SATA HDD with a PATA HDD

[swaroop123]

I have a 4 year old branded computer from HCL with 80 GB hard disk. Is there any way I can find out if it's SATA or PATA, by software or any other means? If it is a PATA hard disk,can I team it up with a new SATA one or will there be compatibility issues?

[krishnandu.sarkar]

Open the cabinet
And see wheather it's connected using IDE cable if yes then its PATA
If not then its SATA. SATA drives r connected using SATA cables to SATA ports(usually red coloured cables)

Otherwise go 2 ur BIOS........u can know wheather u r using SATA/PATA HDD 4m thr.....

U can also use TuneUp Utilities(Machine information) to know this

If u r using PATA HDD u can go for SATA HDD.......thr will b no campatibility issue with tat........

BTW 4 years old machine denotes its PATA HDD probably......!!

[saqib_khan]

Yes, most probably it will have PATA HD only.

[Cool G5]

It will most be PATA or IDE HDD.

[swaroop123]

Thanks friends, I just find out about my hard disk using Tune Up Utilities and surprisingly,it is a SATA hard disk.The model number is WDC WD800BD-22LRA0. I will be buying a 250 GB SATA this weekend, preferably from WD. Can I format or partition the hard disk myself? Please guide me about how to do it.

By the way,is 7800 gtx a better card in terms of game performance than 9600 gt, without taking into account the DirectX 9 or 10 factor?

[Cool G5]

Yes you can format it yourself. Right click on My Computer>Manage>Disk Management> Right Click & Start making partitions as per your requirements.

Or you can boot via G-Parted CD & do the partition.

[saqib_khan]

@swaroop123
Yes, 9600GT is ofcourse a better card, compared to 7800.