and make sure that the motherboard is capable of working through this connection standard). Most modern hard drives operate via SATA technology. Legacy models may work through the IDE channel. They differ not only technologically, but also in appearance. The SATA standard involves the use of a cable with a small number of cores. IDE, in turn, is a multi-core tape. By the way, if the motherboard, as they say, is too modern and does not have a slot for outdated IDE drives, you can always buy an inexpensive adapter between the two standards.

IDE

As for IDE slots, as a rule, there are two of them on the motherboard - primary and secondary. However, each can be connected to two hard drives (or another type of device compatible with the IDE standard, such as a DVD drive). In turn, there is also a subordination between them: there will definitely be a “main” (in English master) device and a “slave” device. Thus, there are four options for connecting a hard drive to a PC: as a master (or slave) primary (or secondary). There are no problems with how to connect a second hard drive.

The width of an IDE connector is approximately twice that of a SATA connector. However, it is completely impossible to mistakenly connect to the other instead of one. What is important is the color of the IDE cable with which the motherboard and hard drive are connected. IT specialists call a gray cable less productive. In turn, the more advanced ones are yellow. It will be great if you can buy a second one if it is not available by default. The fact is that gray cables have only 40 cores, and yellow cables have as many as 80. Of course, the difference in speed will not be twofold, but an order of magnitude.

An IDE cable usually has three slots - at one end, at the other, and also in the middle. Thus, the first one connects to the controller located on the motherboard. You can connect hard drives to the second and third.

It is advisable that when connecting an IDE cable to the primary slot, the connector to be connected is marked with a small triangle. This will ensure the greatest stability of the installed hard drives. Another rule is that when connecting an IDE cable to a hard drive, you should connect the primary slot of the cable to a similar connector on the hard drive. As we said above, they are designated in English - primary.

After connecting the power cable and the IDE connector, you must also remember to connect the wire leading to the indicator lamp (which is usually located on the front panel of the system unit. It is designed to signal to the user that the hard drive is working (it is being accessed). Of course, You don't have to connect it - that's optional.

Jumpers

How to connect an additional hard drive in the most correct way from the point of view of its interaction with the previous hard drive and the hardware structure of the PC as a whole? Much depends on the correct location of the so-called “jumpers”. They regulate the mode in which the hard drive operates - “primary” or “slave”. Also, the position of the jumpers is determined by the number of hard drives connected to the PC. Exactly how they should be fixed depends on the specific hard drive model. Typically, when you purchase a new hard drive, it comes with a user manual. What should you pay attention to when reading it?

First of all, on such terms as “Drive Select” and “Slave Present”. The first one is responsible for the correct position of the jumpers relative to setting the disk to master or slave status. Usually, if the jumper is in place, the first mode is activated, if not, the second mode is activated. If we use only one hard drive, then the corresponding part must be removed from it. The "Slave Present" type switch should be installed on the disk that is supposed to be used as the main one (but provided that an additional hard drive is connected to the same controller).

SATA

If we have a modern PC at our disposal, then with a high probability our new hard drive will work in the SATA standard. Installing a new hard drive, as many IT specialists believe, working within this interface is extremely simple. All we do is find the corresponding wire on the motherboard and connect the hard drive to it (after placing and securely fixing the device in the socket provided for it using fasteners or bolts - see the figure).

The next step is to connect the wire responsible for power supply, having also first found it on the motherboard (as a rule, there are plenty of them there). Securing the hard drive is very important - you can’t let it, say, hang on a SATA cable.

BIOS setup and additional software

Installing a hard drive, as a rule, does not end with working only with the hardware. Despite the fact that the PC is almost guaranteed to recognize the hard drive as a new device and will be able to establish communication with it at the hardware level, most likely we will need to configure some software options.

It is worth noting that, as a rule, no drivers for the hard drive are required to be installed. The basic system for working with hardware, pre-installed in a PC, almost always guarantees correct work with hard drives (provided, of course, that they are connected correctly). However, sometimes additional software still needs to be used. We are not talking about drivers - there may be a need for application applications.

The most common scenario in which additional software settings become necessary is a disk boot sequence failure. The fact is that when a hard drive is installed in addition to the current one, the basic computer management system - BIOS, may mistakenly calculate (figuratively speaking) that Windows (or the OS that is installed) should boot from the new hard drive. Since the hard drive that we connected most likely does not have any operating system, the computer will not be able to boot in this case. But this can be easily fixed by setting the required sequence of disk accesses during boot in the BIOS.

