14.4 Installing an SATA Hard Disk
Installing an SATA hard disk is
much easier than installing a PATA model because there are no
Master/Slave issues or DMA configuration steps to worry about. You
simply secure the drive to the chassis and connect the signal and
power cables. Most systems recognize an SATA drive and configure it
automatically. If the system doesn't detect the
drive automatically, you may need to use BIOS Setup to force
detection. The following sections describe the steps necessary to
install an SATA drive.
14.4.1 Physical Installation
In terms of physical installation, the only differences between PATA
and SATA drives are that they use different cables and connectors,
that you don't need to set Master/Slave jumpers on
SATA drives, and that each SATA drive connects to a dedicated
interface port. To install an SATA hard drive, take the following
steps:
If the motherboard does not include an embedded SATA controller,
install a PCI SATA host adapter card, such as those made by Promise
Technology, Inc. (http://www.promise.com) and SIIG, Inc.
(http://www.siig.com).  |
A PCI SATA host adapter may require driver software supplied with the
card. |
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Connect one end of the SATA data
cable to the SATA connector on the motherboard or SATA host adapter.
Remember that SATA uses a point-to-point topology, so each drive is
connected to a dedicated interface connector using an individual data
cable. The data cable connectors are identical on both ends, so it
doesn't matter which end of the cable connects to
the SATA interface. The data cable is keyed to make it impossible to
attach incorrectly. Secure the
drive to the chassis using four mounting screws of the proper size
(usually UNC 6-32), driving the screws through the side or bottom
mounting holes. If the screws were not supplied with the drive, make
sure they are not too long. Excessively long mounting screws can
damage the drive. If you're unsure, test the screws
by screwing them into the mounting holes using only your fingers. If
the screws seat fully without resistance, they are short enough to be
safe. Connect the interface and
power cables to the drive. The cable and drive connectors are both
keyed to prevent installing the cable incorrectly. Depending on the
physical arrangement of the drive and chassis, it may be easier to
connect the cables to the drive before you secure the drive to the
chassis.
The only problem you
are likely to encounter when installing an SATA drive is that most
power supplies do not have SATA power connectors. The solution is to
use an SATA power adapter, one of which may be bundled with the SATA
drive. If the drive did not come with an SATA power adapter, you can
buy one at any well-stocked computer store or through an online
vendor.
14.4.2 CMOS and OS Setup
After you physically install
the SATA hard drive, restart the system and run BIOS Setup. If the
SATA drive is not listed, use the BIOS Setup autodetect feature to
force detection and restart the system again. Depending on the
motherboard, the system may or may not recognize the new drive, as
follows:
- Motherboard without native SATA chipset support
-
Motherboards made before spring 2003 lack native (chipset-level) SATA
support. Transition motherboards produced in late 2002 through July
2003—e.g., the Intel D845PEBT2 and the ASUS A7N8X
Deluxe—use an embedded third-party controller chip such as the
Sil 3112A to provide SATA support. Some systems add SATA support with
a PCI SATA host adapter. Accessing the SATA drive on most such
systems requires a driver.
For a new Windows 2000/XP system that is to boot from the SATA drive,
insert the driver diskette when the operating system setup utility
prompts you to install third-party storage drivers. For Windows 9X,
follow the instructions provided by the motherboard or SATA interface
manufacturer. If the SATA drive is a secondary drive on an existing
system, use the OS driver update feature to load the SATA driver
after the system boots to the original primary hard drive. If the
SATA drive and interface don't appear on the list of
IDE/ATA devices, which they probably won't, examine
the list of SCSI devices.
- Motherboard with native SATA chipset support
-
Recent motherboards, such as those that use Intel Springdale-family
chipsets, recognize and use SATA interfaces and drives automatically.
After you install the SATA drive, restart the system and run BIOS
Setup. The new SATA drive should be listed as an installed device. If
it is not, run autodetect, save the changes, and restart the system.
The drive should then appear in the installed devices list unless the
drive, cable, or interface is broken.
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Some motherboards with embedded SATA interfaces offer SATA
configuration options in BIOS Setup, and others do not. If you are
adding an SATA drive to an existing system as a secondary drive, you
should not have to alter BIOS settings. If you replace the boot
drive, you may need to change boot order in BIOS Setup to allow the
system to boot from the SATA drive. Depending on the BIOS, the boot
order screen may list the SATA boot setting as SATA, the drive model
number, or SCSI.
If the motherboard has embedded SATA interfaces, you
are normally prompted to install any necessary drivers when you first
start the system. If you didn't install these
drivers during motherboard installation, you should be prompted for
them during Plug-and-Play enumeration. Before you install an SATA
motherboard, it is a good idea to visit the SATA controller
manufacturer's web site to download the latest SATA
drivers for that controller.
If a properly installed SATA drive is not
recognized by the operating system, verify that BIOS Setup is
configured properly and that you have loaded and enabled the latest
driver for the SATA controller you are using.
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14.4.3 Optimizing SATA Transfer Rate
Unlike PATA drives and interfaces,
which may use various PIO and DMA modes, SATA drives and interfaces
use only the 150 MB/s SATA transfer mode. You don't
need to configure settings manually. If the SATA drive is running at
all, you can be sure it's using optimum
settings.
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