Category talk:T43
After some more investigation into the SATA vs PATA issue, I have come to the conslusion that while the controller is SATA, that it is using PATA passthrough, so the actual disk is still PATA, but you need Linux SATA drivers.
Tonko
Yes, so if you wanted to buy a hard drive to replace it, you'd have to get a PATA hard drive. This page suggests that people who want to upgrade will need a new hard drive that is SATA-native. Imagine the ruckus that this description can be causing to a current T4x/p user who already has an upgraded PATA hard drive (or want to use their current 7k60) seeing this page; they will be under the impression that their upgrade will not function with their T43/p purchase. Granted, T43/p's might not accept this upgrade because new BIOS'es simply do not allow them (the reason specifically being that the T43/p machines use a PATA <-> SATA bridge chip; cite: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=79779&highlight=#79779), but I think you should still clearly indicate that the hard drive is PATA native.
Your comment about the TABOOK.pdf referring that the hard drive is most definitely SATA; I see no text of this anywhere. The optical drive's connection is out question; the interface it uses is clearly independent of the hard drive's interface. Another way to verify this: take your hard drive's model and search it under its manufacturer's site. It will most definitely list your hard drive as ATA-6, an IDE/PATA drive. (And if it starts with HTS, then it's definitely ATA-6; HGST only has 2.5" TravelStars that are SATA-native on their 100GB drives, which Thinkpads do not even come with.)
Linux implements ICH6 (the PATA/SATA chipset) within the SATA driver, so my second modification, "40, 60 or 80GB PATA HDD (using ICH6/SATA drivers on linux)" is the best way to go. It also does not infer that the drive appears SATA on Windows, because it doesn't; it says IDE in the device tree, which correctly indicates that hard drive is a PATA device.
Hopefully awaiting your consensus.
Qubit