You should go into this system (DEL key at the very beginning of the computer boot), and then find the Boot Sequence option. It is important that the first place in it is to boot from the main hard drive (HDD1). If the BIOS already has HDD1 (and the OS still doesn’t load), then, on the contrary, you need to install HDD2 in the first position. Or, as an option, get inside the system unit again and swap the SATA connectors between the two hard drives - but this is a rather complicated option, despite the fact that you can get by with a simple change of settings in the BIOS. Everything should work. As a rule, no additional program for the hard drive is required.

In some cases, it becomes necessary, in addition to setting the disk boot order, to fine-tune the hard drive. For example, set parameters such as the number of heads and tracks (and in some cases, sectors) used as resources for storing data. However, this kind of settings should be left to experienced IT specialists.

Sometimes you need to format a new hard drive. What type of hard drive program is optimal for solving this problem? You can almost always get by using standard Windows tools. You can start the process of formatting the hard drive by right-clicking on it in the “My Computer” window and selecting the appropriate option. Usually this program asks you to select a file system - NTFS or FAT32. Most modern computers use the first one - we choose it. It is recommended to perform a full format.

Inside the laptop

Laptops are an equally common type of personal computing equipment when compared with the popularity of desktop PCs. Therefore, it will be useful for us to know how to connect a hard drive to a computer of this type. In this case we are talking about the internal hard drive (about the external one - a little later).

As a rule, the internal space of a laptop case allows only one hard drive to be connected to the device; a second one simply will not fit. Therefore, in this case we are not dealing with adding a hard drive, but with replacing the old one with a new one. But how to connect two hard drives to a laptop at the same time? Only in one case - if at least one of them is external. Theoretically, you can connect two hard drives if you use a SATA cable with two connectors. But this will reduce the mobility of the laptop - the second hard drive will have to be located outside the case. This is unaesthetic and inconvenient.

In a laptop space, the hard drive is usually located closer to the bottom of the case (rather than the keyboard). As a rule, the hard drive is open to view immediately after unscrewing the cover. But sometimes it is hidden behind protective panels that functionally complement the walls of the case. To remove them, you usually need to unscrew just a couple of screws.

Let us note right away: if the hard drive is installed in the laptop much deeper than in the case of protective panels (that is, it is necessary, as an option, to remove the keyboard to gain access to the desired area inside the case), then it is better to entrust the replacement of the hard drive to IT professionals. Otherwise, there is a risk of incorrectly assembling the computer, after which it will not work.

Removing the old hard drive is usually very simple. The new one also connects quite easily. In many cases, the connection to the laptop motherboard goes without cables (directly to the connector - and almost always the same SATA). Therefore, it is difficult to “miss” the required slot when connecting a new hard drive. There are also almost never any problems with how to connect the old hard drive back.

OS in reserve

Since the standard hard drive will most likely be connected to the laptop only in a single copy, you need to take care in advance about where the operating system will be loaded from (we remove the old hard drive with the pre-installed OS). The main difficulty here is that it is impossible to pre-install Windows or another OS on a hard drive using another laptop with a guarantee that it will work on the new computer. The selection of hardware components may be too different. There is a possibility that the operating system will not boot. Therefore, it is recommended that when planning to install a new hard drive, you obtain bootable media from which you can reinstall the OS. Or, as an option, temporarily use some portable operating system - from the Linux series, for example, which does not require installation.

Disk outside the computer

Having studied how to connect a hard drive to a computer or laptop through installation as a hardware component, we will consider the option of connecting an external hard drive. There are two main technological implementations possible here.

There is an option with connecting a hard drive, the standard purpose of which is to connect it to the motherboard, externally. To do this, you need to use a special adapter that converts SATA signals into those transmitted via USB technology. In this way, you can connect almost any hard drive to a laptop (as well as to another computer equipped with USB ports). This scheme, however, has one drawback - the relative high cost of the adapters in question. In some cases, it can be comparable to the price of a good, large hard drive that does not require additional accessories for connecting via USB.

This device reflects the second technological implementation of connecting a drive to a computer. This is a “classic” external hard drive, which is sold under this name in most digital equipment stores. It can be connected to any free USB slot on a PC or laptop - much like a flash drive.

One important nuance regarding the first technology should be noted. If we decide to connect a hard drive via USB (we are talking about IDE and SATA devices), then it is very undesirable to disconnect the device from the port while it is active. It is necessary to enable "safe removal" in Windows in advance. Otherwise, the hard drive, whose speed is “spinned up,” may not withstand a sudden stop and fail. In turn, a “classic” external hard drive (we know how to connect it - via USB without adapters) works on slightly different principles, and is quite designed to be disconnected from the PC, even if you do not use “safe removal” in time. Although, as IT specialists note, this, if possible, should not be done. This kind of experimentation can reduce the life of the hard drive.

