SATA burner to replace IDE burner

[kranky]

Trying to help out a friend. His CD burner died and I said I'd get him a replacement and put it in. He had a ATAPI burner and all I can find in the B&M is a SATA. Is there anything I can get at a Best Buy to make the SATA burner work on his computer?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

They do make adapters but, find out what MB he has and it may work fine without an adapter.

 

[kranky]

Thanks.

 

[corkyg]

And, if the mobo does not have a SATA port, you can always install a SATA PCI card. In the long run, that might be the best way to go. Adapters exist, but they take up space and can be unreliable.

 

[akugami]

Having used a PATA/SATA adapter I'd say get a SATA PCI card. More reliable and does not add to the clearance needed at the back of the optical drive (or hard drive) if the case is a tight fit. Some hardware may also be temperamental with the PATA/SATA adapter.

 

[Auric]

There are adapters wot plug into the mainboard (as opposed to the drive).

However, why not avoid all the potential problems/hassle (even with a controller card) by mail-ordering a PATA model?

 

[MadScientist]

$17.99 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151176

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have been buying SATA-to-IDE/IDE-to-SATA adaptors from Meritline, there was a hot deal thread on them (maybe it was on FW), but someone tested them and found that they worked great for HDs, but didn't work on IDE DVD burners. Perhaps they would work with a SATA DVD burner, on an IDE host? I dunno.

 

[Cerb]

For SATA burners, if the mobo has no SATA, get a Silicon Image PCI or PCI-e card, and a SATA HDD (not ODD!). Make note of the chip model. If you have an XP box handy, even better (or, if his is an XP box, and you don't have one, do it in his PC). With the HDD plugged in, flash the card from the RAID BIOS they tend to come with, to the base BIOS, that you can find under SI's support section for that chip. Last I did this, anyway, it was required that a hard drive be plugged in to flash it.

In Windows XP, the card's driver dialog will have a flasher included. Otherwise, get the Windows flash utility from SI, and if on Vista or 7, make sure to run it as admin, if it doesn't automatically prompt you.

Personally, I'd get a PATA burner, unless you already bought, and cannot return, a SATA one.