A typical modern motherboard has 1 IDE channel, which can support 2 devices. IDE has been replaced by Serial ATA (SATA), so modern boards have 2 to 8 SATA ports. Older motherboards may have 2 to 6 IDE channels, which could support 4-12 IDE devices.
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This is dependent on the number of IDE controllers on the board. Older motherboards had two controllers, allowing a maximum of four IDE devices. Newer motherboards often only have one controller, allowing for a maximum of two devices.