SATA HDD on Falcon
The SATA interface has in couple of years became the standard hard disk interface for desktop and notebook PCs. Following is a simple experiment on using a SATA HDD on an Atari Falcon.
The hardware
The SATA hard disk drive - in my case a Hitachi 60GB 2.5" drive
A US$5 standard IDE to SATA converter from ebay (made in China).
This device has a 44 pin male IDE interface that easily plugs in to the Falcon IDE ribbon. The other end is a standard 7+15 SATA interface.
The device drive
Nothing special, any of the Atari hard disk driver will work. I choosed CBHD because it is free, supports Falcon IDE and 2 IDe devices.
Connecting & setting it up
Connect up the 44 pin cable from the Falcon to the 44 pin male of the IDE-SATA converter. Connect the SATA hard disk to the the other side of the adapter. That's all.
Boot up the Falcon, and install CBHD as per any other IDE device. Partition as per normal.
The out come
The IDE-SATA converter connected to the Falcon IDE cable and to the SATA Hard disk.
Close up showing of the SATA hard disk showing the model of the Hitachi hard disk. This model is being reported by CBHD on bootup.
CBHD booting up on the Falcon. It sees both primary and secondary drive.
In this case, the IDE-SATA device is always the primary as there is no way to change it on the device, there is no jumper.
See you at
WongCK
created: 14 Aug 2010