Can I use both SATAII and IDE drives on the same pc (SATAII as primary). I've got a ASUS P5K SE motherboard, P35 chipset. Many thanks

Hi jiangleijay and welcome to D-A-L.

I recommend you look in your manual. If you don't have one, or better yet, to get the latest updated version go out to ASUS and download it. The major motherboard makers have done a really good job at putting out very educational guides that are way beyond quick setup sheets. They include details about motherboard LEDs, Beep codes, hard drive set up and Boot Device Priority. Be sure to read all the safety precautions and ESD (static) damage prevention.

I note on the specifications page of the English manual it says that board has

4 SATA 3.0 ports
1 UltraDMA for up to 2 PATA devices
1 x Ext SATA 3.0

The UltraDMA port is the one you are interested in. ATA, Ultra ATA, IDE, EIDE are often (mis)used interchangeably, but essentially mean the same thing to most users. When Serial ATA (SATA) came about, folks (the IT Media mostly at first) differentiated the new (SATA) from the old (all those others) by calling the old, "Parallel ATA", or just PATA for short.

So yes, you can use both. Again, see your manual, it goes into great detail, including illustrations and pictures.

Thanks mate!!

You are welcome and good luck!

What about two different divces on the same PATA. I have only one UltraDMA and I want to put a DVD ROM and a Hard Drive on the same PATA cable. Can I achive this? If I can how do I sort the mater/slave jumpers on each drive?

What about two different divces on the same PATA. I have only one UltraDMA and I want to put a DVD ROM and a Hard Drive on the same PATA cable. Can I achive this? If I can how do I sort the mater/slave jumpers on each drive?

Easy.

If your cable is not labeled, buy a new "round" cable that is labeled. Round is better because it does not act as a dam to good front-to-back air flow.

Labeled or not, hold the cable out in front of you. The connector in the middle is ALWAYS the Slave. See how the Slave connector is offset from the exact center, and closer to one end? The Slave ALWAYS stays close to the Master.

Now there are two ways to set up the drives.

1. Set one (I recommend the hard drive) as Master and the other as Slave by moving the jumpers on the back of the drives to MA and SL respectively, then connect them to the proper cable connection. Each drive "should" have a label with an illustration for jumper position. If not, check the manual, or drive maker's website.

2. Set both to Cable Select (CS), then position the HD on the Master connector and the DVD on the Slave.

KEY POINT - Do not mix CS and MA/SL on the same cable.