FAST ATA-EIDE

11/8/97

FAST ATA/EIDE: Fast ATA and EIDE are terms that are used more or less interchangeably. The terms stand for "Fast AT Attachment" and "Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics" respectively. Fast ATA may be identified as ATA-2 if it supports PIO Mode 4 and DMA Mode 2. Fast ATA/EIDE should not be confused with Ultra-IDE, a later technology that further speeds the IDE disk interface.

Fast ATA and EIDE are not standards exactly. They are marketing terms from Western Digital and Seagate respectively. Some equipment advertised as being EIDE doesn't include all four EIDE capabilities.
Fast ATA is a standard specifying the capability to operate in PIO modes 3 (11mByte/Sec) or 4 (16 mByte/Sec) and DMA modes 1 (13mByte/Sec) or 2 (16mByte/Sec). EIDE comprises a set of features including Fast ATA; large disk handling -- Logical Block Addressing; dual controllers allowing up to four devices; and CDROM support. Fast ATA/EIDE use standard AT disk cables. The devices are backward compatible with non-Fast ATA/unenhanced IDE. Full support of the Fast ATA/EIDE capabilities may require compatible BIOSes and/or controllers, and/or disks, and/or motherboards.

Web References

http://www.1search.com/usenet/eide1-2.html
~~http://www.bookcase.com/library/faq/usenet/pc-hardware-faq/enhanced-IDE/part1.html~~

These are different versions of the same (excellent) FAQ