Windows Vista Security: Praxisorientierte Sicherheit für Profis

Hardware Installation: What’s Changed

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The bulk of the message-board posts I see regarding hardware relate to the following:

• Which type of internal device is the right choice?

• Which type of external device is the right choice?

You’ll find answers to these questions in the sections that follow.

Which Type of Internal Device Is the Right Choice?

When it comes to internal devices, the right type of device to use is typically the

device your computer is designed to work with. Most current computers use internal

devices with one of the following interfaces:

EIDE

Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics (EIDE), also called Parallel ATA (PATA),

devices have been the standard in the home computer industry for many years.

Although EIDE is still in wide use at the time of this writing, you may find that

some newer computers don’t have EIDE input ports. To add support for EIDE

devices, you can install a PCI EIDE controller card.

SATA

Serial ATA (SATA) devices are becoming increasingly popular. As of the time

this book was written, most motherboard manufacturers include SATA input

ports on their boards. Because SATA cables are significantly smaller than EIDE

cables, this results in less clutter inside your computer and improved airflow for

better cooling. While some older computer system motherboards don’t have

SATA input ports, you can install a PCI SATA controller card to add support for

SATA drives.

You can use Windows Vista with both EIDE and SATA hardware devices, and it

doesn’t really matter to the operating system which type of device you use. Your

computer, on the other hand, must be configured specifically to work with EIDE,

SATA, or both. If you don’t know whether your computer has EIDE or SATA ports

on the motherboard, you can look at the type of cables being used inside your com-

puter. As Figure 5-1 shows, EIDE cables and SATA cables are very different.

Figure 5-1. Comparing EIDE and SATA cables