1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Is SATA really plug and play?

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by core2kid, Oct 13, 2008.

  1. core2kid

    core2kid Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,430
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    46
    I tried to plug in a SATA notebook drive internally while XP was runing and it didn't detect the drive. I thought these drives and interfaces were plug and play. Why didn't it work?
     
  2. onya

    onya Guest

    Serious?

    Try THIS as a general guide. If the disc you are adding has an OS installed on it, you can format this from your original disc. (choose format-> drive name etc..) If you wish to boot from that HDD then you'll do so from the bios I believe. Also take a peek at this for cableing instructions.

    Cheers.
     
  3. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    I probably wouldn't risk it with laptops, but the S-ATA interface is plug and play, as the S-ATA power plug is designed not to allow shorts and drives that use the interface have a delay before they spin up after receiving power. Don't forget a S-ATA data cable alone can't power the drive, it needs power as well.
     
  4. core2kid

    core2kid Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,430
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    46
    Onya, I know cabling and all, I've built computers before. I just wanted to know, aren't you supposed to be able to plug it in internally like a flash drive and won't XP see it? After I did that on mine XP didn't see it but it saw it fine after a reboot. This means my hookup was fine but a problem with XP not recognizing the drive via Plug & Play.
     
  5. onya

    onya Guest

    It seems like I got the wrong end of the stick. Thanks to both, now I know (s-ata) a little better.

    Cheers.
     
  6. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    I think it might depend on the controller, I've seen it work, and I've seen it not work, without an explicable reason.
     
  7. pcrepair

    pcrepair Regular member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2005
    Messages:
    582
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    26
    I often have to pop into device manager and tell it to look for hardware before it finds the drive but it beats turning off and back on all the time
    having said that my son has killed a sata by pulling the power off at an angle so there is a slight risk everytime you do it
     
  8. core2kid

    core2kid Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,430
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    46
    I never actually thought of that. That is a possibility but if you said that it fried one of your drives, I may just hibernate the PC, plug it in and power it back on. Basically the same as plug and play since your not rebooting the system, just suspending it, without the risk of shorting out a drive.
     
  9. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    Through a poorly made cable, I've actually snapped the end off a S-ATA power cable once, did nothing to the drive. Then again that drive also survived a Qtec PSU meltdown...
     
  10. core2kid

    core2kid Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,430
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    46
    What brand was the drive?
     
  11. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    Western Digital WD2500JD.
     
  12. core2kid

    core2kid Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,430
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    46
    Haha, Ironically that was the same drive that I was trying to Plug and Play. WD2500JS
    250 GB WD OEM from a Dell Computer. My other Dell OEM drive is the JD one. Good drives.
    Did you adjust the AAM on the drive to max performance?
     
  13. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    I haven't done a damn thing to the drive, just plug in and go. I have a pair, they used to be in RAID0 before I realised how pointless it was.
     
  14. core2kid

    core2kid Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,430
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    46
    Edit the AAM on the drive using Hitachi HD Tools or something like that. By default it's set to the lowest which is quietest but lowest performance. You can select 0 to 254, whichever you need. You will see a huge increase in transfer rate over time.
     
  15. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    The drives already make enough noise and sustain 70MB/s transfer rates locally. I'd always select the quietest setting on HDDs.
     
  16. core2kid

    core2kid Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,430
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    46
    If yours is sustaining a 70MBPS transfer rate (Damn, that's good. How do you test it?) Then it's probably set at highest AAM.
     
  17. core2kid

    core2kid Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,430
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    46
    BTW, The refresh in Device Manager worked. Thank You.
     

Share This Page