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ryomakun · 2007-02-22, 09:56

My brother has a WD Caviar® SE 250gig sata drive, i am just wondering why there are two power connectors ( the sata type and the normal type ) should both be plugged in? His computer hard disk restarts alot, so i opened it up and saw those two plugged in, should two powers be plug in?

GorillaCP9 · 2007-02-22, 10:57

THATS A BIG NO-NO. Only plug in one power (either the Sata power plug or the 4pin Molex). You can kill the HDD like that.

Sazelyt · 2007-02-22, 11:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryomakun

My brother has a WD Caviar® SE 250gig sata drive, i am just wondering why there are two power connectors ( the sata type and the normal type ) should both be plugged in?

Normal type is there to make sure the drive can be powered up in case no sata power connection is possible in the case. So, it is just a secondary power supply option, in case the first does not work, not a primary option together with the other.

However, I don't know what happens if you connect both cables. There might be a protective mechanism inside the disk to avoid problems in case the two power sources are active, most probably the restarts are a part of that. But, despite the protection, if you continue to use that, it might cause bigger problems for you (similar to shaking the drive continously).

Arimfe · 2007-02-22, 12:44

Indeed, you are only supposed to use 1!

I must admit, I've never been curious/courageous enough to put on both so I don't actually know what happens either

Which one you should use depends on how good/new your PSU is.

If you PSU connects to your drive by a converter like this:

Then it doesn't matter which one you use, just pick one, but only 1.

However if your PSU is new and has a "real permanent" SATA power plug attached, then it's recommended to use only the SATA power plug.

Jinto · 2007-02-23, 06:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryomakun

My brother has a WD Caviar® SE 250gig sata drive, i am just wondering why there are two power connectors ( the sata type and the normal type ) should both be plugged in? His computer hard disk restarts alot, so i opened it up and saw those two plugged in, should two powers be plug in?

Well this becomes a major issue if one uses more than one PSU, otherwise this should be not too critical (means it should not kill hardware).

ryomakun · 2007-02-23, 06:49

oh ok , thanks for the info!, i'm gonna plug one out now and see if it solves the problem.

ryomakun · 2007-02-23, 23:56

i think plugging out the Sata power solved the problem. =) thanks, maybe the sata power is faulty so i replaced it with the default power type.

2007-02-22, 09:56	Link #1
ryomakun Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006	Western Digital Sata Drives Question My brother has a WD Caviar® SE 250gig sata drive, i am just wondering why there are two power connectors ( the sata type and the normal type ) should both be plugged in? His computer hard disk restarts alot, so i opened it up and saw those two plugged in, should two powers be plug in?

2007-02-22, 10:57	Link #2
GorillaCP9 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Canada	THATS A BIG NO-NO. Only plug in one power (either the Sata power plug or the 4pin Molex). You can kill the HDD like that.

2007-02-22, 12:44	Link #4
Arimfe SharpenerOfTheBoxcutter Join Date: May 2006 Location: where Grudge is Greatest, Rancour Endless and Malice Eternal(at school^^;;)	Indeed, you are only supposed to use 1! I must admit, I've never been curious/courageous enough to put on both so I don't actually know what happens either Which one you should use depends on how good/new your PSU is. If you PSU connects to your drive by a converter like this: Then it doesn't matter which one you use, just pick one, but only 1. However if your PSU is new and has a "real permanent" SATA power plug attached, then it's recommended to use only the SATA power plug.

2007-02-23, 06:49	Link #6
ryomakun Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006	oh ok , thanks for the info!, i'm gonna plug one out now and see if it solves the problem.

2007-02-23, 23:56	Link #7
ryomakun Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006	i think plugging out the Sata power solved the problem. =) thanks, maybe the sata power is faulty so i replaced it with the default power type.