How do I get my PowerSpec G709 to recognize two new SATA drives?

I installed two additional SATA drives in my PowerSpec G709. One is a 260 GB SanDisk SSD and the other is a 1 TB Western Digital Blue HDD (I do not have a jumper on it - this is how I used it in my Windows 10 machine). My G709 does not recognize either drive.

Steps I've taken so far:

  1. Double-checked power and SATA connections are good.
  2. Looked for the drives in the BIOS.
  3. Looked for them in the Windows Disk Management app.
  4. Looked for them in PowerShell and via the CMD line.
  5. Attempted to use a couple of WD utilities without success.
  6. Followed the ASRock Mobo instructions for installing drives.

What steps do I need to take to have my G709 recognize my new drives? I've tried to be exhaustive in my self-help process and now need additional input:>)

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

ctt1953

Best Answers

  • PowerSpec_MikeW
    PowerSpec_MikeW PowerSpec Engineer
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 100 Answers 250 Likes
    Answer ✓

    @ctt1953

    Cable looks correct from what I can see. I cannot see the pinout on the back, but that's hard to trace. If it was the wrong cable, you'd short the PSU. It wouldn't turn on at all. I believe at this point that all four peripheral connectors on the PSU are non-functional and the PSU needs to be replaced by your local service department.

  • PowerSpec_MikeW
    PowerSpec_MikeW PowerSpec Engineer
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 100 Answers 250 Likes
    Answer ✓

    @ctt1953

    That's a lot of devices to die suddenly. Glad you have a solution. That would of been a really peculiar PSU failure to have just a bank of peripheral ports completely fail.

Answers

  • Vaganza
    Vaganza ✭✭✭✭
    100 Comments Second Anniversary 25 Likes 5 Answers

    So the Drives aren't appearing in the BIOS either?


    You confirmed that the other end of the sata power is plugged into that modular power supply too?

  • Good morning, Vaganza. I hope you had a nice evening. Thank you for your response. I thought maybe I had jostled the power connection loose during my first installation. When I went back into the case for the second time, I double-checked the power connections and all was good. If you can think of anything else, please let me know. Thanks again!

  • Hi again, Vaganza. Sorry, I missed your comment about the BIOS, it was scrolled up out of sight. No, they are not showing up in the BIOS either.

  • PowerSpec_MikeW
    PowerSpec_MikeW PowerSpec Engineer
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 100 Answers 250 Likes

    @ctt1953

    Shouldn't be any restrictions on any of the 8 SATA ports. You've verified SATA data and power are connected. Which SATA ports are you using? I will test this. Are both drives confirmed to be working on another system or via a USB to SATA adapter?

  • Hi TSMikeW. I hope your Tuesday is off to a great start!

    Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, I have verified data and power are connected. I thought perhaps I had worked the power connect loose during installation. Both drives are on one power cable, the SSD connected at the end position with the HDD just upstream. The SSD doesn't have a jumper feature and I don't have a jumper on the HDD if that makes a difference.

    I've attached a screenshot from the Win 11 Disk Management app for your reference.


    According to the ASRock X570 Pro4 manual, I am connected to Sata ports 6 and 8.

    Both drives were working normally in the PC my G709 replaced. The SSD was my Windows 10 boot drive and the HDD was my file and data drive.

    Thank you very much for the help.

    Sincerely,

    ctt1953

  • PowerSpec_MikeW
    PowerSpec_MikeW PowerSpec Engineer
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 100 Answers 250 Likes

    @ctt1953

    Tested a working SSD on SATA3_8, drive was detected with no issues. I'd check Advanced - Storage Configuration. Verify your controller mode is AHCI. Do you see a Chipset SATA Configuration sub menu here? If so, open it and verify all ports are set Auto.

    When the system is running can you feel the HDD vibrating slightly to verify it is getting power?

  • @TSMikeW Let me check the BIOS. I had buttoned the case back up before restoring power, so I cannot verify if the HDD is operating. Back shortly.

  • Hi, @TSMikeW . The BIOS settings check out, Controller Mode = AHCI, Chipset Sata Configs = Auto for all. I will reopen the case to see if I can tell if the HDD is receiving power.

  • @TSMikeW No joy on the HDD displaying any signs of power. I know the connector is securely plugged in as I pulled the extra cables out and used one to make the connection. I used one labeled SATA. Greatly appreciate the help.

  • @TSMikeW my last comment was unclear. I plugged the power cable into a port on the PS labeled SATA:>)

  • PowerSpec_MikeW
    PowerSpec_MikeW PowerSpec Engineer
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 100 Answers 250 Likes

    @ctt1953

    The SATA power cables are modular. Are you able to verify it's securely plugged into the PSU itself?

