Communication channel that carries diagnostic information and is a lower priority than data being passed over the primary channel. When referring to an IDE/ATA hard drive, the secondary channel is the data channel for the third and fourth drives, as shown in the picture. If the connections are color-coded, the secondary channel is usually black, and the primary is blue. If the connectors are not color-coded they are labeled as “IDE0” and “IDE1,” IDE1 (IDE) is the secondary channel.

Channel, Hard drive terms, IDE, Primary channel

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