SATA HD LED (wow, that looks like gibberish)

My 'new' PC which was given to me has an SATA HD which I notice doesn't cause the LED on the front panel to light when it's being accessed. Is this normal for SATA drives?

It's possible the LED is plugged into the wrong mobo connection - especially given the reset button doesn't work, either - but I thought I'd ask before investigating further.

Unless you've seen the HD LED blink with an IDE HD, I highly doubt it has anything to do with it being SATA. Like you said, considering the reset button doesn't work, it's probably because the wires aren't plugged into the motherboard properly (or at all).

The motherboard manual (if you can find it) should tell you how they should be plugged in (provided you can find the wires).

i think the reset button not working is odd for a new pc, my hdrive lights only when the first drive is accessing not the second but thats my cheap motherboard for you.

i think is probubly the case that whoever built the pc didnt plug in the conections from the case right. there will be a list in the motherboard manual on how to correct this. if you dont have the manual most companies have pdf copies on there websites. its very easy to do and doesnt need any tools aprt from a screw driver to open up the case

Oh, it's not a new PC, it's a hand-me-down so I dont have the mobo manual. All connectors are plugged in.

I have a 2nd HD plugged into an IDE channel and that doesnt seem to light the LED when accessed, either. Hmm.

I'll have look and see if I can find the manual, or at least a diagram of the mobo online.

It is, with care. Its pretty easy to do it wrong too so always check and double-check.

Found a PDF of the manual after some searching. I'll take a look tomorrow and see what's what.

Cheers.

i didnt think they used leds these days, drives in constant use would render them nigh on on

speaking of hard drives guy down the hall thought all hard drives that were removeable were old
"no," i told him "they're there so you can take valuable data away, doesnt matter how much the pc is the data is the most expencive part of it."

you can replace a stolen pc but you cant replace anything that isnt backed up

Also, the HD LED can be plugged in backwards and it won't light up. So it may be just that the connector needs to be turned around.

I did wonder if that made a difference, TaskMaster. I think that's what may have happened. I'll report back tomorrow. :)

If you look on the back of the connector, there's a tiny arrow which goes towards pin 1 on the motherboard.

For a ham-fisted sod like me, connecting the front panel and internal USB connectors is the most difficult part of building a PC.

Yeah Gfk, it also doesn't help at my time of life when you have to where glasses to even begin to see anything that small. :/

Yes it can be quite difficult to see motherboards at your time of life. :p

:P

this is why i recommend MSI motherboards to people that have never built a pc as everything is colour coded and very clearly labeled.

I do like the M-Connectors that come with the new boards. Just connect the leads to the M-connector, then plug it into the relevent block of pins. Save messing about trying to connect individual pins to the main board.

I would also recommend that before you even buy any components that you read up on them as you don't want to buy a motherboard only to find out that the latest CPU you bought isn't supported with out a bios update.

Erm, I've been building PCs for years - just haven't built one in a while. I had an MSI motherboard once... it blew up. :)

Why motherboard manufacturers cant just agree on a standard pin layout so a single block can be used, I don't know.

Anyhoo, both the reset and HD LED connectors were indeed on the wrong pins. Reset switch now works but the HD LED still doesn't - not even when accessing my backup IDE drive. Maybe the LED is blown or something, but I find that unlikely. Oh well.

It might only be a minor detail but that's the sort of thing that would really bug me to the point of sleepless nights. I'd simply have to fix it somehow. :)

Oh, it does bug me but it's part of my attempt to become more chilled about minor things in my old age. :P

If it was a system I'd built myself, I'd probably be more bugged about it though. :)

Probably a stupid thing to say (but I'll say it anyway) - have you tried putting the LED connector on the other way around?

The D in LED stands for diode. Will only work if pos and neg are the right way around.

Yeah, someone already mentioned that but I must admit I didn't check because all the other connectors plugged in with the writing on them facing outward so it just would seem odd if the HD LED one alone needs to be turned around. I will check this next time I'm inside the case, though. Ta.

I did suspect the LED may be blown if it's been plugged into the wrong pins all this time, possibly receiving a wrong charge, or something. Is this at all likely?

Yes it is likely to blow if connected in reverse, LED's can't handle this like normal diodes can.