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I'm currently building a server, and it's exhibiting the weirdest behavior with the hard drive. It is a 2U case, and I have trouble trouble accessing the Seagate SATAIII hard drive when it is in the bottom slot of the hard drive cage. The case is made of galvanized/anodized steel. I thought the drive was DOA, but then I swapped it into the top slot, and the problem was solved--the system had no trouble recognizing the drive anymore!

This got me thinking: Is it possible that the magnetic field from the chassis was affecting the hard drive's functionality? I only have this problem with the mechanical hard drive, not the SSD. Could it be because the chassis is made of steel? I'm baffled.

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  • Are the cables and screws the same?
    – Mark Sowul
    Oct 5, 2012 at 0:47
  • What do you mean?
    – eek
    Oct 5, 2012 at 0:50
  • When you moved the drive, did you use the same screws and cables as when it was in the other bay?
    – Mark Sowul
    Oct 5, 2012 at 1:10
  • Yes, identical.
    – eek
    Oct 5, 2012 at 1:14
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    Cable possibly has a short and only works when it has a curve in it, or whatever shape it takes when it is up top. Try another cable and see if problem continues.
    – cutrightjm
    Oct 5, 2012 at 2:32

1 Answer 1

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Check the data cable. At least in my PC, the very bottom slot would force me to bend the cable near the drive at a bit of a hard angle. Perhaps this is causing a disconnect on one of the contacts.

For that matter, the power cable could cause it as well.

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    I really think it might be the power cable. I realized that it looks like the connectors in the middle of the cable receive power through what looks somewhat like a T-tap connection. Those connections have always failed me in the past. I'm dedicating a new SATA power cable specifically for this hard drive, and I'll report back.
    – eek
    Oct 5, 2012 at 15:03

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