Questions tagged [sata]

SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) is one of the most common bus interfaces for connecting mass storage devices to a computer system.

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Why is my USB drive showing corrupted data when plugged as an internal SATA drive?

I have a 3TB Seagate Backup Plus Desktop USB 3.0 drive, which works fine when in its enclosure, but when I get it off its enclosure and directly plug it as an internal SATA drive, it's just not ...
OMA's user avatar
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89 votes
8 answers
174k views

How can I remove the option to eject SATA drives from the Windows 7 tray icon?

The Safely Remove Hardware icon in Windows 7 offers the ability to eject my SATA drives, including the boot drive. I don't see myself ever needing this - especially not from the convenience of the ...
sblair's user avatar
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164 votes
16 answers
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How to check the health of a hard drive

My SATA drive started clicking and I was unable to access the data. This is the hard drive in question: HITACHI Deskstar T7K250 HDT722525DLA380 (0A31636) 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"...
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20 votes
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How can I enable AHCI on a SATA drive after installing Windows?

Can I enable AHCI after installing Windows 7 in a SATA drive that was on IDE mode?
Jader Dias's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
6k views

Possibly a dying hard drive, but reads, writes work - unsure about log entries

I recently received a Linux box having problems with Samba share - first off, couldn't connect, second ls -la showed some I/O error (close to what can be seen below) with no listing. Now, I've fully ...
tomsseisums's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
5k views

3TB hard disk displayed as 746GB

in BIOS , UEFI Boot is enabled , ACHI Mode is selected , and the 3TB Hard disk (Seagate ST30000DM001) is installed at SATA Port 3. However, in Windows 7 64-bit, 3TB hard disk is displayed as 746GB, ...
Raptor's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Moving Windows 10 installation to another drive

There are a lot of questions like this, but given the specific circumstances I am adding this one as a new question as there are some specific issues that need to be tackled. The steps that got me to ...
66h3m3ab's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
29k views

Hard Drive Failure? Cannot run CHKDSK. Recovery?

I have WD My Book Essential 3TB external drive for more than 2 years now. It worked fine until about a month ago when it stopped being recognized. After extensive googling, I ran chkdsk /r on it and ...
ome's user avatar
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55 votes
4 answers
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What is the actual speed of SATA 3?

Google says it is running at 6Gb/s. The throughput is at 600MB/s. 600MB/s equals 4.8Gb/s. Does this mean that the bandwidth is 6Gb/s but the actual throughput is 4.8Gb/s ?
Space Ghost's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
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Can I connect a SATA-II hard drive to a SATA-I connection?

I have an older computer with a SATA-I connection. My hard drive crashed and I need to buy a new hard drive. Will I run into problems if I connect a SATA-II drive to my computer?
8 votes
2 answers
11k views

Is it worth to get a SATA-3 controller to max my SSD out?

I have an OCZ Agility 3 on a Gygabyte GA-P55-UD5 (it only has native SATA-2 support, not SATA-3). I have to admit performance is already interesting but should be half of total possibilities. I've ...
Pitto's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
15k views

How can I determine whether a given SSD and motherboard are compatible?

How can I determine whether a given SSD and motherboard are compatible? For example, I have an OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX50G 2.5" 50GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive and a GIGABYTE GA-H67A-...
b.carroll's user avatar
52 votes
4 answers
243k views

How can I determine the SATA controller version on Windows?

I have recently bought the ASUS N550JV-DB71 and I am planning on replacing the Bluray Drive with an SSD. Is there any way that I can confirm whether the BD Drive is connected via a SATA 2 or a SATA 3 ...
osm's user avatar
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32 votes
3 answers
108k views

Switch RAID to AHCI without reinstalling Windows 10

My Dell XPS 9560 uses RAID as a SATA controller mode. After I change it to AHCI, the Windows 10 will not boot. What should I do if I don't want to reinstall Windows 10? RAID = Redundant Array of ...
qin's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
29k views

How can I enable AHCI mode after Windows Vista install in IDE mode and before/for Windows 7 clean install? [duplicate]

I just purchased a 2 TB Fantom USB 2.0/eSATA external hard drive. Unfortunately it revealed my oversight when my first custom system was built last summer. I installed Vista Home Premium 64-bit ...
Donat's user avatar
  • 221
2 votes
4 answers
809 views

How do I transfer a Windows 7 installation to a new HDD?

I've just got all the parts I need to build a new PC but the SATAII hard drive I ordered did not come and I've received an IDE drive instead. While I wait to get the correct drive type and send the ...
Nidonocu's user avatar
  • 141
0 votes
3 answers
657 views

Solution for mounting hard drive better on desk to prevent SATA cable wear

For the next few months, I'm going to be zeroing out a lot of disks. I managed to get hold of a Host Bus Adapter (i.e. a PCIe to SATA expansion card) to give me an extra SATA controller in my tiny mid-...
Hashim Aziz's user avatar
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77 votes
3 answers
227k views

What is the purpose of this 4-pin interface on SATA HDDs and why doesn't it exist on SSDs?

