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How can I convert the hard drive from ATA IDE to SATA?

Howdy everyone! I'm getting an Apple TV from eBay, and I'm a little bummed that it uses the old (40GB) ATA IDE hard drive interface, and I'd rather use a 120GB SATA that I have lying around not doing anything. I've looked for connectors or cables that would do the trick, but I don't think I've found one suitable. I located this: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Addonics/... on OtherWorldComputing, but it seems that it needs to be plugged in to work! I just need something that I can conceal in the Apple TV that you would never know was inside.

Anyone got any ideas? Is there a ribbon cable that would go straight from the logic board to an SATA drive?

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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It looks like you've found the best answer I've seen for this problem. There is nothing that will convert directly like just a ribbon cable. You'd be much better off getting the correct type of drive because the degradation in performance may be unacceptable.

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Okay. I just hate the costs of the old ATA drives. They're irrationally expensive. haha. Thank you so much for your help. It'll be a project. :)

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I just bought one at Best Buy (a 500 GB) for $74.50 two days ago.

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No way!? The laptop size?

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Wow, that must have been a Super Sale or something, because I just scoured Best Buy's website and the only PATA hard drives they have are good deals indeed, but far smaller and therefore far more expensive than the SATA ones. Did you buy that one online or in the store?

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I found a nifty IDE to Sata adapter at Microcenter. It was cheap and so far I haven't heard any complaints about the machine's performance. The adapter actually connected right to the back of the drive and needed no external power supply. It looks like a tiny logic board with the Sata and IDE connectors on both sides. Check on Microcenter.com

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Howdy! Yeah, this was a great one, too. I found it after I made this post:

http://usb.brando.com/2-5-ide-male-to-sa...

I'll look for yours though. :) Thanks!

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Hi guys, sorry for the moment of stupidity but I seem to be having a bit of an issue. I bought the adapter posted by TommyJames337 above. I have the SATA HD. The problem I'm having though is that the IDE cable that comes with the Apple TV is 44-pinhole but with the 1 pinhole blocked. The adapter is a full 44-pin adapter. Ergo, 44 pins won't plug into a 43 hole IDE cable. The other end of the cable is a full 44-pinhole connector, but that plugs into the Logic Board. What the heck should I use for an IDE cable to connect the two?

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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Please start a new question. Thanks

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TommyJames337 will be eternally grateful.
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