sata hot swappable?

[cheezer]

is it possible to hot swap current sata drives (such as a western digital wd2000jd) on current sata motherboards? i assume this would require an sata power connector (sata power connectors are made with some pins sticking out further than others so certain parts of the drive gain / lose power at the right times). i know hot swapping is advertised on a lot of sata products, but does it actually work or are there certain catches they don't tell you about so they can make a sale? would it work on a molex to sata power adapter or would it require a native sata power connector from the psu?

[xonik]

You have it mostly right. The Serial ATA data and power connectors are designed for hot-swap use. Use them and you won't have any problems. However, it's neater and probably more convenient if you used the drives in conjunction with a proper hot-swap enclosure and backplane designed for Serial ATA.

[Bar81]

Hot swapping requires the following:

1. The SATA controller supports hotswapping and the function is enabled in the controller BIOS
2. That the driver for the SATA controller support hotswapping

Also, note that if you SATA drive has a molex power connector you can't use that and hotswap - you can only use the SATA power and data connections. How the power gets to the SATA power connector doesn't matter (convertor or native).

Even with all that, hotswapping is of very little practical use in an internal setting.

[cheezer]

thanks for the help. has anybody actually tried this?

i actually would love to have hot swappable hard drives for a few uses...
1. sometimes my friends bring over their drives for big multi-gig data transfers. i can open my case while it's running, connect their drive (leaving it hanging out the case of course), transfer data, and give the drive back without interrupting anything else i'm doing.
2. i have a spare drive that i use as backup or for storing files i don't need to access for long periods of time. i leave the drive in my case with the data cable connected, but not the power. this way, i save power, create less heat, and prevent overall wear on the drive when it goes weeks without use. when i need to use it for a few minutes, i could plug the power back in while my computer's running and go.
3. it may come in handy testing drives if i'm having some sort of trouble with them.

a lot of you are probably going to cry external usb enclosure, but i have a few problems with those:
1. more money
2. slower
3. takes up more space, more weight, and another power outlet
4. it's another thing to have to take with me when i move my computer and i might forget it

[Bar81]

Well, my SiS 755 based ASRock mobo fully supports hotswap. There's even a guide in the box to show you how to properly do it (what cables to detach/attach in what order). It works as it should.

[Ice Czar]

the basics of hotswapping are the same for most interfaces
(there is even limited IDE hotswap support in Win95\98 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;192604) sort of like a compact flash reader more or less) but its the physical power & signal glitching that is probably most important

Hotswap Issues (http://www.t10.org/ftp/t10/document.94/94-230r1.pdf) SCSI-3 HotSwap \ Plugging

Problem Areas
Signal Glitching, data and control lines
Termpwr Glitching excessivs bypassing
Power Glitching (Current limiting devices required)
Faulty device current limiting
Power down devices

IDE RAID cards have been able to do true hotswap with sideband technology and the proper enclosures (http://www.promise.com/company/press/press_news_detail_eng.asp?press_id=9)

the basics of which is the ground pins being longer than any of the power or signal pins
New Smart Connectors Enable Hot Plug Capabilities (http://www.lostcircuits.com/advice/sata150/8.shtml) (< the SATA data cable)

the same is basic principles are applicable in N+1 redundant power supplies
Power Supply System Integration — Part 1: Single Source Fault Tolerant Power Systems (http://powerelectronics.com/mag/power_power_supply_system_2/)
(this article @ Power Electronics is really worth the read,
and gives you some ideas of exactly how important grounding and power stability can be)

the SATA power coupling does just that (whereas the standard molex does not), but I too would recommend a hotswap enclosure
and verify the controller\chipsets support, while the standard supports it
the specific implementation you have may not