I have 4 HDDs here with me, from 3 different manufacturers, and all of them have the following 4-pin extra interface beside the SATA connector: HDD with 4-pin interface Looking on the internet, I can ...
Diogo's user avatar
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26 votes
3 answers
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SATA drives: What is the difference b/w IDE mode and AHCI?

I just built a PC for the first time. My Gigabyte motherboard notifies me after the POST that I have SATA drives operating in "IDE MODE". It asks me if I want to switch to AHCI mode to allow hot ...
Neil Traft's user avatar
21 votes
3 answers
54k views

What is the difference between SATA and eSATA?

Is the following correct? eSATA is the same as SATA, except that the cable plug has a slightly different shape, but as far as the electrical signal goes, it's the exact same thing. In theory, if you ...
Manos Dilaverakis's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
5k views

What's the difference between SATA and SATA-II (3.0 GB)?

What's the difference between SATA and SATA-II (3.0 GB)? Specifically, if I'm shopping for a new (budget, so not new-new) motherboard, do I need to take into consideration if it supports SATA-II? ...
anonymous coward's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
2k views

Anyone know why older USB drive cases have a 2TB size limit?

I recently upgraded a home-built external hard drive from 1TB to 3TB. In doing so, I learned that it's bridge board doesn't support drives larger than 2TB. I had to get a newer case in order to ...
David C.'s user avatar
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38 votes
5 answers
237k views

Can you connect an M.2 SATA to an M.2 NVMe port?

As people already know they are physically compatible, you can plug an M.2 SATA (aka M+B key) into an M.2 NVMe (M key). My question is will it work?
unom's user avatar
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35 votes
5 answers
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Demystifying SATA hotplug

I have a BIOS that has an option to enable hot-plug on individual ports. I have a sliding enclosure for HDD and SSD (nothing more than a pass-trhu to power and a sata port) that allow me to cut power ...
gcb's user avatar
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20 votes
4 answers
58k views

Why does a SATA hard drive have jumpers?

Back in the days of PATA hard drives, a person used jumpers on the drive to indicate whether the drive was the master or the slave of the channel, or to let the cable select which drive was which. ...
eleven81's user avatar
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19 votes
4 answers
32k views

6Gb/s SATA hard drive with 3Gb/s SATA port?

I know I can use a 3Gb/s SATA hard drive with a 6Gb/s SATA port, but can I use a 6Gb/s SATA hard drive with a 3Gb/s SATA port? I am unable to find a definite answer.
Joseph's user avatar
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16 votes
3 answers
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Are all SATA cables compatible with SATA 3?

I have a HP Compaq de5700 Small Form Factor desktop computer, and I am looking to upgrade it's hard drive. When I open up the box, it clearly has available SATA connectors on the motherboard, but no ...
Jim Fell's user avatar
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15 votes
4 answers
31k views

Can I install a laptop 2.5" SATA drive on a desktop without any adapters?

My girlfriend's computer has had the disk so I'm going to reinstall the operating system. However, before I do this I need to get all the data onto another machine. As the laptop won't stay on long ...
jammus's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
719 views

If I my motherboard is SATAI, can it use SATAII hard drives?

My motherboard has SATAI and I was wondering if I could buy SATAII hard drives and use it with it. I expect SATA I transfer speeds, but I wanted to make sure to see if that is okay to buy a new hard ...
Strawberry's user avatar
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2 votes
4 answers
5k views

DISK BOOT FAILURE after upgrading power supply

After upgrading my power supply, I get the following error message when trying to boot into Windows 7. DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER My Windows 7 installation is on a SATA ...
Phenom's user avatar
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2 votes
4 answers
23k views

Windows 7 won't show SATA Hard Drive in My Computer

I have clean install of Windows 7 x64 with two SATA hard drives. When I open My Computer, I can see only the drive where Windows are installed (and all partitions), but I don't see the other one. ...
Jakub Arnold's user avatar
30 votes
6 answers
111k views

Can hard drives fully utilize SATA III?

My motherboard currently supports both SATA II and III (3 Gb/s and 6Gb/s respectively), but after reading some online, it seems as though connecting a HDD to the 6 Gb/s is pretty much pointless. If ...
nathpilland's user avatar
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28 votes
7 answers
66k views

How do PCIe to SATA expansion cards work, and does my PC support them?

I've recently been looking into getting a PCIe to SATA expansion card, which I think is otherwise known as a port multiplier (which was the first result in Google when I searched for such an adapter). ...
Hashim Aziz's user avatar
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15 votes
1 answer
49k views

Connecting Internal SATA HDD to eSATA

I have these 3 things: (1) An internal 3.5 SATA HDD. (2) An independent power supply that provides a Molex style connector (i.e. 5V and 12V power) and an adapter to convert it into SATA (except that ...
JavaMan's user avatar
  • 447
14 votes
1 answer
5k views

Do hard disk drives turn on 512e (512byte emulation of 4k sectors) as-needed depending on host controller?

