This bi-directional adapter converts IDE to SATA or SATA to IDE. The PATA2SATA3 is a bi-directional SATA IDE adapter/converter that lets you connect a Serial ATA drive to a legacy IDE port, or an IDE drive to a SATA motherboard port. It is a cost-effective solution for upgrading existing IDE systems to support SATA hard drives or optical drives, eliminating the need for an expensive controller card and saving an expansion slot. The adapter can also be reversed to connect older IDE drives to a newer SATA-enabled motherboard, allowing for easy retrieval of old files.