[RESOLVED] Power to SATA Hard Drives

[Falcon Speed]

I have a SATA power cable from my PSU stick out the back of my computer. I also plugged a Y-Connector to the end of it.

When I plug one sata hard drive to it, everything works fine. When I plug two sata hard drives to it, the first one would stop. I zero it down to the fact that it is not getting enough power. How do I know? I took the second sata hard drive and plugged it to another external power source and both worked.

So, why is this happening? Is it the Y-Connector or is it the PSU not having enough power to the sata cable?

[jdc2000]

What is the make and model of the power supply in question?

[Falcon Speed]

The PSU is OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341018

I only have one Video Card in it: BFG 8800 GTS 512

[jdc2000]

I assume that both drives work properly when they are they only drive plugged into the SATA power connector. If that is the case, then most likely the "Y" splitter setup is not working because the power supply is designed to only supply enough power to each SATA power cabel to power one drive. Since this is a modular power supply, that seems likely. You could just run two SATA power cables out the back of the case to eliminate the need for a "Y" splitter. If you want to avoid having to do that, a neater solution might be one or two SATA removalbe drive bays like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817998041

[Falcon Speed]

Hi JDC,

Ok, since the last hour, I did three things.

First, I removed the modular cables and plugged in different ports, meaning switching them around. I don't think anything will come out of this since all the ports are the same anyway. Right?

Second, I did as you mentioned in your previous post and removed the Y-Connector and ran the entire sata cable out exposing two sata plugs. I hooked both sata drives to it and seems like both are mounted so far.

Third, I also took out a neon light.

So, it is working and perhaps the Y-Connector was not transfering enough juice.

As for your recommendation, I use to have that setup for my pata drives. Only problem is that I have an Antec 900 and there are not that many bays unless I take the 2 fans out. I already have two DVD drives so there is only one left. I am going to give this a few days to see if this work. If it disconnect again, then I will move forward with your suggestion.

Thanks bud!

[Falcon Speed]

I am also going to go back to the Y-Connector tonight. If that works, then that means the moving of the port or the removal of the neon light.

[Falcon Speed]

OK, just want to confirm that it is the Y-Connector setup. It did not like it when I switched it back. That is kind of weird huh?

[dneilson]

Not weird at all--Post # 4 explains it clearly.

[Falcon Speed]

I would agree too, but do you want to know the odd thing?

Well, let me correct something first. I mistakenly wrote that I ran a sata cable out of the back of my computer. It was actually a molex cable. I then extended that and hooked an extension molex. Hahahaha, don't lose me here. Then it was connected to a Y-Connector (with molex ends). Then one molex connector to a fan and the other molex connector to another Y-Connector that has SATA connectors at the end. Get it? LOL, I know someone is going to ask WTH???

So this is what I did to correct the above. Ready??? I ran two molex connectors (on same cable) out of the back of my computer. I used a "molex to sata" connector to power my first sata drive. I connected a Y-Connector (molex connectors at the end) to the second molex connector from the computer. I decided to experiment. So, at the end of those molex connectors, I connected a pata drive to one molex connector (instead of the fan) and then the other molex connector is connected to a "molex to sata" connector to power the second SATA drive. The pata drive was hooked up with a "IDE to USB" converter.

Guess what? All three drives power up fine and Windows detected them. Apparently, I think the Y-Connector for the Sata drives was a lemon.

So dneilson, I am not sure if post #4 still applies to this. Could you help me understand.

Thanks

[jdc2000]

It might be time to look for a new case that will allow you to have all of your drives and fans in it without needing to place some of them externally.

Your extra cable extensions, connectors, and additional devices connected to one power output cable from the power supply add additional resistance and power draw from that one power output, and the power supply either can't supply enough current, or senses that too much current is being drawn and cuts off power to that connector.

[Falcon Speed]

It might be time to look for a new case that will allow you to have all of your drives and fans in it without needing to place some of them externally.

The thing is, I don't use those hard drives all the time. But I have noted the pullout that you recommended earlier.

[jdc2000]

This case might be an alternative:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133182

[Train]

I used a eSATA adapter mounted in the case and to power the hdd, I use the ac power from a USB -SATA/Pata adapter like this one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...53WNBGD18YD4N2

Either USB or eSATA, I can still read and do what I want with any hdd.
I paid $19 for my kit.

[Falcon Speed]

I used a eSATA adapter mounted in the case and to power the hdd, I use the ac power from a USB -SATA/Pata adapter like this one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...53WNBGD18YD4N2

Either USB or eSATA, I can still read and do what I want with any hdd.
I paid $19 for my kit.

Yep, I have similar to both setup too.

For PATA drives, I use an old PSU (with the paperclip trick) that I believe you or Nick recommended. I avoid plugging directly to the molex running from the computer because I messed up one time by plugging the molex backward into the PATA drive. It shorted the motherboard, hard drives, and many more. Stupid me, I plugged the power adapter from the link that you provided and it blew that power adapter away also. That is what happen when you plug it into a damage drive. I had to swap hard drive interface boards to get it going. Definitely, learned that lesson the hard way and thought I losted all my data. The only thing remained working from that link was the "IDE to USB" cable. With an old PSU, at least you have some form of circuit protection I think.

So for PATA drives, I do not do a direct plug into the computer unless it is literally internal ide.

The only time I use the "IDE to USB" cable is when I am dealing with PATA drives. I prefer the eSata connection since it is much quicker than USB.

For SATA drives, I use the eSata cable and to power it, I use the sata cable that runs out the back of the computer. Reason? When I shutdown, hibernate, or sleep the computer, it shuts the SATA hard drive down with it. You can forget when using an external power supply which means the SATA drive can run all night while the computer is off. And if you did a hibernate or sleep, it acts all weird when computer wakes up again.

So for SATA drives, I prefer to do a hotplug with AHCI settings. Frankly, I still put my computer into SLEEP when I do a hotplug anyway.

I do have a question. Is it safe to unplug or disconnect the power when performing hotplug? Is the term hotplug or hotswap? At least when we perform a shutdown from Windows, does it send any commands to the hard drive, telling the drive to prepare to shutdown. Disconnecting the external power or whatever just seems so abrupt to the process.

I use to thought that eSata and Sata transfer at the same rate. Apparently not according to this article: http://www.ehow.com/facts_7682152_tr...ta-vs-usb.html

Feel free to make any recommendations or suggestions.

Thanks

[Train]

eSATA is much, much faster than USB 2 or older. But when working with older rigs USB is the only option available.