Changing Computers (Part 4)
By: Mr JM
At the simplest, the changeover can be simply removing one hard disk from a machine & connecting it into another.
Unfortunately, that simple version is rarely how things go. One immediate issue is whether the old computer is ATA style of hard disk and the new one is SATA. (ATA is Advanced Technology Attachment and SATA is Serial Advanced Technology Attachment – they are standards for connecting hard disks and CD/DVD drives) The problem is they use different cables to attach for data and power.
A lot of new computers or motherboards (also known as mainboards) come with connectors for both types of drive. While hard disks are pretty much converted over to SATA now, there are a lot of CD/DVD drives still connecting with ATA.
How to tell which you have? Easy – ATA have the flat 40-pin cables, usually grey, and 40 thin wires in a flat plastic ribbon, terminating in a rectangular, two rows of 20, plug. If your cable has way less than 40 wires and has a plug less than two centimeters wide (less than ¾ inch) it is SATA.
ATA had a nice system where you could put two devices on each cable; SATA so far seems to be one per cable, so I would think the ATA system will be around for a while so systems can have two hard disks AND a DVD.
So, if you have an older flat ribbon type drive, the chances are pretty good you’ll be able to add it into your new machine, at least long enough to copy your data over, and quite likely as a second hard disk for data storage.
Ideally you’d want the system drive to be the SATA drive as they are faster and pump more data through to the system, but there is no reason not to have an ATA drive in there for data files.
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