Which Is It - Serial or Parallel I/F?

Hello,

Here are the specs for that system.

You might as well open it up and take a look. That system has both PATA and SATA connections. If the drive came with the system, I suspect that it's PATA, if it's a newer drive it 'could' be SATA.

Hi, Thanks for the suggestion. However, I'm not brave enough yet to open things up ( think you were talking about the tower.) I did refer to the E310 Service Manual. Under "Available devices" it says "Serial ATA drives (up to 2) .....etc." I'm guessing that means I need a serial drive.

Hello again,

Come on, give it a try. It is very easy to open the case. Here is how you do it. Just make sure that you unplug the system from the wall before you open it up. And I think you are wrong about your present drive being SATA.

This is what you will see once you get the case open. You only have two SATA connections that support one SATA device each, and one PATA connection that supports two drives. You really need to see what you have so you don't buy the wrong type drive.

Just ask if you need more help.

 You can tell whether you have PATA or SATA by looking at the data cable attached to the back of the drive. If the cable is flat and wide (ribbon-cable) then it is PATA. If it more akin to a network cable with a similar size connector, then it is SATA.

 If you're looking at a particular brand/model of DVD burner, you may want to do some additional research to see if anyone is having problems with your E310 and burner combination. Firmware and BIOS updates tend to creep out of incompatibilities and can usually be found on the respective manufacturer's websites.

787

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestion. However, I'm not brave enough yet to open things up ( think you were talking about the tower.) I did refer to the E310 Service Manual. Under "Available devices" it says "Serial ATA drives (up to 2) .....etc." I'm guessing that means I need a serial drive.

OneidaOmi

Hi,

Thanks for the info. I'll take a look at the cables. If I still have questions, I'll be back!

Again, thanks!

OneidaOmi