Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > Other Components > Hardrive installation question

Hardrive installation question

Forum CPU & Components : Other Components - Hardrive installation question

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
JuicyJuice   07-13-2009 at 08:05:11 AM

So first time I'm building a computer and having ordered all the necessary parts off newegg, everything came in their original boxes except for the hardrive. The hardrive simply came in bubble wrap and in the anti-static bag and nothing else. I've been going by the manuals included in all the products during my installation but I have nothing guiding me on the hardrive. The hardrive is:
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM .

Anyways I tried looking at installation guides online and found the following off the western digital website, http://www.wdc.com/en/library/sata [...] c_lang=en. The guide says that I need the "WD Sata cable with secure connect" which is nowhere to be seen in the parts delivered by newegg. Even more confusing still is my hardrive seems to be missing the "legacy ATA power connection" port. On the drive there is the SATA power connection and the SATA interface connection but nothing where the legacy power connection should be (all it is is a hole where you can see into the hardrive, it doesn't look like anything broke off though.) Anyone insight into this issue would be greatly appreciated, did newegg mess up in their packaging or am i missing something obvious? There are some SATA cables included with my mobo but they seem intended for external SATA drives and I'm not sure any of them would even fit. Thanks in advance!

Message quoted 1 times
Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
Andy2008   07-13-2009 at 10:40:57 AM
- 0 +

Connect it with a SATA power connector and SATA data cable. That's all it needs. I think the WD guide is out of date.

If your power supply doesn't have a SATA power connector, you can buy a Molex-to-SATA adapter. (Or your m/b might have come with one.)

Andrew

Reply to Andy2008
jimishtar   07-13-2009 at 10:43:52 AM
- 0 +

u just connect 2 cables on the drive: a molex power cable, and IDE cable. they are both from the PSU.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/ [...] cables.gif

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to jimishtar
Outlander_04   07-13-2009 at 11:16:00 AM
- 0 +

jimishtar wrote :

u just connect 2 cables on the drive: a molex power cable, and IDE cable. they are both from the PSU.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/ [...] cables.gif




sorry but you need to check back with the high command on your home planet . Your advice could not be more wrong

A SATA hard drive has two connectors . One is a power connector from the power supply .
The other is a SATA cable that will connect to the motherboard . There will be one or more SATA cables in the mb box . The psu power connectors are on the psu

The OP has everything he needs

Reply to Outlander_04
jitpublisher   07-13-2009 at 03:03:31 PM
- 0 +

That is what you get when you buy an OEM drive, you get the drive only and nothing else. If you needed install directions, software, cables, power connectors, etc. you needed to buy what is called a "Retail Kit".

You are in luck though, as your motherboard came with SATA cables to connect the drive to the SATA controller on the board, and your PSU will have the proper power connector, if is is a relatively new PSU made in the last 3 or 4 years anyway.

If you need help other than that to connect a hard drive, you need to stop what you are doing and enlist the help of someone who know's a little bit more about PC's.
If you don't, you are heading for trouble.

Reply to jitpublisher
Bronze CPUs badge jsc   07-13-2009 at 03:13:07 PM
- 0 +

JuicyJuice wrote :


The guide says that I need the "WD Sata cable with secure connect" which is nowhere to be seen in the parts delivered by newegg. Even more confusing still is my hardrive seems to be missing the "legacy ATA power connection" port. On the drive there is the SATA power connection and the SATA interface connection but nothing where the legacy power connection should be (all it is is a hole where you can see into the hardrive, it doesn't look like anything broke off though.)


"WD Sata cable with secure connect" - Later SATA data cables come with a metal clip that helps to retain the cable in the motherboard or drive.

"legacy ATA power connection" - 1st generation SATA drives came with them so you could upgrade without changing power supplies. I have a couple of WD 500 GB drives with both power connectors. Now, those are gone.

And last, the oem packaging. That means you get a bare drive in an antistatic baggie - hopefully in bubblewrap for protection.
That saves you $5 - $10 over the retail packaging.

Reply to jsc
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > Other Components > Hardrive installation question
Go to:

There are 834 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.376 seconds
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Related Topics
See all relatives topics
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them
  • 01:00 paesan won the Freshman badge
  • 01:00 -pcaddict- won the Freshman badge
  • 01:00 impreza won the Freshman badge
  • 01:00 raulkm won the Uniformed badge
  • 01:00 letus won the Uniformed badge
  • 01:00 pmiddy won the Uniformed badge
  • 01:00 MarcieMark won the Uniformed badge
  • 01:00 kaypeezee won the Uniformed badge
  • 04:06 xyz001 won the Sophmore badge
  • 01:00 scione won the Freshman badge