Enabling extra SATA connectors on motherboard

I'm attempting to install a second internal hard drive (1TB Western Digital) on a Dell XPS 430 running 64-bit Vista.

There are two open SATA connectors on the motherboard, but neither of them seem to work. If I unplug my DVD drive and plug in the new hard drive on that SATA connector, it seems to work. But the DVD drive won't work on either of the two extra SATA connectors either (drive is not recognized by Windows).

Is there something I need to do to enable the extra SATA connectors?

You probably have to turn them on in the BIOS. Press F2 when the Dell logo appears. One of the options will be SATA and there should be a number of SATA or eSATA options. Press enter on each and toggle them all on. I almost always work with business class machines, but I'm sure there isn't much difference. Just don't change any of the other settings. SATA0 and SATA1 will be your main drives (HDD & DVD) and the last one is probably eSATA. The eSATA connector on the board (and SATA) will be marked - do not plug the drive into the eSATA. Try to find SATA2. You might need a flashlight. You can also go to support.dell.com, click on manuals (left side) then find your computer. All sorts of information about your computer can be found there.

Hope that helps.

Thanks.

I'll give it a try and let you know how it works out.

I followed your instructions and everything seems to be working fine now. I had to use a macro lens to read the "SATA2" etc. on the motherboard but I found it.

Also, it seems if you turn on a SATA connector with nothing plugged into it, you get an error message during startup. So I just turned on the one I needed.

Thanks again.

Curtis N wrote in post #8309686
I followed your instructions and everything seems to be working fine now. I had to use a macro lens to read the "SATA2" etc. on the motherboard but I found it.

Also, it seems if you turn on a SATA connector with nothing plugged into it, you get an error message during startup. So I just turned on the one I needed.

Thanks again.

LOL

Glade to help and good thinking!

Curtis N wrote in post #8309686
I followed your instructions and everything seems to be working fine now. I had to use a macro lens to read the "SATA2" etc. on the motherboard but I found it.

Also, it seems if you turn on a SATA connector with nothing plugged into it, you get an error message during startup. So I just turned on the one I needed.

Thanks again.

Yea, Dell's had some issues with their firmware since the XPS 420 (similar thing happened when I tried to put a second HDD in and placed in in the third slot, only worked once the DVD burner was in third and HDD in second, some reason 3+4 were activated together when the HDD was there), but I think it's more or less solved in the Studio XPS 435 (and 435MT that I have). Also make sure not to mess around with the RAID settings, since both pairs can be set to 1 or 0, and that menu is in the wrong place (at least in the 420)