Precautions when working with a hard drive

Before connecting the hard drive to the computer, you should make sure that there are no sources of static electricity nearby (which could be, for example, a woolen sweater). IT specialists do not even recommend removing the hard drive from the packaging (it performs antistatic functions) until its direct installation in the system unit. When installing a hard drive, you must not touch the parts of the microcircuits that are brought out. The most important thing is that before connecting the hard drive to the computer, it is important to turn off the power to the system unit (and ideally, all devices connected to it - monitor, printer, etc.).

The time has come when one hard drive in a computer is no longer enough. More and more users decide to connect a second HDD to their PC, but not everyone knows how to do it correctly themselves to avoid mistakes. In fact, the procedure for adding a second disk is simple and does not require special skills. It is not even necessary to mount a hard drive - it can be connected as an external device if there is a free USB port.

Options for connecting a second hard drive are as simple as possible:

  • Connecting the HDD to the computer system unit.
    Suitable for owners of regular desktop PCs who do not want to have external connected devices.
  • Connecting a hard drive as an external drive.
    The easiest way to connect an HDD, and the only one possible for a laptop owner.

Option 1. Installation in the system unit

HDD type determination

Before connecting, you need to determine the type of interface the hard drive works with - SATA or IDE. Almost all modern computers are equipped with a SATA interface, so it is best if the hard drive is of the same type. The IDE bus is considered obsolete and may simply not be present on the motherboard. Therefore, connecting such a drive may cause some difficulties.

The easiest way to recognize the standard is by contacts. This is what they look like on SATA drives:

And this is how the IDE does it:

Connecting a second SATA drive in the system unit

The process of connecting a disk is very easy and takes place in several stages:


Boot priority for SATA drives

The motherboard usually has 4 connectors for connecting SATA drives. They are designated as SATA0 - the first, SATA1 - the second, etc. The priority of the hard drive is directly related to the numbering of the connector. If you need to manually set the priority, you will need to go into the BIOS. Depending on the BIOS type, the interface and controls will be different.

In older versions, go to the section Advanced BIOS Features and work with the parameters First Boot Device And Second Boot Device. In new BIOS versions, look for the section Boot or Boot Sequence and parameter 1st/2nd Boot Priority.

Connecting a second IDE drive

In rare cases, there is a need to install a disk with an outdated IDE interface. In this case, the connection process will be slightly different.


Connecting a second IDE drive to the first SATA drive

When you need to connect an IDE drive to an already working SATA HDD, use a special IDE-SATA adapter.

The connection diagram is as follows:

  1. The jumper on the adapter is set to Master mode.
  2. The IDE plug connects to the hard drive itself.
  3. The red SATA cable is connected with one side to the adapter, and the other to the motherboard.
  4. The power cable is connected on one side to the adapter, and on the other to the power supply.

You may need to purchase a 4-pin to SATA adapter.

Initializing the disk in the OS

In both cases, after connecting, the system may not see the connected disk. This does not mean that you did something wrong; on the contrary, it is normal when the new HDD is not visible in the system. The hard drive must be initialized before it can be used. Read about how this is done in our other article.

Option 2. Connecting an external hard drive

Often users choose to connect an external HDD. This is much simpler and more convenient if some files stored on the disk are sometimes needed outside the home. And in the situation with laptops, this method will be especially relevant, since there is no separate slot for a second HDD.

An external hard drive is connected via USB in exactly the same way as another device with the same interface (flash drive, mouse, keyboard).

A hard drive designed for installation in the system unit can also be connected via USB. To do this, you need to use either an adapter/adapter or a special external case for the hard drive. The essence of the operation of such devices is similar - the required voltage is supplied to the HDD through the adapter, and the connection to the PC is made via USB. Hard drives of different form factors have their own cables, so when purchasing you should always pay attention to the standard that specifies the overall dimensions of your HDD.

If you decide to connect the drive using the second method, then literally follow 2 rules: do not neglect to safely remove the device and do not disconnect the drive while working with the PC to avoid errors.

We talked about ways to connect a second hard drive to a computer or laptop. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in this procedure and it is absolutely not necessary to use the services of computer specialists.

Hi all! Previously, I already wrote an article about how to connect an ide hard drive to the motherboard using a controller. Today I will share with you another great solution to connect an ide device to a new motherboard. In addition, this solution is inexpensive and quite universal.

While upgrading the hardware of one computer, I was faced with a choice: should I buy a new optical drive, or can I use an old one that has an IDE connector. Naturally, the new motherboard does not have this connector, and in response to my proposal not to install a drive at all, the computer owner firmly stated that he uses the drives often and with pleasure.

The cost of a new optical drive with a modern SATA connector is not so high - about 600-700 rubles, but then it is not clear what to do with the old device, because it works great. And the money saved is better spent on improving the performance of a new computer.

