PATA, short for Parallel ATA, is an IDE standard for connecting storage devices such as hard drives and optical drives to the motherboard.
PATA Device Cables – CompTIA A+ 220-1101 – 3.1
PATA generally refers to the types of cables and connections that comply with this standard.
It is important to note that the term Parallel ATA used to be simply ATA. ATA was retroactively renamed to Parallel ATA when the newer Serial ATA (SATA) standard was introduced.
PATA cables are flat and have 40-pin connectors on both ends (in a 20×2 matrix).
