[OT ] SATA - PATA adapter problem

[WhinYett]

I installed a startech bidirectional SATA/PATA adapter in my new desktop
in order to access an IDE disc from my old machine.
Everything worked perfectly - for about 3 minutes! After that trying to
access the IDE disc caused windows explorer to hang. The disc emitted
regular clicks at a few seconds interval - presumably resetting the heads?
Anyone have experience of this adapter? Can anyone suggest any way
forward with this set up? Is the problem likely to be with the disc or
the adapter?
Details are: Startech PATA2SATA3 bidirectional adapter, Samsung HD400LD
disc, Gigabyte GA-F2A75M-D3H motherboard. Windows 7 OS.

TIA
Frank

 

[Joe]

I installed a startech bidirectional SATA/PATA adapter in my new desktop
in order to access an IDE disc from my old machine.
Everything worked perfectly - for about 3 minutes! After that trying to
access the IDE disc caused windows explorer to hang. The disc emitted
regular clicks at a few seconds interval - presumably resetting the heads?
Anyone have experience of this adapter? Can anyone suggest any way
forward with this set up? Is the problem likely to be with the disc or
the adapter?
Details are: Startech PATA2SATA3 bidirectional adapter, Samsung HD400LD
disc, Gigabyte GA-F2A75M-D3H motherboard. Windows 7 OS.

TIA
Frank

If this head resetting is happening then the HDD may have spat the dummy.

Check the drive first then blame the adapter.

get an external case and check it that way, or I think there is a
sata/pata docking station that you can buy now which takes both types of
drives.

 

[Paul]

If this head resetting is happening then the HDD may have spat the dummy.

Check the drive first then blame the adapter.

get an external case and check it that way, or I think there is a
sata/pata docking station that you can buy now which takes both types of
drives.

If the drive worked for three minutes, then the interface side of things
is probably fine.

It's when the drive ID shows in the BIOS, but Windows doesn't see it at
all, you begin to suspect a comms problem.

That leaves a power problem, or the drive has a mechanical problem. But the
power in this case, comes directly from the ATX power supply, so that's not
likely to be it. On some enclosures or USB adapter sets, the power adapter
can be on the weak side. But an ATX supply is not going to have a problem
operating the drive.

About the only way you could screw up powering, is using a daisy-chained
Molex with way too many loads on it. I did that once, by powering two disk
drives and my ATI 9800Pro from the same Molex cable, which caused the
drives to spin down and spin up, over and over again. Anything that causes
the +12V voltage to dip below 11V can do that. So even with an ATX power
supply, if you chain together too many loads on the same adapter cable,
the voltage at the end of the cable can drop too low.

But I still don't consider that to be too likely. A newer computer,
with PCI Express video, won't be wired that way (separate 2x3 power
for video).

*******

The StarTech adapter uses Sunplus SPIF223A chip. It's a SATA I chip, and
the motherboard chipset should work OK with that. The Southbridge will
negotiate down to the SATA I rate.

*******

If it was me, I'd download HDTune, install it, power things off
(so the drive can cool off a bit maybe). Then, start up, run HDTune,
and use the Health tab to check whether anything in SMART shows bad.
If there are a lot of reallocated sectors or a high pending sector
count, those might be indicators the drive is in bad shape.

http://www.hdtune.com/files/hdtune_255.exe

Also, you have to keep your priorities in mind. Since the symptoms
indicate a drive on its last legs, getting the data off the disk
is the first priority right now. Playing with it or torturing it,
is for later. As Joe says, hook it up to something you trust,
some situation where it was working before, and get all the
data off the drive. Then, you have the luxury of experimenting
with it, knowing the data is safe.

Paul

 

[WhinYett]

If the drive worked for three minutes, then the interface side of things
is probably fine.

It's when the drive ID shows in the BIOS, but Windows doesn't see it at
all, you begin to suspect a comms problem.

That leaves a power problem, or the drive has a mechanical problem. But the
power in this case, comes directly from the ATX power supply, so that's not
likely to be it. On some enclosures or USB adapter sets, the power adapter
can be on the weak side. But an ATX supply is not going to have a problem
operating the drive.

About the only way you could screw up powering, is using a daisy-chained
Molex with way too many loads on it. I did that once, by powering two disk
drives and my ATI 9800Pro from the same Molex cable, which caused the
drives to spin down and spin up, over and over again. Anything that causes
the +12V voltage to dip below 11V can do that. So even with an ATX power
supply, if you chain together too many loads on the same adapter cable,
the voltage at the end of the cable can drop too low.

But I still don't consider that to be too likely. A newer computer,
with PCI Express video, won't be wired that way (separate 2x3 power
for video).

*******

The StarTech adapter uses Sunplus SPIF223A chip. It's a SATA I chip, and
the motherboard chipset should work OK with that. The Southbridge will
negotiate down to the SATA I rate.

*******

If it was me, I'd download HDTune, install it, power things off
(so the drive can cool off a bit maybe). Then, start up, run HDTune,
and use the Health tab to check whether anything in SMART shows bad.
If there are a lot of reallocated sectors or a high pending sector
count, those might be indicators the drive is in bad shape.

http://www.hdtune.com/files/hdtune_255.exe

Also, you have to keep your priorities in mind. Since the symptoms
indicate a drive on its last legs, getting the data off the disk
is the first priority right now. Playing with it or torturing it,
is for later. As Joe says, hook it up to something you trust,
some situation where it was working before, and get all the
data off the drive. Then, you have the luxury of experimenting
with it, knowing the data is safe.

Paul

Thanks for various suggested alternatives I will try to set up an
external case.
I had backed up the disc's contents so that is not an issue.
Two further thoughts:
1. The disc has spent most of its life with its axis of rotation
vertical. The new machine has it horizontal. Shouldn't matter should it?

2. Could it be an overheating problem? It worked apparently perfectly
satisfactorily for several minutes, then gave up.

Frank

 

[Paul]

Thanks for various suggested alternatives I will try to set up an
external case.
I had backed up the disc's contents so that is not an issue.
Two further thoughts:
1. The disc has spent most of its life with its axis of rotation
vertical. The new machine has it horizontal. Shouldn't matter should it?

2. Could it be an overheating problem? It worked apparently perfectly
satisfactorily for several minutes, then gave up.

Frank

I wouldn't think it's an orientation problem. Partially,
that's to do with embedded servo, making the setup more
immune to the orientation. Back when drives had a separate
servo platter, they had to be "leveled like a pool table"
Now, it doesn't seem to matter. Even Dell installs
them "nose down".

If a disk isn't healthy, sometimes the temperature makes
a slight difference to the success of any recovery efforts.
I wouldn't get carried away with the idea though. If you
have any sort of air flow across it at all, it should be
fine. What drives hate, is being stuffed in an airtight
area, with no air exchange at all. As then the temps can
go up over 50C without too much trouble.

The disk drives have used fluid dynamic bearings for a while.
The axle of the motor is lubricated by a couple drops of oil,
which circulate continuously inside the motor. It's sorta sealed.
If those motors run at high temperatures for a sustained
period (a couple of years), it can force the fluid out
of the bearing, and the motor can seize up. That's an
example of a reason why FDB motors shouldn't be run
at elevated temperatures for a long time. There's a graph
somewhere, showing the motors drop out due to the loss of
lubricant. In fact, in the lab, when they do those tests,
they "weigh" the motor to keep track of fluid loss, since
it's only a couple drops of oil, and there's no other good
way to keep track of it. What I couldn't figure out, is
why the reservoir for the oil, isn't huge Why only a
couple drops of oil ?

Paul