After surfing the Internet a little, I came across this wonderful thing:

Similar adapters can be ordered from China at ridiculous prices here: aliexpress.com is a proven, reliable store with a guarantee, the services of which I use quite often.

This is a SATA - IDE adapter and vice versa IDE - SATA. It is quite compact in size and costs only 200 rubles! Obviously, buying such an adapter is more profitable than buying a new drive.

The great thing is that it works both ways. That is, we can connect an old IDE device to a new motherboard, or vice versa, we can connect a SATA drive or hard drive to a motherboard that does not have SATA connectors. In both cases, we can save significantly.

In general, connecting a device through such an adapter does not cause difficulties, but you need to be careful here. The adapter has markings for SATA pins (see right photo above). One SATA connector is used when connecting an IDE device to the motherboard, the other, vice versa, if you need to connect a SATA device to an old motherboard.

In addition to various connectors, the controller has a jumper for selecting the mode:

  • 2-3 IDE mainboard to SATA HDD;
  • 1-2 SATA mainboard to IDE HDD.
Accordingly, by jumping the required contacts 2-3 or 1-2, we tell the device what type of connection we need. In any case, just by experimenting with the wires and the jumper, you can achieve the desired result, and you don’t have to be afraid that something will burn (tested from my own experience :)).

Connecting an IDE hard drive or drive will look like this:

Having connected the optical drive through such an adapter, I decided to buy myself exactly the same one. Let it sit, I’m sure it will definitely come in handy for that price.)

Here is a simple and cheap solution for connecting IDE devices. I hope this article will help many people make the right choice)

P.S. For those who are unable to connect a hard drive through an adapter (not detected in the system or in the bios), they can try setting the jumpers on the IDE drive itself to the master or slave position. Try different options. Everything will definitely work out! (Thank you! for the addition to Alexey Shchukin)

f1-it.ru

When do you need an IDE-SATA adapter?

To use older PCs, an IDE SATA adapter is increasingly needed, which allows you to connect old hard drives that were not originally designed for the SATA standard to new motherboards.

Enterprises and home users still have computers in which the hdd is connected via the ATA (IDE) interface, developed in 1986. The user may have questions about how to connect a hard drive of this type to a new computer to save data or use (if the hdd is working). The simplest solution is to use an IDE to SATA adapter. This will allow you to use the drive with a more modern computer that supports the SATA standard. Such controllers make it possible to reduce the cost of updating the technical equipment of production workshops. For the average user, devices will help save important data.

Drives - a success story

Do you still have a hdd with an ATA-IDE interface and want to equip a new PC with it? Now this is problematic: PC manufacturers have stopped supporting this standard. It was supplanted by SATA, the first standard of which appeared in 2003, and the latest (version 3.0) in 2009.

If you need to connect an old hard drive, then you need a special controller; it can coordinate various PC components. Usually such a device is called a SATA to IDE adapter; without it, such a connection is simply impossible.

Outdated equipment running on the slow IDE standard is many times inferior in performance to new type devices, even those that support the very first edition of the SATA standard. But these devices were widespread and are found even now (DVD drives, hdd).

The use of old equipment is very important in the corporate segment. Many programmable machines and production lines used PCs with an IDE hard drive as the main data storage device. Typically the devices ran under MS-DOS or newer NT/9x systems. And for such operating systems, connecting to the hard drive using the old protocol is crucial for performance.

What do adapters provide?

Very often, industrial, expensive equipment runs on outdated software, which requires a special hardware configuration. If the hdd fails, programs can still be restored from the archive or obtained from equipment manufacturers, but old-type hdds are difficult to find. It's easier to use an IDE to SATA adapter and connect the cheapest new drive.

So, with minimal investment you can restore the functionality of an industrial computer. At home, a SATA to IDE adapter will be useful for downloading content from an outdated drive. You can use the old hdd only if it is fully operational. Also, its volume should be quite high (over 80 GB), and the cost should be higher than that of an IDE to SATA adapter, otherwise there is no point in using such a drive through an expensive adapter. In addition, when we connect the drive to the board through it, the productivity of the hdd decreases.

You won’t be able to make such an adapter yourself (it’s difficult and expensive). In addition, connection problems may arise with hardware incompatibility. And the overall costs of making such an adapter yourself are unreasonably high.

Using an old OS

For the old system and application programs to work correctly on more modern equipment (in particular, hdds), adapters are needed, for example, an IDE converter, which will allow you to connect an old drive to a new motherboard or make a new one work with the old system.

It must be remembered that it is not always possible to work correctly with particularly old programs through an adapter. It will help you read and save data, but outdated software may make it difficult to work.

