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The information below outlines the general definition of each of these terms.
DISCUSSION IDE/ATA The original, base specification for the family of interfaces described in this section is called both IDE and ATA. The name IDE is the more popular of the two, even though it is misleading since it stands for integrated drive electronics which refers to putting the logic board with the hard disk much more than it has anything to do with the interface. The more correct name is ATA or AT Attachment, which defines the standard interface. The original IDE/ATA standard defines the following features and transfer modes: Two Hard Disks: The specification calls for a single channel, shared by two devices that are configured as master and slave. PIO Modes: ATA includes support for PIO modes 0, 1 and 2. DMA Modes: ATA includes support for single word DMA modes 0, 1 and 2, and multiword DMA mode 0. "Plain" ATA does not include support for enhancements such as ATAPI support for non-hard-disk IDE/ATA devices, block mode transfers, or logical block addressing. The Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White) and all subsequent Macintosh computers have master and slave capability. Prior Macintosh computers, including all Performa models and all Power Macintosh Models with four-digit model names, do not have this capability. For more information, please see article 24342: " Power Macintosh G3: Master and Slave Support and Configuration " EIDE Enhanced IDE, also called EIDE, is the term that Western Digital uses to describe its advanced drives that incorporate the performance improvements defined in ATA-2, along with several other refined protocols. EIDE has become a widely-accepted term in the industry, which would be great if not for the fact that it is used to stand for so many things, some of them completely different. For this reason, the term has been criticized--not least by Western Digital's competitors--for being confusing and vague. Western Digital describes its Enhanced IDE program as including the following improvements over ATA: ATA-2: EIDE includes all of the improvements that are part of ATA-2, including higher-speed transfer modes. ATAPI: EIDE includes support for non-hard-disk devices on the IDE/ATA channel. Dual IDE/ATA Host Adapters: The EIDE standard includes support for dual IDE/ATA host adapters, allowing four IDE/ATA/ATAPI devices to be used. The Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White) and all subsequent Macintosh computers have master and slave capability. Prior Macintosh computers, including all Performa models and all Power Macintosh Models with four-digit model names, do not have this capability. For more information, please see article 24342: " Power Macintosh G3: Master and Slave Support and Configuration " ATAPI AT Attachment Packet Interface (ATAPI is the description used to identify non-hard-disk devices used on the IDE/ATA channel. This includes CD-ROM, tape, and ZIP type drives. You could say that ATAPI refers to ATA drives that support removable media. For more information see article 24342: " Power Macintosh G3: Master and Slave Support and Configuration " |
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