Frequently Asked Questions - Western Digital WD SATA Hard Drives Installation Manual

WESTERN DIGITAL SERIAL ATA HARD DRIVE
INSTALLATION GUIDE

Frequently Asked Questions

The section contains answers to common installation questions. To search the Western
Digital technical support knowledge base and to view the complete list of FAQs, visit our
support Web site at support.wdc.com.
Q: Why does my computer hang or receive error messages on startup?
A: Make sure that the drive's power and SATA cables are properly connected. If the Serial ATA
host adapter card is installed in a 64-bit PCI slot on the system motherboard, move the card
to a 32-bit slot.
Q: Why does my drive not power up?
A: Verify that only one power cable (either SATA or legacy) is connected to the drive. Check
to see that the power connector and SATA interface cable are securely attached and that the
SATA host adapter card is properly seated in the PCI slot.
Q: Why are jumper settings not required for my Serial ATA drive on my desktop system?
A: The Serial ATA interface connects each drive in a point-to-point configuration with the
built-in SATA port on the motherboard or with the SATA host adapter card; therefore
eliminating the master/slave relationship as required with EIDE. Each drive utilizes its own
cable for data transfer rates. Jumper settings for Western Digital Serial ATA hard drives are
mainly used for enterprise storage environments.
Q: Why does Windows recognize the drive as "SCSI" when it is Serial ATA?
A: Most third party controller cards and RAID adapters are recognized as a SCSI device under
Device Manager. This is normal and will not affect your drive or system performance.
Q: How do I verify if my Serial ATA drive is recognized by my system?
A: Right-click on the My Computer icon, select Properties, left-click on the Hardware tab,
and click on Device Manager in the window. Double-click on Disk Drives. Your new
Western Digital Serial ATA drive should be listed as a "SCSI Disk Device" or "Serial ATA
Disk Device." If not, make sure that all cables are securely attached and that your system
BIOS has been properly configured.
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