Soldato
IF so, does that mean that I can take out any SATA storage drive (bar C: of course as Windows would probably freeze up) while my PC is still in Windows?
Is SATA hot swappable?
- Thread starter Kaiju
- Start date
Man of Honour
In theory yes if you use the safely remove hardware bit in windows but in practice i dont know
The spec is designed to be hot-swappable. Whether or not your controller will let you hot-swap them is a different matter. Check it out in your motherboard manual if you're using an on-board controller.
yes it is hot swapable. i dangle sata drives out the side of my case when people bring them in to me to get data taken off them. all i do is slap the power cable in first then slap in the sata cable and its all good to go, windows auto detects the new drive and its instantly available to use. sometimes you need to set a drive letter for it in disk management.
but yea it works 100% fine all the time while the machine is running.
tested this on 3 nforce2 boards and my asrock 939 board.,
but yea it works 100% fine all the time while the machine is running.
tested this on 3 nforce2 boards and my asrock 939 board.,
Soldato
Do you need to safely remove etc...? As I never do with USB->IDECyber-Mav said:
The answer i think is no, unless the controller specifically supports it which most don't. They can be made to be hot swappable by adding a hot swap module i think which i've seen in some cases.
As far as i'm aware unplugging the power connectors on a sata drive is the same as unplugging the power connector on an ide drive, both carry a certain amount of risk.
At least this is what i've been lead to believe.
As far as i'm aware unplugging the power connectors on a sata drive is the same as unplugging the power connector on an ide drive, both carry a certain amount of risk.
At least this is what i've been lead to believe.
i'd love to believe that but can you back it up?Cyber-Mav said:
I have been told otherwise several times. And as there is no difference really between a molex power plug and a sata one it seems logical to me that the risks of unplugging a molex connector while powered are the same for a sata connector.
Please prove me wrong if you can, because i'm fed up with powering off to swap drives around.
iv done it a shed load of times and had no problems. pulling out a power plug is the same as turning off a pc. one way or the other the power is cut from the drive. the only difference being that hot swapping allows you the connect the drive to a pc just like you would a usb memory stick.
give it a go there is nothing to be afraid off. the sata spec was designed to be hot swappable.
only noobs to the pc scene will be scared to do it. ive been working with machines now or 15 years and im always reading up on whats new and how it works, simple stuff really.
give it a go there is nothing to be afraid off. the sata spec was designed to be hot swappable.
only noobs to the pc scene will be scared to do it. ive been working with machines now or 15 years and im always reading up on whats new and how it works, simple stuff really.
Man of Honour
Im not a noob to the pc scene by any means but id be pretty nervous about doing this the 1st time just because something says it should act one way does not mean it will and it goes against pretty much everything people having be saying for years about unplugging components when the machine is onCyber-Mav said:
Cheers you lot, I don't see why people are scared though. I've even tried hot swapping PATA drives before, with obviously no luck. I think there's a lot of scepticism in the IT world with all the hardware faults, but I see this as being 90% manufacturer fault and only 10% technological fault.
Unplugging a sata power connector is not the same as switching it off. You could easily cause a power spike or surge that could damage the drive.Cyber-Mav said:
I'm sorry but i'm not going to take it from you that its ok, i need to see it backed up with a credible source.
As i say, i've asked this exact question before, and i was told that sata is not hot swappable unless the controller is compliant or if you have a hot swap converter.
If it is as you say hot swappable what are these?
Why would you need a sata hot swap back panel if sata was already hot swappable?Coolermaster said:
Having said that, i frequently unplug things connected with a molex connector when running and i've never had a problem, and i never do the safely remove hardware thing with usb memory sticks, but i wouldn't do it with drives with valuable data on it unless i am certain they are designed to withstand it.
if your afraid of sata hot swapping then don;t bother with it. just turn your pc off and connect the drives. you are abviously new to computing and electronics if your afraid of hot swapping a drive which is hot swappable. 
Joe42 said:
if your afraid of power spikes then change your qtec psu in your system because voltages inside a pc are REGULATED only thing that will cause a problem is a short, and that only occurs if your a n00b.
pointless you even posting in this thread to be honest
Don
The power connector on a SATA power cable is specially designed for hot swapping to avoid the risk of power surges and the like by making the ground pins longer than the other pins.
Molexes have no such feature.
Jokester
Molexes have no such feature.
Jokester
Now that i will listen to. Although i'm still confused about these sata hot swap backplanes in cases... what are they for?Jokester said:
Cyber-Mav said:
Don't be so ridiculous. I'm certainly not new to either. Don't jump to conclusions. I never directly said sata wasn't hot swappable, i said i have been told and read that it isn't without a special adaptor and i'd like you to show me some documentation so i can be sure. I'm also pretty sure i was told on this very forum that its not hot swappable.
As i've said several times, i'd be extremely please if you can prove to me that it is, because then i needn't bother switching off the pc to swap drives around.
I am the last person you should be accusing of using a q-tek and knowing nothing about psus.Cyber-Mav said:
Take, for example, the 143 threads regarding psus that ive posted in and helped people out in.
A significant number of which have involved me persuading someone that a q-tek/hiper/cheapo psu is a bad idea.
Don
Joe42 said:
If it's anything like other server cases, it probably lets you take a SATA drive clean out the front of the server in a caddy without having to open the side up.
Jokester
Ok thanks for the clarification. And what about where it says hot swap only works with compatible controllers? Are all controllers compatible?Jokester said:
Does it matter which order you unplug it, i seem to remember being told to unplug one first, but can't remember which it was, the data or power.
So let me get this straight..
Sata Power + Sata Connector = Hot Swap
Molex + Sata Connector = No Hot Swap yeah?
sounds logical... never used Sata power on my sata drive always used molex hence ive been scared of doing it (know of many instances of powerd on molexes + dvd drives = pop) but now i rewired everything im using propper sata power =] handy to know i suppose
Sata Power + Sata Connector = Hot Swap
Molex + Sata Connector = No Hot Swap yeah?
sounds logical... never used Sata power on my sata drive always used molex hence ive been scared of doing it (know of many instances of powerd on molexes + dvd drives = pop) but now i rewired everything im using propper sata power =] handy to know i suppose