PCMech Forums - An *UPDATED* guide to SATA drives.

First, thanks to Spyder003 who wrote the original guide to SATA back in 2004. Much of his original stickied thread I quote here, with some updates to keep the info current, and some additions based on the frequently asked questions this forum receives.

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Why go SATA?

SATA is the future of drive interface. Eventually all HDD and optical drives will take this route - and this is starting to happen now, as support for older PATA (IDE) drives lessens. SATA cables are smaller and allow for better airflow and cable management. The best part? SATA drives run on their own channel. This means NO master/slave configurations. That's right, when you get your new SATA drive, you don't need to mess with jumper settings.

Is my SATA drive going to be faster?

In short, no. It does allow for faster transfer rates (150 MB/s and 300 MB/s with SATA II) over the standard 33/66/100/133 used in current PATA devices, but the full potential isn't yet used. These are burst transfer rates; actual sustained transfer rates top out around 80MB/s. The two main contributing factors to drive speed are going to be rotational speed (5400, 7200, 10000 RPM's) and cache (buffer) size. If you're planning on buying a new drive, get at least a 7200 RPM drive with at least a 16MB cache.

What cables do I need?

You'll need two cables. A 7 pin data cable, and a 15 pin power cable. The data cable should come with your motherboard, or you can pick them up at a local PC shop for next to nothing. Some SATA drives can take either 4 pin legacy power or 15 pin SATA power. NEVER use both power connectors. You can ruin a SATA hard drive this way. Most new, quality power supplies come with plenty of SATA power connectors, but if yours does not, you can buy a 4 pin legacy power to 15 pin SATA power adapter if your motherboard did not ship with one.

Why isn't my SATA drive being recognized?

The vast majority of new motherboards now support SATA natively. Any SATA drive connected will be automatically detected by the BIOS. Some specialist, and older motherboards do not, however, and as such it is necessary to install a driver for the motherboard's SATA controller before the system BIOS will recognise the drive. The drivers for your SATA controller should be included on your motherboard CD, some motherboards come with a SATA driver floppy, or you can download them from the motherboard manufacturer's website. If you're getting the drivers from the installation CD that came with your motherboard, refer to your motherboard manual on where to find the drivers. Normally they are in a "drivers" folder on the CD, or there will be a "makedisk.exe" file that will put the drivers on a floppy for you. If your motherboard came with a SATA driver floppy, you're in luck. If you download the drivers from the manufacturer's website, there should be a readme.txt file in the installation package with instructions for making the floppy disk.

Once you have your SATA driver floppy disk, you're ready to install. Set your CD-ROM to the first boot device in the BIOS, insert your Windows CD, and restart. Once the Windows installation starts, watch the bottom of your screen. It's going to search for a few seconds, then you'll see "Press F6 for 3rd party drivers". Press F6 when prompted, then press "S" to specify an additional device. You'll then be prompted to insert your SATA driver disk. Insert the disk, press Enter, and Windows will search the floppy for the correct drivers. When it finds the drivers, your SATA controller will be listed onscreen (it should be the only one listed). It will ask which device you would like to install the drivers for, press Enter and you'll be on your way to a happy Windows installation.

If you're going to be using this drive in addition to your primary drive - as such, your operating system is already installed - you'll first need to install your SATA drivers. Whether you're getting your drivers from the motherboard installation CD or from the manufacturer's website, there should be a self installing *.exe file to install the drivers in Windows. Once the drivers are installed, shut your computer down and physically install the drive. So now you've booted back up and your new hard drive isn't showing in "My Computer" right? Simple. Right click "My Computer", go to "Manage", then "Disk Management". Now you should be able to see your new hard drive. Right click it, format it, assign it a drive letter, and it's now ready to use.

Why is my newly-installed hard drive detected by BIOS, but not showing up in 'My Computer'?

The steps to resolve this problem are located in this sticky thread:
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=175212

Why is my new SATA drive showing up in Windows as a removable device?

This is one of the most frequent asked questions asked in this particular forum. New builders are surprised to find the 'safely remove hardware' icon appearing in their taskbar, allowing them to eject their SATA hard drive - even if it's the only drive installed in the system.

This is not something that can be removed, but neither is it something to be concerned about. SATA is technically hot-swappable - just like USB, and unlike the older P-ATA (IDE) interface it replaces. Some motherboards come equipped with external SATA ports for the connecting of external eSATA capable hard drives, for example, and it is here where the ability to eject a SATA hard drive is needed.

Internal hard drives, on the other hand, should not be connected or disconnected while the computer is turned on. In fact, you'll find that you cannot 'safely remove' the system drive even if you tried.

It *is* possible to hide the icon, though, if you find it intrusive. In Windows XP, right-click anywhere on the taskbar and select properties. In the dialogue box that appears, check the "hide inactive icons" box, and click the customize button next to it. Locate the 'safely remove hardware' icon in the list that appears, and choose 'always hide' in the drop-down list next to it, under the heading marked 'behavior'. To see the icon from this point on, you'll need to click the small arrow to the left of your tray icons near the clock.

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As always, folks, this sticky is for information only. Please do not post individual questions in it, but feel free to suggest any additions you feel are appropriate. Thanks.