How do I know what ATA protocol my mobo uses?

[lee3164]

I want to buy a new HD for my PC. It uses ATA 100 and I don't know if my motherboard supports it. I've got a vague recollection it's ATA 66 but I've lost the manual. How can I find out? And is the drive likely to be backwards-compatible?

Cheers,

Lee

[mjc]

The ATA rating is like the maximum speed it will do, kind of like putting 95 on the speedometer of a Chevette.....yeah on a flat track, with a strong tailwind, maybe!

Yes an ATA100 will run perfectly well on a ATA66 board. I'm doing it right now....you just won't be able to get the maximum perfomance from the drive. Anyway the ATA speed is a burst speed, the sustained transfer rate is much lower, and they will be about the same.

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mjc
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Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[lee3164]

Thanks!

Only thing is, I'm still not sure what my present controller (built in to the motherboard) is cabable of. Is there any little freebie software utility to find out?

Thanks again,

Lee

[Paleo Pete]

Yes an ATA100 will run perfectly well on a ATA66 board. I'm doing it right now....

Yep, me too...works great but you don't get the full performance capability of the drive.

Only thing is, I'm still not sure what my present controller (built in to the motherboard) is cabable of. Is there any little freebie software utility to find out?

I think the system information utility in Windows will cough up that information, or you can try and locate a manual which would be an even better idea, especially if you want to do any upgrading.

Start the computer and during the first boot screen you should see a long number at the bottom left of the screen. Use the [Pause] key to stop the boot process and write that number (BIOS ID string) down. Any other key will resume booting. I always avoid using [Enter] to reduce the possibility of executing a command by mistake. I use [Enter] ONLY when executing a typed command and after not double but triple checking it...As a habit I use the spacebar as the infamous "any key".

Go to Wim's BIOS (http://www.wimsbios.com) and you can look up the motherboard and probably find a manual that should have that and lots more useful information.

You might also check the motherboard for any markings silk-screened onto it, sometimes one will be the model number. Type it into the Google (http://www.google.com) search window and you might find a link to a manual.

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