Windows HDDs ordering!

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asdoll

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Jun 11, 2014
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Hi!
I've 4 sata HDD in my PC

1. WD 500gb connected to SATA1 on mobo and detected as HDD1 in bios (Primary & System)
2. WD 1.5tb connected to SATA2 on mobo and detected as HDD2 in bios (Logical)
3. WD 2.0tb connected to SATA3 on mobo and detected as HDD3 in bios (Logical)
4. WD 2.0tb connected to SATA4 on mobo and detected as HDD4 in bios (Logical)

But Windows (7 Ult 64bit) Disk Management ordered HDDs as below:

1. Disk0 - WD 1.5tb connected to SATA2 on mobo and detected as HDD2 in bios (Logical) Disk E
2. Disk1 - WD 2.0tb connected to SATA3 on mobo and detected as HDD3 in bios (Logical) Disk F
3. Disk2 - WD 500gb connected to SATA1 on mobo and detected as HDD1 in bios (Primary & System) Disk C
4. Disk3 - WD 2.0tb connected to SATA4 on mobo and detected as HDD4 in bios (Logical) Disk D

All system utilities and HDD softwares first detect WD 1.5tb and strange thing is that "Count of Load/Unload cycle" of this drive (1.5tb) started count down every 2-3 days! but other smart data factors is good and stable!!

Any idea?
 
Solution
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Separate the drives to separate rails from the PSU. Four on one rail may be stretching it a bit. You may be fine with three on one rail, but I would go two and two.

Test that and see how it behaves.
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frostedtim

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Jul 1, 2014
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Using Disk Management, you can change the drive letters and re-order things that way (though not the primary boot drive), which will affect how its ordered in the Explorer window. Beyond that, if the drives are working as intended, I wouldnt mess with them. How Windows sees the drives may not show up the same as what the BIOS shows, but so long as the drives are recognized, it shouldnt be an issue.

If one drive keeps showing an indicator for "Count of Load/Unload cycle" then physically check the cables, as there is the possibility that it isnt getting enough power.

Speaking of power, what is your PC specs? You may not be running a PSU that can handle all of those drives. It all depends on what hardware combo you have and the cumulative power draw.
 
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asdoll

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Jun 11, 2014
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PSU 600 watt
APU with max TDP 117 watt
2x2gb RAM at 1.65v
One optical drive
MB MiniATX
and nothing else ...

Just all 4 HDD connected to PSU using one cable with 4 socket ... is it safe?

Thanks in advance
 
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frostedtim

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Jul 1, 2014
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Separate the drives to separate rails from the PSU. Four on one rail may be stretching it a bit. You may be fine with three on one rail, but I would go two and two.

Test that and see how it behaves.
 
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Solution
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asdoll

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Jun 11, 2014
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I checked my PSU capacitors and output voltages, all is ok
connected 2 2.0tb hdds to one rail and 2 other hdds to another one
aslo changed SATA cables
1.5tb hdd seems stopped count down "Load/Unload cycle count" and remained at 52 ... is this value good? or i have to change hdd?
I know this factor isn't a critical value of SMART but my data is important on this hdd.
 
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frostedtim

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Jul 1, 2014
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If the 1.5TB drive seems to be acting stable now, then I think we found the problem. The number of devices connected to the power cable was too much for it to handle.

The SATA cables having to be rearranged was unintended, but sometimes is needed, and shouldnt be problematic. So long as the BIOS and Windows recognize which drive is the boot drive first, then you should be OK. Like I originally posted, you can change the drive letters of all but the Boot drive/partition (which windows requires to be "C") to order them logically how you like.

I would still keep an eye on the one drive to make sure it stays stable, at least for a week or so. And if you are concerned about the data on it, then you may want to consider backing it up to another drive.

I always recommend backing up, but understand that this many drives can make such an action seem more daunting. SMART can be valuable in reporting if your HDD is working or not, but I have also seen drives that died without SMART reporting anything wrong.

You should be OK with the power supply itself, as 600W seems like plenty for your build. Out of curiosity, how many power rails does the PSU have coming off of it? At least one with the four SATA power connectors, possibly two? Is there any with the four pin Molex connectors?
 
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asdoll

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Jun 11, 2014
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My PSU has 2 rail for sata and 2 rail for ide
I think the problem was with sata cable, data value of "Ultra ATA CRC Error Count" for this hdd is "000000000001".
The drive is stable now and i check it out almost every 3-4 hours.
This hdd is working for 2 years and about all 24 hours so i'm going to buy a new one and will replace it as soon as possible.

Thanks much in advance
 
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frostedtim

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Jul 1, 2014
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If you need the extra power for SATA devices, the rails with the four pin molex connectors can be used. You just need an adapter for it. If they dont come with the new drive you are planning on getting, they can be purchased for around $2 at most pc hardware retailers and online.
 
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