When the SATA IDE converter is used for use on MS-DOS systems or older versions of Windows, errors and failures are possible. When purchasing such a device, it is advisable to pay attention to the compatibility and system requirements in the technical specifications. The vast majority of IDE SATA devices, or SATA to IDE, run on Windows XP, and in this system you can enable emulation of correct work with software written for MS-DOS. So such devices will help connect a SATA drive to an old industrial PC that does not initially support this standard. It will be cheaper than purchasing a completely new computer and fine-tuning it. How to connect the ide-sata adapter and the process of connecting it, see the video in more detail.

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HDDiq.ru

IDE to SATA / SATA to IDE Drive Dual Convert Adapter - Adapter from SATA to IDE and vice versa

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At work, I regularly come across old PCs from which or onto which some information needs to be copied (usually everything that is on the hard drive). Not all computers have a sata interface, and I had to look for a “transit” computer. But with the purchase of this adapter, such a need has disappeared. Under the cut there is little text and a lot of photos.

1. Delivery 4/5

Delivery took standard 30 days for China Post. I think this is already the norm, it is unlikely that we will see major changes in this regard.

2. Packaging 4/5

Standard bubble wrap for BIC, the adapter itself was in an individual bag. There are no instructions, but they weren't needed.

3. Completeness 5/5

I was especially pleased with this item; the kit contains everything you need: an adapter, a sata cord and a power cord (although, if possible, it is better to immediately buy an adapter from a 4-pin power connector to a sata one).

4. Easy to connect 4/5

Everything is simple here, you need to connect the hard drive in accordance with the signatures on the adapter. For an IDE screw, for example, this is the case.

And to connect a SATA screw to an old mother without SATA, like this.


Connected.


As you can see, there is nothing complicated about the connection. But there is one caveat: if you connect the IDE screw through an adapter, the jumper must be in the master position.

5. Ease of use 4/5

Everything is very simple, first we connect the screw as in the picture, boot and work :). This is how a screw with an IDE interface connected via an adapter (SATA1) is defined in the BIOS.

And this is how Akronis sees it.

The main advantage of this adapter is that you can not only connect the old screws to the new mother, but also vice versa. There is nothing difficult to use; the copy/write speed for the IDE screw remains visually the same.

It’s definitely worth taking if you actively use a PC - this thing will come in handy sooner or later, and besides, it costs mere pennies.

update: 80GB IDE HDD occupied by 7GB, copied via an adapter to a SATA screw in 3.5 minutes.

Planning to buy +39 Add to favorites Liked review +21 +62

mysku.ru

How to connect an old IDE hard drive to a new computer

We often receive letters asking how to connect an ancient hard drive with an IDE interface to a modern computer that does not have outdated connectors, or even to a laptop.

Everything is extremely simple. There are two options.

Permanent connection of the IDE hard drive to the motherboard.

This is done through an appropriate adapter, which is not very expensive, but it is not so easy to find it on sale. The drive is installed inside the system unit as usual and connected using SATA (power and data). But, frankly, putting an old device into a modern computer is not rational. It will make noise and crackle its heads, and besides, its performance will not be the best. Even the weakest modern hard drive will outperform it in speed by a large margin. It is much more convenient to transfer all its contents to a new and more capacious model with a SATA interface.

IDE SATA adapter

Adapter with closed housing. Otherwise, it is no different from the previous model

Another adapter option. Compact model from TRENDnet

Temporarily connecting an IDE hard drive using a USB adapter

This option is preferable. Owners of desktops will not have to remove the cover of the system unit, and owners of laptops will not be able to do without it. Buy a USB adapter to connect IDE hard drives of 2.5 and 3.5 inch form factors. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer of them on sale.

But be careful, you can get confused and buy an adapter only for SATA hard drives, of which the majority are now. In addition, docking stations will not be useless; basically, they only allow you to connect hard drives with a SATA interface.

Adapter with USB connector. The kit includes an attachment for connecting an IDE 40-pin laptop connector

The most versatile adapter from AgeStar. You can connect any models of hard drives. In addition, this adapter can be used to connect an optical drive CD-ROM and DVD-ROM with an IDE interface to a netbook

However, there is one caveat. The speed of the drive in the first solution will be maximum, since the device is connected directly to the motherboard, and in the second case it will be limited by the bandwidth of USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/s) - in practice, the speed reaches a maximum of 24-26 MB/s, and even then not always. All adapters with the more advanced USB 3.0 bus allow you to connect only SATA hard drives.

My advice is this. Use USB adapters, but at the first opportunity, dump your data to a more modern drive and abandon the old IDE standard.

