Evolution

• ATAPI is a protocol set that was developed to replace ATA. With the development of ATAPI by the Small Form Factor Committee, a variety of devices could now be used with ATA compatible standards. Common examples include zip drives, CD-ROM drives and other removable media drives.
  
  

ATAPI Devices

• ATAPI devices use parallel ATA ribbon cables in order to connect to the motherboard of a computer. Parallel ATA ribbon cables can transfer 16 bits of data at a time. These cables are designed so that they can be used to connect one or two media drives to a computer motherboard.
  
  

Jumper Settings

• ATAPI devices use small jumpers in order to designate media drives as primary, master, slave or auto. The devices were designed this way so that multiple drives could be connected to one motherboard input. ATAPI devices can also be configured from the computer's BIOS menu.
  
  

SATA

• Serial ATA, or SATA, is the protocol that has come to be favored in place of ATAPI. The advantages of SATA over ATAPI are that SATA was faster, had smaller and easier to use cables and more efficient. Although ATAPI is still in widespread use, SATA is the most commonly used standard for all new computers.