SATA Drive
SATA
SATA (Serial Advance Technology Attachment) is the latest hard drive technology in the computer industry.
It provides faster and more efficient hard drive set-up compared to the conventional PATA (Parallel Advance Technology Attachment).
SATA uses thinner and longer cables with tiny 7-pin connectors, which provides well ventilated space options for the hard drive. It also works on a lesser power requirement unlike PATA. Most of all SATA drives exceed the transfer limit of the most well defined PATA hard drive technology. As the demand for SATA drives grow SATA adapters were introduced, which resolved compatibility issues between old computers and SATA devices.
Windows installation on SATA hard disk
· Remove your computer’s plug from the power outlet before attaching your SATA (Serial Advance Technology Attachment) drive on your machine.
· Mount your SATA drive to your computer’s motherboard where it is most suitable base on your cable’s reach.
· Initially attach your SATA drive’s data cable. Secure the connection of the data cable then attach your power cable.
· Once done mounting your SATA disk, check your floppy drive. It is important that you have a floppy drive to run your SATA’s driver inside a floppy disc.
· Start your computer and place the CD of your operating system inside your CD-ROM.
· Go to BIOS and enable “Floppy Seek” which will set your system to run your floppy disk. Save the changes that you made with BIOS using the “F10” button on your keyboard then exit.
· Secure an empty floppy drive as it may result to operating system installation interference. Load your floppy disc as the screen change to black with “Setup is inspecting your Computer’s Hardware Configuration” dialogue.
· Notice that during operating system installation the screen’s color is blue and that below are some texts on installation options. Look for the “Press F6 if you need to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver” message. Click on the F6 button for a number of times to be definite that it did not overlook the SATA driver during the installation of the different hardware drivers.
** Note that if you miss “F6” option your operating system installation will eventually stop and inform you of the missing drives. You will have to reboot your computer to catch F6 again.
· Series of message boards will appear on the screen including the SATA drive’s driver installation screen.
· After all the necessary drivers are installed the operating system will resume its regular installation process up until it is finish.
New SATA drive on current Windows system
This type of SATA drive installation requires lesser procedures and is easier to implement. Installed Windows operating system already contains the SATA driver necessary for its attachment. Windows will automatically set the attached SATA drive as its secondary master in terms of storage hierarchy.
· Turn your computer off and remove plug connection from the power outlet.
· Install the SATA drive. Secure data and power cable attachment.
· Start computer to reconfigure your new SATA drive.
You may start managing your newly installed SATA drive like a regular computer drive.
About the Author
John Hancock is a freelance writer who the author of articles such as Serial ATA, What is SATA, and E SATA RAID Visit SATA Drive.
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