I have a 4 TB hard disk that has 4k physical sector size (Advanced Format) and I attached it to two SATA host controllers (one internal and one in a USB enclosure). On the (older, about 2010) it comes ...
Nathan Summers's user avatar
13 votes
8 answers
146k views

Can SAS drives work on a SATA motherboard

I have a Supermicro X8STi-F motherboard and would like to know if I can use SAS drives on it. I am not concerned with RAID right now, just if the drives will work. Or does the fact the motherboard is ...
winarm's user avatar
  • 337
11 votes
2 answers
15k views

Is my hard drive dying?

Im gettings strange error messages in the terminal. This is the output of dmesg: [ 3317.715990] ata4.00: exception Emask 0x10 SAct 0x78 SErr 0x400000 action 0x6 frozen [ 3317.716113] ata4.00: ...
erai's user avatar
  • 131
11 votes
3 answers
13k views

Does having TRIM enabled affect other hard drives on a computer (and how do you know when Windows is using it)?

I recently purchased a new solid state drive (an OCZ Vertex 2 (80 GB)) to use primarily for my operating system. I also have three other SATA hard drives of assorted sizes for long-term data storage. ...
Breakthrough's user avatar
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10 votes
4 answers
66k views

Is there a SATA cable which can connect to multiple disks?

I have a motherboard with just few SATA slots but have to put quite few hard disks in the box, so naturally I easily ran out of free slots. I wonder if there are forked cables (I have no idea what ...
DejanLekic's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
10k views

Is SATA bandwith per Port or per Controller?

I always assumed that it was per Controller channel, and that If I have 4xSATA 3.0Gb/s ports on my Motherboard then I should have a potential 12.0Gb/s of bandwidth. However, after doing some searching ...
instanceofTom's user avatar
10 votes
6 answers
107k views

SATA Devices not showing up when in UEFI mode

I'm trying to install Windows and the bios should be set to UEFI mode. The problem is that all SATA devices aren't showing up (shows as if there aren't any) so I can't boot from the installation CD (...
Dan Barzilay's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
35k views

Adding a SATA 6 Gbit/s PCI Express controller card?

If I add a SATA 6 Gbit/s PCI Express card to my motherboard, will I get similar speed to native SATA ports built into the motherboard? I ask because I have a SATA 6 Gbit/s SSD and my motherboard ...
Jeffrey Kevin Pry's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
26k views

Internal SATA hard disk shows up as removable device on Windows 7

I am running Windows 7 on an Acer Aspire M7720 with three internal SATA drives; drive #2 and #3 are on a removable HDD rack. Drive #3 (on the second removable HDD rack) shows up as removable device ...
neutron80k's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
6k views

Is it safe to disconnect a SATA disk during sleep?

Is it safe to disconnect a SATA disk during sleep Windows 7? Is the disk powered off when the computer successfully have entered sleep mode? This is not my system disk, it's just a spinning disk for ...
MyAwsomeName's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
23k views

Can I use a second power supply for hard drives? [duplicate]

I have an old Pentium-M based Shuttle PC that is great as a backup NAS solution at home, where I prefer low power consumption over speed. It only has two SATA ports. However it has a PCI slot and I ...
raindog308's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
8k views

How to connect this laptop SATA HDD to regular desktop SATA cable?

How can I connect this laptop SATA HDD to regular desktop SATA cable? Please look at the picture for reference. I can't find any adaptors and not sure if any SATA dock has similar connector. EDIT: An ...
MoggerRus's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
223 views

How do you transfer to a new laptop from an Internal Hard Drive removed from an old laptop?

The old laptop won't work. So I'm looking to transfer data from my old laptop's hard drive, a 640 GB Momentus (I'm pretty sure the hard drive is fine), to a new laptop. I've researched and it looks ...
Alexander Sibelius's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
33k views

SATA drives or chipset throwing DRDY ERR and ICRC ABRT

I have an SD-VIA-1A2S PCI card with 2 sata ports (and one ATA-133 that isn't used). Two new Western Digital Caviar Green drives (WD10EARS 1TB) throw repeated errors in kern.log (removed date/time/...
Matt's user avatar
  • 153
5 votes
1 answer
3k views

Is SATA 3 backwards compatible?

I am getting a SSD but the only cheap ones are SATA 2, and my motherboard has only SATA 3 slots. Will it work with my motherboard and do I need to buy a SATA 2 or 3 cable for it?
Dr Hydralisk's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
19k views

Are SATA II and SATA 3.0 Gbps compatible?

I am trying to check that if I buy a new internal HDD it will work in the NAS I am buying. Currently I'm confused about naming schemes and once that is resolved whether there is compatibility. I will ...
Johnny Maelstrom's user avatar