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Parallel ATA

interface standard for the connection of storage devices

Key facts

Type: Internal storage device connector
Designer: Western Digital and Compaq , subsequently enhanced by many others
Superseded by: Serial ATA (2003)
Hot pluggable: No
External: No
Cable: 40 or 80 conductor ribbon cable
Width: 16 bits
Bitrate: Half-duplex :, 8.3 MB/s per ATA channel originally, later 33, 66, 100 and 133 MB/s per ATA channel
Max devices: Two
Protocol: Parallel

via Wikipedia infobox

Article

Parallel ATA (PATA), originally AT Attachment, also known as Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE), is a standard interface designed for IBM PC-compatible computers. It was first developed by Western Digital and Compaq in 1986 for compatible hard drives and CD or DVD drives. The connection is used for computer storage such as hard disks, high-capacity floppy disk variants, optical disks, and tape.

The standard is maintained by the X3/INCITS committee. It uses the underlying AT Attachment (ATA) and AT Attachment Packet Interface (ATAPI) standards.