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Problems encountered installing SATA 3.0 Gb/s hard drives on SATA 1.5 Gb/s controllers

Answer ID 1337   |    Last Updated 02/25/2014
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Problem:

Second Generation Serial ATA (SATA II) hard drives are not detected when connected to a VIA or SIS Serial ATA controller. These First Generation Serial ATA (SATA I) controllers include the following chipsets:
  • VT8237
  • VT8237R
  • VT6420
  • VT6421L
  • SIS760
  • SIS964

Cause:

Our SATA II hard drives use autospeed negotiation. This enables our SATA II drives to automatically detect the motherboard data transfer rate, making it backward compatible with SATA I data transfer rates. However, some older SATA I controllers are unable to support autospeed negotiation and cannot recognize the drive. This “drive not detected” condition occurs when a chipset is incapable of correctly negotiating the data transfer speed with a SATA II hard drive.

Solution:

  • You can purchase and install a third party PCI or PCI-Express Second Generation Serial ATA controller card for your Serial ATA hard drive(s).

  • To lock the drive at 150 MB/s data transfer rate install a jumper shunt on pins 5-6 (OPT1), shown in the picture below. (Only available on 3.5 inch (Desktop) size drives)

  • If the OPT1 jumper setting does not resolve the issue, please Contact Us for additional assistance.

OPT1 Enabled:

OPT1 Jumper Setting


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