Weird SATA power issue...

[Brahmzy]

Hey all,

So I got my new brand new OEM 74GB 16mb Raptors in.
Right now I ain't got a box to put 'em in, but I at least wanted to plug 'em in to see if they spin up.
So, as you know they have both a new SATA power input and an old legacy 4-pin power input.

Before you say it...NO I did not plug in both types of connections at the same time!

The issue I'm having is if I use my Antec NEO's SATA power plugs, both drives spin up fine. If I use a legacy power connector, neither one of them spin up. I can even put a legacy to SATA power adapter on the 4-pin molex and they spin up fine.

It's like unless they are being fed power from the SATA connections, they WILL NOT spin up.

This sucks as I prefer the old 4-pin molex connectors over the new SATA connectors.

Is there maybe a jumper I have to put on to enable the legacy power connection?

 

[Brahmzy]

Man,

25 views and no idears?

Help?

 

[drizzt81]

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc...F9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1wb3dlcg**&p_li=&p_topview=1

that is what WD says about SATA power. I don't see anyting w.r.t. jumper settings.

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc...F9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1wb3dlcg**&p_li=&p_topview=1

you are not hot-plugging them, are you?

 

[Brahmzy]

Not trying to hot plug 'em. I've read all WD's docs and cannot seem to come to any conclusion. In the mail tomorrow, I get my WD 250GB 16mb SATAII HDD. I will try it and see what happens.

And yes, these molex connectors work for everything else - even the SATA adapter!

 

[drizzt81]

have you tried connecting a SATA cable in addition to the 4-pin?

 

[Brahmzy]

No! Apparently this will smoke the drive. It says all over NEVER to connect both types at the same time.

 

[drizzt81]

No! Apparently this will smoke the drive. It says all over NEVER to connect both types at the same time.

I meant SATA DATA cable.. sorry.

 

[unhappy_mage]

My guess: staggered spinup support. Thus, when you put them on molex, they wait for the go signal from the data cable to start spinning up. Not a real strong guess, but it's something.

 

[Brahmzy]

I have not tried connecting a SATA dat cable yet as I have no way to do this at the moment. (I will when Conroe gets here)

I was wondering this myself - maybe it does need to see signal on the data cable. That's the only plausible explanation as BOTH drives exhibit the exact same behavior. The chances of getting two half-defective Raptors with serial numbers far apart is very slim.

Maybe you guys are right.

 

[Brahmzy]

So I plugged in my brand new WD 250GB 16mb SATAII HDD that came in the mail today, and it spins up fine with both the SATA power connector OR the 4-pin molex.

So I have 2 brand new Raptor 74GB 16mb HDDs that will not spin up on the same 4-pin molex.

WTF?

Anybody else have a new 74GB Raptor they can test?

 

[drizzt81]

So I plugged in my brand new WD 250GB 16mb SATAII HDD that came in the mail today, and it spins up fine with both the SATA power connector OR the 4-pin molex.

So I have 2 brand new Raptor 74GB 16mb HDDs that will not spin up on the same 4-pin molex.

WTF?

Anybody else have a new 74GB Raptor they can test?

I have an old one. If I remember, i will try it tonight, but my raptor is old(er), hence there may be lots to differences.