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pc-hard.ru

We connect the old IDE hard drive to the new motherboard \ JMicron JMB363 PCI-E + 1 ESATA + 1 SATA + 1 IDE

Hi all. More and more people are faced with the problem when an old computer from 10 years ago breaks down, spare parts are difficult to get or are expensive, and no one can guarantee that it will work.

After purchasing a new computer, the question arises of how to copy all the data from the old hard drive to the new computer; the old IDE connector is no longer found on the new motherboard. There are various adapter controllers for this.

Review of 3 controllers with tests.

Since I don’t have a drive with an IDE connector, I connected it to an old NEC ND-3500AG DVD-ROM, and for the SATA test I connected a Hitachi 500Gb 7200 HDS721050CLA360 drive, and used the same SATA cable.

1. The first controller, I have already reviewed it, and here I will add a test.

Of all 3 models, this controller was soldered by a machine, the soldering is neat. Installed in a PCI slot, assembled on the VIA VT6421A chipset, available connectors: 1 SATA + 1 IDE + 4 x USB 2.0. Contents: box, driver disk, SATA cable with latches. This controller suits me better, since there are additional 4 x USB 2.0, now more and more gadgets are charged from the USB connector, and all ports are occupied.

Photo test





Test SATA Hitachi 500Gb 7200 HDS721050CLA360:

I present the following screen for comparison, a speed test of a Hitachi 500Gb 7200 HDS721050CLA360, but connected to the SATA connector on the motherboard.

Copying from DVD-ROM to internal storage, movie size 1.81 GB, speed 16 MB/s, copying time 1m 50s.

2. The second controller, soldered by hand, there are small soldering joints, in some places there was flux that had not been washed off, but overall it was assembled well. (link to another board, but with this controller)

Assembled on a VIA VT6421A controller, the board is installed in a PCI-E connector, connectors on the board: 1 SATA, 1 ESATA, 1 IDE. Contents: box, driver disk, eSATA cable, IDE cable. When the system first booted, the system was silent, I had to install drivers, used DRP software, after rebooting, the disks became visible.

Photo test




I connected it to two connectors at once, when I turn on the computer, this message pops up, after 2 seconds the download continues. My video card occupies two slots, there is a small gap between it and the controller, this will have a bad effect on the airflow of the video card itself. Or install it in the second slot of the video card.

Rear view, the connector extends a little beyond the case, but this is a problem for my system unit personally; in a different case, this problem most likely will not arise.

SATA test

IDE test, copying a movie from DVD-ROM to internal HDD.

Test IDE and SATA, copying a movie from DVD-ROM to HDD connected to one controller, the speed dropped but not by much.

3. The third and smallest controller, there are only two connectors SATA and IDE, additional external power is required.

The chip is hard to see, but I could see the following DOF B74LE0441 marks. Contents: blister, SATA cable, adapter cable. Terrible soldering, a lot of flux that was not washed off, I went through it with a soldering iron and washed off the flux.

Photo test




And now he is clean, as he should be.


The cable included in the kit did not want to work properly, the length is only 29 cm, if you bend the cable at the bend the cable turns white, this indicates that the cable is cheap.

Very often they complain about the 3rd controller; there have been cases when this controller damaged drives. All controllers work well and do their job. It is worth mentioning another controller that can be connected to a USB connector; the weak point of these controllers is external power supplies, which fail very quickly.

If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them, ask!

IDE is an outdated connector for connecting hard drives and drives for CD and DVD discs. It is becoming less and less common in modern motherboards. Consequently, owners of such devices may encounter problems when connecting more modern components to them. More often than not, these problems are solved with the help of adapters-converters .

Instructions

1. Buy a SATA-IDE adapter.

2. Disconnect power and all connecting cables to your computer. Open the cover of the system unit. Touch the radiator for a few seconds. This is necessary in order to remove the charge of static electricity from your hands, on the contrary, it can damage the emotional components of the computer.

3. Take a SATA cable - you will need it to connect your adapter to the motherboard. The SATA cable is traditionally about 25 centimeters in length, most often red. You can easily recognize it by its connector: about a centimeter wide, flat, with a slight bend on one edge. Both sides of the SATA cable are equal, so it doesn’t matter which side you plug it into the motherboard and which side into the adapter.

4. You will also need an IDE cable to connect your floppy drive or hard drive to the converter. The IDE cable is flat, about 5 centimeters wide, with hard plastic connectors in the form of 2 rows of holes. Usually it has three connectors, one at a distance from the other 2. This connector is used to connect to the motherboard or controller.

5. Find any free SATA connector on the motherboard. They are shaped like a SATA cable, only surrounded by a protective frame that will help positively connect the cable. Plug one end of the cable into the motherboard and the other into your adapter.

