SATA Drives: Breaking data connectors?

  • Thread starter Thread starter John O
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John O

Just wondering if anyone out there has seen this....

We sold a very large pile of computers to a big private college. The
students go digging around in the machines, removing connectors and putting
them back on, as part of PC Intro course. We're starting to see drives come
back to us with the plastic part of the male SATA data connector broken off
completely...all that's left are the gold contacts sticking out. The drives
are Hitachi Deskstar 80 GB SATA.

The data connector is not tight, in fact it feels very loose compared to
every connector I've ever removed before inside a PC. It's very easy to
remove, and shouldn't require any force or effort. But, it this breakage
common? It looks like I could just push down on the cable and bust the
connector in a second, or do it by accident easily.

-John O
 
I've got one in my machine that's the same way- broke off when I changed
motherboards. I haven't had any problems with it- it's stays connected, but
it's certainly not "locked" like it should be. Mine is on a WD drive
(Raptor). Poorly designed apparently- not limited to just Hitachi.

Fitz
 
I've got one in my machine that's the same way- broke off when I changed
motherboards. I haven't had any problems with it- it's stays connected,
but it's certainly not "locked" like it should be. Mine is on a WD drive
(Raptor). Poorly designed apparently- not limited to just Hitachi.
Click to expand...

I've been looking at this a bit more closely, and it appears that this
Hitachi drive has a plastic male end with the contacts. That's it. Not very
robust, IMO.

The motherboard has the plastic male end PLUS a 'shell' that surrounds the
male end. Presumably this shell prevents the connector from being bent to
the point where it breaks.

-John O
 
John O said:
Just wondering if anyone out there has seen this....

We sold a very large pile of computers to a big private college. The
students go digging around in the machines, removing connectors and
putting them back on, as part of PC Intro course. We're starting to see
drives come back to us with the plastic part of the male SATA data
connector broken off completely...all that's left are the gold contacts
sticking out. The drives are Hitachi Deskstar 80 GB SATA.

The data connector is not tight, in fact it feels very loose compared to
every connector I've ever removed before inside a PC. It's very easy to
remove, and shouldn't require any force or effort. But, it this breakage
common? It looks like I could just push down on the cable and bust the
connector in a second, or do it by accident easily.

-John O
Click to expand...


John:
Unfortunately, the SATA signal/data cable connector has proven to be
vulnerable to problems as you have discovered. The major problem has been
the relative ease with which the cable connector can be disconnected from
its motherboard's SATA connector. It doesn't take much to dislodge it. Also,
as you mentioned, the broken plastic end cap of the cable, although not
quite as serious in our experience.

It's been a real pity to many of us after putting up all these years with
the miserable-to-install-and-uninstall IDE ribbon cables and looking forward
to the relative ease of using the SATA cables.

The industry has developed so-called "eSATA" connectors which presumably are
more secure than the ordinary SATA connectors. But they must be connected to
an eSATA-designed port; they are not compatible with present SATA
connectors. While these eSATA connectors are designed primarily (if not
exclusively) for external SATA ports on the computer's case, there's been
some talk about using them internally as eventual substitutes for the
present SATA connectors. Needless to say, one shouldn't hold one's breath
waiting for this change.
Anna
 
Unfortunately, the SATA signal/data cable connector has proven to be
vulnerable to problems as you have discovered. The major problem has been
the relative ease with which the cable connector can be disconnected from
its motherboard's SATA connector. It doesn't take much to dislodge it. Also,
as you mentioned, the broken plastic end cap of the cable, although not
quite as serious in our experience.
Click to expand...

We see a lot of disconnected SATA connectors at the drive side when we
get machines shipped to us. We have taken to using rubber cement on the
outside of the connector as a small blob that holds the two parts to
each other - so they don't vibrate apart or get pulled as the cables
stress.
 
John said:
Just wondering if anyone out there has seen this....

We sold a very large pile of computers to a big private college. The
students go digging around in the machines, removing connectors and putting
them back on, as part of PC Intro course. We're starting to see drives come
back to us with the plastic part of the male SATA data connector broken off
completely...all that's left are the gold contacts sticking out. The drives
are Hitachi Deskstar 80 GB SATA.
Click to expand...

You might suggest the college update their curriculum, or absorb the
costs associated with abusing the hardware.

SATA connectors were designed to be cheap to produce, at the expense of
robustness, since normally there is no requirement for repeated
connection and disconnection.

Sunny
 
There's a difference between "cheap" and "inexpensive". The only time the
connector on mine was taken off was during the replacement of a motherboard,
and then the addition of a hard drive (which required removal of the cables
to remove the hard drive cage). It broke off on the second instance (I
posted incorrectly on the initial reply) at the hard drive end, just a the
OP said. A pressure release on the plastic "lock' would resolve the problem,
probably for less than a couple of cents.

Fitz
 
There's a difference between "cheap" and "inexpensive". The only time the
connector on mine was taken off was during the replacement of a
motherboard, and then the addition of a hard drive (which required removal
of the cables to remove the hard drive cage). It broke off on the second
instance (I posted incorrectly on the initial reply) at the hard drive
end, just a the OP said. A pressure release on the plastic "lock' would
resolve the problem, probably for less than a couple of cents.
Click to expand...

I think this is what we're up against here. I don't know where Hitachi sits
in the hierarchy of drives, but this connector arrangement is just asking
for breakage. (just took a peek at a Seagate...it's no better.)

Even the oldest SATA connectors I can find on a motherboard have strain
relief...a basic shell partially surrounding male connector. The Intel D915
has this partial shell, and the latest Intel board (D101GGC) has a full
shell. I think that tells me a story.

Sunny: I wrote the curriculum in question, and will be updating that portion
very soon. :-)

-John O
 
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