January 27, 20224 yr I adding a fourth 8TB drive (1 parity, 3 data) to my array. All 3 previous drives have been shucked WD EasyStore drives and went into the array with no problems. This fourth drive (same 8TB shucked WD EasyStore) works on USB, as well as an external eSATA dock, but when connected to an internal SATA power cable, it does not power up (have tried several cables that other working drives are attached to, and still no power to that drive). In my research, it appears that there is a new standard on some drives that if 3.3 volts are applied the drive does not turn on, as referenced in this thread... However, I can't find how to actually fix this. It appears that the third pin on the SATA cable/connection to the drive needs to be disabled. Is that correct? If so, what's the best way to do that without any permanent damage? Also, how do I verify that this is actually the issue? Edited January 27, 20224 yr by ptmurphy
January 27, 20224 yr 1 minute ago, ptmurphy said: what's the best way to do that without any permanent damage? As discussed many places, covering the pins with kapton (polyamide) tape is the cleanest non permanent solution.
January 27, 20224 yr Quote Also, how do I verify that this is actually the issue? You can verify it is the problem by hooking the drive back up to the usb/sata board that was attached to it in the housing - Or connect it to a molex to sata power adapter. If it powers up, you have your answer. If you're like me and could never get the kapton tape to stay in place: 1. using a molex to sata power adapter 2. cutting the appropriate wire on the sata power cable (it was easy to determine when I looked at the sata specification) (I modded most of my sata power cables to remove the appropriate wire)
January 27, 20224 yr Author Thank you for the information. I hooked the drive back up in the usb enclosure and it still worked, so seems the 3 pin 3.3v power was my issue. I did cover pin 3 (more accurately pins 1-3 - dang those pins are small. Couldn't get the 1-pin wide tape to stick, but covering 1-3 worked), plugged the drive in, and it worked! Again, appreciate the help!
February 2, 20224 yr On 1/28/2022 at 12:10 AM, ptmurphy said: Thank you for the information. I hooked the drive back up in the usb enclosure and it still worked, so seems the 3 pin 3.3v power was my issue. The issue affects shucked Western Digital drives only. Shucked Seagate drives are not affected.
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