What the heck is the four pin adapter / connector for on the back of SATA drives

[masteryor]

Hello,
what is the 4 pin connector on the back of certain SATA hard drives?

 

[Twoboxer]

If you mean these 4 pins:

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/981/related/1/session/L2F2LzIvc25vLzEvdGltZS8xMzE0MDAyMDk5L3NpZC9sV095bDlDaw%3D%3D#powersupply

they allow use of the older molex power connector.

 

[COLGeek]

Hello,
what is the 4 pin connector on the back of certain SATA hard drives?

In addition to the possibility of beeing a MOLEX power connector (as pointed out by Twoboxer), you could also be looking at some jumper headers that some SATA drives have. Ther are usually used to force the device to work in SATA I vs. SATA II mode (compatibility mode).

 

[fzabkar]

In addition to having certain user configurable functions, certain combinations of jumpers can configure the drive for factory test mode.

For example, Seagate's SATA jumper pins have the following functions:

- 1.5Gbps limitation jumper
- Ground
- Rx (serial terminal input)
- Tx (serial terminal output)

Jumper Settings for WD SATA and EIDE Hard Drives:
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/other/2579-001037.pdf

 

[aangbob]

Is the 4 pin old molex connector significantly slower than the 15? I doubt any one will read this, but I am in dire need.

 

[fzabkar]

There is no functional difference between the Molex and 15-pin SATA power connectors.