4

Serial and Parallel ATA Drive

Guidelines and Features

✎Serial ATA = SATA Parallel ATA = PATA

ÄCAUTION: HP only supports a PATA hard drive in SATA systems when the PATA hard drive is used in a MultiBay device.

4.1SATA Hard Drive Information

CharacteristicSATA

 

 

Number of pins/conductors in data cable

7/7

 

 

Number of pins in power cable

15

 

 

Maximum data cable length

39.37 in (100 cm)

 

 

Data interface voltage differential

400 - 700 mV

 

 

Drive voltages

3.3 V, 5V, 12 V

 

 

Jumpers for configuring drive

N/A

 

 

Data transfer rate

1.5 Gb/s

 

 

SATA connectors on the system board are color coded to make identification easier.

SATA IdentificationColor

 

 

Primary channel, device 0

Blue

 

 

Secondary channel, device 0

White

 

 

4.1.1 SATA Data Cable

The SATA data cable is a thin, 7-pin cable designed to transmit data for only a single drive. As shown in the table, each cable has three grounds, and four transmit/receive pins.

SATA data cables are susceptible to damage if overflexed. Never crease a SATA data cable and never bend it tighter than a 30 mm (1.18 in) radius.