6. Connect your device (floppy drive or hard drive) and the SATA-IDE adapter with an IDE cable. Insert the far single end of the cable into the adapter, and one of the free connectors on the other side into the drive.

7. Please note: near the cable location on your drive there is a group of six pin contacts that can be connected by a tiny plastic jumper. You will find MA/SL/CS marks on the top or bottom of the drive near these pins. If you don't have a jumper, you don't need to do anything. If there is a jumper, pull it out and install it opposite the CS mark. This is necessary to correctly identify your device.

8. Connect the white rectangular connector from the power supply to your drive. If the adapter has a white rectangular socket with four pins, connect another connector from the power supply to it. Insert the disk drive or rough disk into the case of your system unit, if you removed it.

9. Plug in the power cable, keyboard, mouse and monitor cables. Turn on your computer - your adapter is ready to use.

What to do if you do not have a sata connector installed on your motherboard, but you need to connect the equipment to this connector. Hard drives today are sold specifically for sata interfaces. And finding a rough disk with an IDE interface is problematic. Of course, this is acceptable, but searching for such a hard drive can take a lot of time. In fact, the problem can be solved quite primitively - purchase and install sata- controller .

You will need

  • Computer, sata controller, screwdriver

Instructions

1. Disconnect power from the computer. Unscrew the screws that secure the system unit cover and remove it. The controller must be installed in a PCI slot. If you don't know where the PCI slots are on your motherboard, you can look in the technical documentation for your computer. If you don’t have technical documentation, find them on the motherboard independently: all slots on the motherboards are labeled. As usual, they are located in the lower left corner of the motherboard, next to the video card slot. Depending on the motherboard model, there may be a different number of PCI slots. There should be a minimum of three.

2. Simply insert the sata controller into one of the PCI slots, and then secure it with a screw. You will see where to tighten the screw later after you connect the controller to the PCI slot. Without closing the system unit cover, connect the computer to power and turn it on. When the operating system boots, it should recognize the controller mechanically.

3. In fact, all controllers have special Plug & Play technology, so you don’t have to configure them when connecting. When the device is recognized by the system, install its software. To do this, use the software disk that should come with the controller. Additional software will expand its possibilities.

4. After this, turn off the computer and connect the necessary sata devices to the controller. Next you need to connect the power cable to them. See if your power supply has a cable with a sata interface. In the place where the cable is connected to the device, there should be an inscription sata. If the power supply does not have such a cable, you will not be able to connect power to the device. In this case, purchase an adapter for connecting sata power. These are available in any computer store.

Rugged drives and IDE CD-ROM drives are now being produced in much smaller numbers than before. In new system units it is difficult to find a place to place such devices. However, you can still find computers that use this type of connector. When connecting it, it is necessary to consider some features.

Instructions

1. Find the IDE cable connector on your CD/DVD drive - it looks like a rectangle with two rows of short pins, each 40 in number. Strictly speaking, IDE is not a completely accurate name and for any case, remember the other names of this interface: PATA, EIDE, Parallel ATA. This will help you choose and buy the required cable in the store.

2. Turn off your computer and unplug the power cable. Before removing the system unit cover, touch the radiator to remove static electricity - it can damage the computer's electronic components. Remove the side cover of the system unit.

3. First, locate the IDE connector on the motherboard you want to connect the cable to. On different models, the IDE connection block may be located in different places; sometimes this connector is located on the side.

4. Take your IDE cable. You will see three connectors on it, with one of them at a greater distance from the other 2. It is this that needs to be plugged into the connection point on the motherboard. If there are not one, but two connectors on the board, you can use any at your discretion.

5. Connect the IDE cable connector to the motherboard. Note that the block that surrounds the pins has a small indentation. And it’s true that there is the same protrusion on the plastic part of the cable. Turn the cable right side up and insert. You don't need to use a lot of force - if you overdo it, you might break the motherboard.

6. Now connect the device that has an IDE connection. Unlike new floppy drives and hard drives, which are connected with a thin SATA cable and which are impossible to connect abnormally, IDE connectors require observation. Next to the place for the cable there is a group of contacts in the form of six pins. These are traditionally labeled CS/MA/SL. If you look closely, the two contacts can be shorted with a plastic jumper - it is called a “jumper”.

7. If your cable will connect only one device, remove the jumper and connect the cable with any of the free connectors to your drive or hard drive. If you have several drives and the one you want does not work, try a different connector.

Video on the topic

The Sata interface is currently the most comfortable method of connecting storage media to a computer, providing high data transfer speeds. Also, the connectors occupy a smaller area, which greatly extends the service life of the device. Connecting a drive via Sata takes much less time than installing media according to the usual scenario.

