What is Parallel ATA?
[[File:Parallel ATA (PATA) connector on a motherboard - 34 and 40 pin- fs PNr°0267.jpg|thumb|ATA/ATAPI connector]] [[File:IDE cable 40 pin & 80 pin.jpg|thumb|80 pin and 40 pin cables to connect the drives]] '''Parallel ATA''' is a way to connect storage devices, such as [[Hard disk]]s, [[solid-state drive]]s, and [[CD-ROM]] drives inside [[personal computer]]s. The standard is maintained by X3/[[INCITS]] committee T13. It used to be called '''Advanced Technology Attachment with Packet Interface''' ('''ATA/ATAPI'''). ATA/ATAPI is the result of a long history of development. It is an evolution of the '''AT Attachment Interface''', which was itself evolved in several stages from [[Western Digital]]'s original '''Integrated Drive Electronics''' interface. As a result, many near-synonyms for ATA/ATAPI and its previous incarnations exist, including abbreviations such as '''IDE''' which are still in common informal use. With the market introduction of [[Serial ATA]] in 2003, the original ATA was [[retronym|retroactively renamed]] '''Parallel ATA''' (PATA). Parallel ATA standards allow cable lengths up to only 18&nbsp;inches (46&nbsp;centimeters). Because of this length limit the technology normally appears as an internal computer storage interface. For many years ATA provided the most common and the least expensive interface for this application. As of 2007, it has largely been replaced by [[Serial ATA]] (SATA) in new systems. Older computers based on Parallel ATA are still widely-used in embedded and industrial applications. ==Other websites== *[http://www.t13.org T13.org] {{Tech-stub}} [[Category:Computer hardware]] [[Category:Computer buses]]