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IDE / ST-506 glue
1986
The ATA/IDE and earlier ST-506 interface glue logic that connected hard drives to PC and retro-computer motherboards.
Reference & documentation
External technical references for programming IDE / ST-506 glue and for writing emulators.
| Resource | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AT Attachment 8 - ATA/ATAPI Command Set (ACS-2) ↗ | Datasheet | Full ATA command set specification PDF |
| Historical ATA Standard Drafts (ANSI X3.221) ↗ | Datasheet | Original ATA-1 draft specs, 1989-1993 |
| T13 ATA/ATAPI-5 Working Draft d1153r17 ↗ | Datasheet | Full ATA-5 register and command spec |
| ATA Command Matrix (OSDev Wiki) ↗ | Instruction set | Full ATA command opcode table |
| ST-506/ST-412 Interface Signals & Changes ↗ | Pinout | Signal/pin evolution, head-select, step timing |
| ST506/412 (MFM & RLL) Pinout - AllPinouts ↗ | Pinout | 34-pin control and 20-pin data pinouts |
| ATA PIO Mode (OSDev Wiki) ↗ | Programming | Port map, IDENTIFY, read/write PIO sequences |
| Working with ST-506 MFM Hard Drives (Nerdly Pleasures) ↗ | Programming | Controllers, low-level format, interleave, termination |
| IDE/ATA Hardware Register Reference (Bochs) ↗ | Reference | Register-level IDE reference: task file, bit fields |
| ST-506/ST-412 Interface (Wikipedia) ↗ | Reference | MFM/RLL encoding, cabling, timing overview |
| ST506 Disk Interface (Computer History Wiki) ↗ | Reference | Analog read signals, encoding, cabling details |