You will need

  • – a screwdriver or screwdriver.

Instructions

1. Turn off your computer and disconnect it from the power source. Using a screwdriver or screwdriver, unscrew the fastening elements of the side walls of the system unit. If you open the computer lid for the first time, pay attention to the presence of warranty stickers: if the warranty period has not yet expired, this may deprive you of the warranty of the seller or manufacturer of the device.

2. Choose the optimal location of the drive so that it is in the ventilation zone, because the drive tends to heat up, which affects the overall temperature indicator. Make sure that the cables do not interfere with the operation of the computer by coming into contact with the motherboard and other devices; Also, they are under no circumstances obligated to touch the cooler. If you have many storage devices installed in your computer, it is best to install an additional cooling system.

3. Install the optical drive in the selected position, securely securing it with special screws; they can come with the drive or be sold in a computer store; many of them even differ in the type of device. It’s best not to use ordinary bolts when installing computer equipment.

4. Connect the Sata cable to the connector with the corresponding name on the motherboard. When connecting devices via this interface, it absolutely does not matter what type of storage medium is connected to it. Connect the other end of the cable to the connector on the drive. Locate the unused wire coming from the power supply, connect it to the drive and arrange all the wires in positive order.

5. Turn on your computer. Installing a drive via Sata does not require additional steps when you turn on the computer. When booting, the presence of a new drive should be detected in mechanical mode.

Video on the topic

Note!
Avoid installing disk drives too close to each other so that they heat up less.

If, for unknown reasons, your computer no longer “sees” the rough disk, there are several reasons for this malfunction. The hard drive is out of order, the power cable and data cable are not connected tightly, sata is disabled in the motherboard BIOS controller. In the first option, you will most likely have to change the device, in the second - check the cable, in the third - set the BIOS settings correctly.

You will need

  • – manager rights.

Instructions

1. Go to your computer's BIOS. To do this, immediately after turning it on, press Del on the keyboard. On some motherboards, the special key for entering the BIOS may be different - read the instructions on the screen after turning on the computer. As usual, it may not work the first time, so you will need to try again. Be diligent immediately after turning off the computer and often press the button.

2. After entering the BIOS section, you will find the item Integrated Peripherals or anything that corresponds in meaning to integrated devices. This item contains options for setting parameters related to the internal probabilities of the motherboard. Find the Onboard SATA Controller entry. Or any entry containing the words SATA Controller. Check the options for this parameter - usually these are Enabled and Disabled, Enabled and Disabled, respectively. Set all parameters carefully. To confirm, press the Enter key.

3. Set the Onboard SATA Controller parameter to Enabled and save the BIOS changes by pressing the F10 button and enter, or by going to Exit and choosing Save changes. If you do not press this button, the system in mechanical mode will offer you to save all the metamorphoses that have been performed. After rebooting the computer, go into the BIOS again, as you did in the first step, and check if the hard drive is found. This can be done in the Standard CMOS Features or Standard CMOS Setup item; this item is usually placed first in the list. In total, we can say that enable sata- controller on a personal computer is not difficult, the main thing is to understand a little about the BIOS system.

Occasionally there is a need to connect several internal hard drives to one system unit. The tasks begin only if these disks have different formats: IDE and SATA.

You will need

  • IDE-SATA adapter.

Instructions

1. Don't worry - it's quite easy to connect hard drives with different formats to one motherboard. Remove the walls of the system unit and examine the ports on the motherboard.

2. The fact is that quite often even those models of motherboards in which the core hard disk is connected via a SATA channel have IDE ports. More often than not, DVD drives are connected to them. Find such connectors.

3. If a disk drive is connected to one of them, disconnect it and use the free cable to connect a new hard drive.

4. If such a port is free, purchase a cable (if there is none) and connect a rough disk to it.

5. Do not rush to despair if your motherboard contains only SATA or only IDE connectors. There are special connectors that allow you to connect hard drives with alternative ports. Purchase the necessary adapter.

6. Connect the purchased connector to the cable coming from the motherboard. Connect the connector to the hard drive.

7. Turn on your computer. To enter the BIOS menu, press the Del key. Open the Boot Device Priority menu. Nominate your dilapidated Winchester(on which the operating system is installed) as the primary device at boot.

8. You will save metamorphoses by choosing the Save & Exit option. Wait for the operating system to load. Most likely, there will be a mechanical installation of the driver for the new hard drive. After its conclusion, make sure the connected Winchester A.

Note!
Relatively old models of motherboards may not detect a hard drive connected via a SATA adapter. Occasionally, information from such a drive may be incorrectly read, as a result of which it will not be fully accessible.

Helpful advice
Before purchasing a connector, make sure that you can connect power to the hard drive.