On Wednesday, January 19, 2000 12:01 PM,  "Reinaldo Rodriguez"
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
T
<snip> Will a Ultra DMA 66 hard drive work in a system that is only Ultra
DMA 33
> capable? TIA.
>

Yes, the Ultra DMA/66 (ATA/66) protocol and commands are designed to be
compatible with existing ATA devices and systems. Drives implementing Ultra
DMA/66 are "fully" backwards compatible with older ATA modes, including
Ultra DMA/33 (ATA/33). It will handle all the data transfer modes.  The
slower modes previously worked with a standard "40-pin" interface cable but
Ultra DMA/66 (ATA/66) "requires a "40-pin 80-conductor" cable for modes 3
and 4.

If you have an UDMA/33 system, it can be upgraded by purchasing a PCI-EIDE
controller that supports UDMA/66.  *Note:  This info pertains "mostly" to my
Western Digital Caviar drive and as in computer tech, I don't know if it
equally applies to every hard drive on the market.  HTH. :-)

Walter R. Worth
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