Some definitions:

* ATA or PATA - Parallel ATA - the traditional parallel ATA interface - used by disk drives.
* ATAPI or PATAPI - ATAPI using PATA - used by CD, DVD and tape devices.
* SATA - Serial ATA - serial version of parallel ATA - mostly used by disk drives.
* SATAPI - Serial ATAPI - ATAPI using SATA - used by CD, DVD and tape devices.

Parallel ATA (PATA/PATAPI)

PATA and PATAPI is the traditional ATA interface that has been standardized for 10+ years by the ANSI/INCITS ATA-1 through ATA/ATAPI-6 standards. This interface is widely used by PATA disk drives and PATAPI CD/DVD and tape drives. PCMCIA PC Card ATA devices and Compact Flash (CF) devices use a PATA based interface.

Read more about PATA on the PATA page - http://ata-atapi.com/pata.htm

http://ata-atapi.com/