Drive FAQs

Q: What is Ultra DMA?

A: Ultra DMA/33, also known as UDMA or UATA, is the latest ATA/IDE hard disk drive interface. Ultra DMA/33’s predecessor, Fast-ATA, had a maximum burst transfer rate of 16.6 MB/sec. Ultra DMA/33 doubles Fast-ATA’s burst rate to 33 MB/sec. The Ultra DMA/33 protocol removes bottlenecks associated with data transfers especially during sequential operations.
In addition to speed improvements, the protocol brings new data integrity capabilities to the ATA/IDE interface.Improved timing margins and the use of Cyclical Redundancy Check  (CRC), a data protection verification not implemented in legacy ATA modes, help ensure the integrity of transferred data.
For even greater integrity, the protocol can be used at speeds slower than 33MB/sec. In this case, both signal anddata integrity will surpass that of Fast-ATA.

Backward Compatibility

The Ultra DMA/33 protocol allows drives and systems to retain backward compatibility with the existing ATA standard. Because of this feature, installed PCs without the Ultra DMA/33 capability can use new disk drives in legacy ATA modes at transfer rates up to 16.6 MB/second. To take advantage of the high-speed 33 MB/second protocol, PC users in the installed base can purchase an Ultra DMA/33 PCI adapter card.

Q: What is DVD writer drive?

DVD-RW
Short for DVD-ReWritable, a re-recordable DVD format similar to DVD+RW. The data on a DVD-RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium. DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM are supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp. These formats are also supported by the DVD Forum.

DVD-R
Short for Short for DVD-Recordable, a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R. A DVD-R can only record data once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc can not be recorded onto a second time. There also are two additional standards for DVD-R disks: DVD-RG for general use, and DVD-RA for authoring, which is used for mastering DVD video or data and is not typically available to the general public. DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM are supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp. These formats are also supported by the DVD Forum.

DVD+R
Short for DVD+Recordable, a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R. A DVD+R can only record data once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc can not be recorded onto a second time. DVD+R and DVD+RW formats are supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and others.

DVD+RW
Short for DVD+ReWritable, a re-recordable DVD format similar to CD-RW. The data on a DVD+RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium. DVD+RW and DVD+R formats are supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and others.

DVD-RAM
A DVD format wherein DVD-RAM discs can be recorded and erased repeatedly but are only compatible with devices manufactured by the companies that support the DVD-RAM format. DVD-RAM discs are typically housed in cartridges. DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM are supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp. These formats are also supported by the DVD Forum.

Q: What is CD-RW Disk?

A: Short for CD-ReWritable disk, a type of CD disk that enables you to write onto it in multiple sessions. One of the problems with CD-R disks is that you can only write to them once. With CD-RW drives and disks, you can treat the optical disk just like a floppy or hard disk, writing data onto it multiple times.
The first CD-RW drives became available in mid-1997. They can read CD-ROMs and can write onto today’s CD-R disks, but they cannot write on normal CD-ROMs. This means that disks created with a CD-RW drive can only be read by a CD-RW drive. However, a new standard called MultiRead, developed jointly by Philips Electronics and Hewlett-Packard, will enable CD-ROM players to read disks create by CD-RW drives.

Q: What is DVD Drive?

A: Short for Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc, DVD are the same size and shape as a compact disc, but DVDs hold as much information, as much as seven CDs. That’s because DVD drives use a smaller laser to read a DVD. Encoded information on a DVD can then be smaller and leave space for more data. DVD discs can be encoded in single (4.7GB) or dual (8.5GB) layers, enough for a full-length movie. Many experts believe that DVD disks, called DVD-ROMs, will eventually replace CD-ROMs, as well as VHS video cassettes and laser discs.

Q: What is Zip Drive?

A: Manufactured by the Iomega Corporation, the Zip drive has a capacity of 100MB and 250MB, but the cartridges do not work with the existing base of floppy disk drives.

Q: What is LS-120 Drive?

A: Imation SuperDisk, also called the LS-120, this is a 3M spin-off. Capacity is 120MB, and both desktop and portable versions are now available. The advantage of the LS-120 is that it can read your existing 1.44 floppy disks as well as its own 120MB disks. There are several second-source makers, and the drive can be built on existing floppy disk drive production lines. LS-120 drives, uses a laser to position its read/write heads over very fine servo tracks etched into the surface of the disk platter. Since the laser is so precise, LS-120 disks feature 2,490 data tracks per inch, compared with 135 for floppy disks. In this way, LS-120 disks accommodate much more data in the same surface area.