SATA II on a SATA I Motherboard

[Asrial]

So I've lucked out on having a Hitachi SATA II HD with a SATA I motherboard.

The Hitachi HD's apparently require you to use software to lower the speed and that software first requires the computer to detect the hard drive which requires the software to get it so the computer can detect it.. and you can see the revolving door this is becoming.

Suffice it to say... the main curiousity is...

I have the ASUS K8V SE Deluxe motherboard and it has 2 VIA SATA ports and 2 PROMISE SATA ports.

The HD is not detected at all (not even by the Hitachi software that's used to limit the drive to SATA I speeds) when used in either VIA SATA port.

However...

The motherboard detects teh drive just fine, without any extra assistance (not that the Hitachi software detects it in this mode either), when connected into either of the PROMISE SATA ports.

Now, in my research.. I've been hearing that the Promise technology isn't the preferred technology.

..but if it means the difference between it working and it not.. I have no choice.

My question is...

If I use the HD as is, connected to the Promise ports, without limited the speed.. will things get crazy down the road?

As best as I can tell.. I'm successfully using a SATA II HD on a SATA I motherboard.

[EDIT: You know, now that I think about it.. how do I know the drive isn't limiting itself on its own? Guess a round of testing is in order.]

 

[Tarrant64]

To be honest the ASUS K8V VIA chipset sucks beyond belief. The board is good itself though. I've had only a handful of hard drives actually show up when trying to install Windows. In many cases I've had to track down the VIA drivers just to get a hard drive to show up when installing Windows.

That said, everything should be just fine. Having a SATA II HD on a SATA I motherboard shouldn't cause you any problems. I think they're all backwards compatible (otherwise there would be a lot of angry people out there having to buy new hard drives or motherboards).

 

[Asrial]

Yes, I'm certainly finding out just how much the VIA chipset sucks

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: Tarrant64
That said, everything should be just fine. Having a SATA II HD on a SATA I motherboard shouldn't cause you any problems. I think they're all backwards compatible (otherwise there would be a lot of angry people out there having to buy new hard drives or motherboards).

Well that explains your problems with VIA chipsets; PEBKBAC. It is well known that VIA and some SIS South Bridges do not support auto-negotiation with drives in SATA 3.0 Gbps mode, for only about five years now. SATA 3.0 drives must be manually changed to SATA 1.5 compatibility mode. Nearly all SATA 3.0 drives produced support this very feature either using a jumper clip or firmware utility, except for some drives released only in the past six months.

BTW, there is no need to have two different threads on the exact same subject.

 

[Asrial]

Don't be rude. That goes for the other thread too (which is more about delivering useful information and less about asking questions like the other threads).

Maybe if I had 12.5k posts on a tech forum, I'd be on the cutting edge of technology and could start calling other people idiots for not knowing as much as me? Or maybe it's just burnout you have? Though, I'm fairly confident I could find information that I consider well known but you're hearing for the first time.

Also, at what point do you stop searching on a subject and start asking questions about it? I love the 'search more' response. As if an entire day of researching isn't enough. Don't assume that just because I haven't stumbled across the topics you did, that I've sat here twiddling my thumbs refreshing this page every minute in hopes that someone is answering.

Seriously. You're annoyed that I made more than one thread on this and yet your two contributed posts are just you getting in a twist over me not knowing basic (to you) information. Who's wasting space and time here?

..and lastly..

I could see your responses if my posts were riddled with poor English or a massive clog of run-on sentences and I gave the impression that I didn't care.. but really, I think you're just having a bad day and looking for someone to lash out at. Thanks. I appreciate that.

Unfortunately, since I'm nearing the end of this little endeavor.. you're just going to be remembered as 'that jerk from AnandTech' without getting a chance to redeem yourself. You can tell how often I come here by my join date and post count.

PS - ..and yes, I know you don't care.

 

[clarkmo]

Maybe there is a firmware update for your sata controllers. I have the same issue on a different controller and had to buy a card for sata despite having sata onboard. HD mfr says use a jumoer but there are no jumper pins on this hd.