190 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2010
24.2.4 Installing a SATA hard drive
Most recently manufactured PCs use the SATA interface for hard drives. In general, installing a SATA
hard drive is easier than an IDE drive, as it is not necessary to configure master-slave jumpers. SATA
drives use a thin interface cable with seven-pin keyed connectors. This improves airflow through the
PC case. Power is supplied to SATA drives through 15-pin connectors. Some SATA drives also support
legacy four-pin power connectors (Molex) — you can use a Molex or SATA connector but do not use
both at the same time, because this could damage the hard drive. You'll also need a free power lead
fitted with a SATA power connector. Most systems that come with SATA ports have at least one SATA
power connector. If this is not the case, you will need a Molex-to-SATA adapter. In case your system
has the SATA power connector but it is already occupied, use a Y-adapter that splits a lead in two.
24.2.5 Steps for installing a new internal SATA drive
1. Find an unused SATA port using the documentation provided with your PC. If you are going to
connect your new SATA drive to a SATA controller card, install the card. If you are going to
connect the SATA drive to the motherboard, enable applicable motherboard jumpers, if any.
Most hard drive kits include a SATA interface cable and mounting screws. Attach one end of the
SATA interface cable to a SATA port on the motherboard or interface card, and the other to the
drive.
2. Then plug the power-supply lead or use a Molex-to-SATA adapter.
3. Prepare your drive. If you're installing a SATA 300 hard drive, check your PC's (or SATA host
adapter's) documentation to make sure it supports SATA 300 drives. If it doesn't, you might need
to change a jumper setting on the drive (see the drive's manual for instructions). If you have a
SATA 150 hard drive, you don't need to change any settings.
4. Turn on the PC and look for the new drive in the boot-up messages. If you don't see it, enter the
PC's CMOS setup program and search the BIOS configuration menu for an option that will let you
enable SATA for the ports you are using (or maybe you will just need to enable SATA). See your
motherboard documentation for instructions specific to your BIOS.
5. If the operating system does not recognize the SATA drive, you need the appropriate drivers for
your SATA controller. If the drive is recognized, go to step 8.
Usually, it is best to obtain the latest driver version from the motherboard or SATA controller
manufacturer's Web site.
If you download a copy of the SATA controller drivers, place the driver files to a known location
on your hard drive.
6. Boot from the old hard drive.
The operating system should detect the SATA controller and install the appropriate software. You
might need to provide the path to the driver files.
7. Ensure that the SATA controller and the connected SATA hard drive are correctly detected by the
operating system. To do this, go to the Device Manager.
SATA controllers usually appear under the SCSI and RAID controllers section of Device Manager,
while hard drives are listed under the Disk drives section.
The SATA controller and SATA hard drive must not be displayed in the Device Manager with a
yellow exclamation mark or any other error indication.
8. After you have installed the hard disk in your computer and have configured it in BIOS, one can
say that the PC "knows" about its existence and its main parameters. However, it is still not
enough for the operating system to work with the hard disk. In addition, you have to create
partitions on the new disk and format the partitions using Acronis True Image Home. See Adding
