sata hotswap

[Modder man]

not that i do this on purpose or on a regular basis. but is it bad to unplug sata drives while they are running? is there something extra in hotswappable cages or do they just make it a clean setup with the backplane?

 

[Blue Fox]

Hot-swap is part of the SATA specifications.

 

[serpretetsky]

you need to make sure your sata drive is running in AHCI mode and not IDE or compatability. (if your running in ide mode, it's the same as unplugging a regular ide drive while in power, generally not recommended)

You should have a little icon in windows on your system tray that allows you to "safely remove" the drive in question.

If this icon doesn't exist, i would first check the bios, and then make sure you have newest drivers installed.

(if AHCI is disabled in bios, do not just enable it, read up on enabling AHCI after installing windows first)

 

[Old Hippie]

Beside the AHCI mode needing to be enabled for the system to recognize or disconnect the drive immediately, there's also a little trick with the connector.

The connectors use staggered pins so that certain pins are connected before others.

I believe the ground pin is connected first and disconnected last.