  • Hi again, @TSMikeW . I really appreciate your persistence. I decided to replace the power cable since I was messing about in the PC. In keeping with the scientific method, I only changed one variable, the cable. I plugged it back into the same socket as before and made sure I heard the click. I am plugged into the upper left socket in the cluster of four to the right of the video card sockets. The cable is one that came with the PC and connects with 5 pins on the power supply. As you look at the male end on the power cable with the clip on top, the upper right is not populated with a female receptacle.

    Nothing changed. Neither drive shows up in the BIOS or Windows 11 Settings. Is it possible the PS has a bad socket? Seems unlikely, but is it possible.

    Thanks!

  • PowerSpec_MikeW
    PowerSpec_MikeW PowerSpec Engineer
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 100 Answers 250 Likes

    @ctt1953

    It's possible, you should have four separate sockets on the PSU labeled for S-ATA/HDD/Floppy, and two modular cables that have four SATA connectors each. If you're able to lets try to test both cables and different sockets on the PSU and see if we can rule that out. Until that HDD gives an indication that it's receiving power, we're looking strictly at a PSU/Cable issue.

  • @TSMikeW I will give it a try. If you can keep the ticket open, it may be tomorrow as I have a meeting offsite at 4. If I can check them, I will. Thanks for the great support.

  • ctt1953
    ctt1953 ✭✭
    10 Comments Name Dropper
    edited June 2022

    @TSMikeW I was able to do a test. The system SSD that has Windows 11 is in the upper right socket and has been fine. I had been using the upper left socket because it was easier to access. For this experiment, I used both lower sockets and connected my two drives individually. The results are the same, neither shows up, in Settings or the BIOS.

    I did notice one difference between my G709 cables and the one from my previous PC. The pinout on the old cable is different. Instead of the empty pin at the upper right, the empty socket is in the bottom center. Could that be the issue? The old cable is labeled Type 4.

    Also, the power cables that came with my G709 have 2 SATA connectors and end in a floppy connector.

  • @TSMikeW Good evening/morning. I tried the older SATA cable and also moved the data connectors to SATA 3 and 4. Still no results. Please let me know what I should try next. Thanks and have a great Wednesday.

  • PowerSpec_MikeW
    PowerSpec_MikeW PowerSpec Engineer
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 100 Answers 250 Likes

    @ctt1953

    The position of the M.2 shouldn't matter with an X570 board. You have plenty of I/O on that chipset, it should never need to disable SATA ports. And it would only do that if the M.2 SSD was SATA, rather than NVME

    Be careful with swapping modular cables from other brands of power supplies. They're keyed and they can cause a short. Generally this just means the PSU won't power on. SATA power has four wires connected to it. 12V(yellow), 5V(red), 3.3V(orange), Ground(black).

    We need an easy way to test if we're getting power on the peripheral cable. Do you by chance have an old DVD drive laying around?

  • Good morning @TSMikeW . I hope you are well. Yes, I have two SATA DVD drives from my previous PC. Should I connect it to see if it gets power using the cables for the X570?

  • Hi @TSMikeW Hoping to anticipate the next step, I connected the DVD drive with the G709 cables and nothing happened. It did not show up in BIOS or in Windows.

  • PowerSpec_MikeW
    PowerSpec_MikeW PowerSpec Engineer
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 100 Answers 250 Likes

    @ctt1953

    Yes, that's the idea. You only need to connect power, press the button after the system powers on. If the door opens, you're getting power. If not, you're not. It would seem then that we're getting power via the permanently attached cables, the modular PCIe cable, but not none of our peripheral cables are working.

    Could you upload a picture of the peripheral cable and the end that connects to the PSU?

  • Thanks, @TSMikeW I double-checked and no power is getting to the DVD. Attached is the PSU end of the SATA cables as you requested. Please advise on next steps.


  • @TSMikeW. Not a problem. Do I need a ticket number, repair authorization? I have the extended warranty and the PC itself is only about 2 months old. Thank you very much for the excellent and thorough support!
  • PowerSpec_MikeW
    PowerSpec_MikeW PowerSpec Engineer
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 100 Answers 250 Likes

    @ctt1953

    No, bring it and they'll get it taken care of quickly. You can reference this thread or explain the situation. Unfortunately we've isolated the issue. And the likely hood of several bad cables versus a partially faulty power supply, statistically it's going to be the power supply. It is a very peculiar type of failure with just the peripheral ports being inoperable. Please come by when you can and @me here if you have questions, or issues getting this taken care of.

  • @TSMikeW I will carry it in this afternoon. I have a Zoom meeting and will head over after that. Thank you again for the outstanding support!

  • Good morning @TSMikeW. I hope you are well. Just to let you know the outcome, apparently both my drives and the DVD were dead. I am quite surprised at that but they checked the HDD and was toast. So, I purchased a new drive and it worked. Seems like I wasted your time in retrospect but I do appreciate the help. Have a great day ahead. 

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