how to tell if motherboard is SATA or IDE friendly?

[norman]

< snip >
> >   
> Look at your mother board and look at the wire connecting the hdd to the 
> board.  If you have a 40 pin connector, about an inch and a half long. 
> it is an ide and if it is a small connector, about a half inch in 
> length, it is sata.  Hope that helps.

I trust you meant inch and half wide and not long. Similarly for the
SATA cable.

Norman