Configuring ATA Devices
Each ATA interface (often called a channel) can have zero, one, or two ATA and/or ATAPI devices connected to it. Every ATA and ATAPI device has an embedded controller, but ATA permits only one active controller per interface. Therefore, if only one device is attached to an interface, that device must have its embedded controller enabled. If two devices are attached to an ATA interface, one device must have its controller enabled and the other must have its controller disabled.
In ATA terminology, a device whose controller is enabled is called a Master; one whose controller is disabled is called a Slave. In a standard PC with two ATA interfaces, a device may therefore be configured in any one of four ways: Primary Master, Primary Slave, Secondary Master, or Secondary Slave.
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