While SATA is still the main connector for hard drives and older solid-state drives (SSDs), it is slowly being phased out on most new PCs. Twinaxial cables, known as “licorice straps,” are ubiquitous; these cables typically have a pinky-red hue but can also be gray or blue. Their cross sections are rectangular. Thanks to their point-to-point design, lack of configuration requirements, and significantly reduced insertion force, SATA data cable connections are a huge improvement over their predecessors, the 40-pin, 80-conductor IDE cables. Occasionally, they do have problems, which is unfortunate.
A Connection That Is Not Tight
Actually, I’ve had four SATA data cable “failures” this month. The first and most straightforward was a disk that wouldn’t detect at all; the culprit? A SATA data cable that was “undone” on the motherboard. One possible source of this is a little bump, such as while the cable is in transit, or the residual stress in the SATA data cable pulling on the connector. Some connectors lack the appropriate holes for captive tabs to engage, and older SATA cables lack this feature. This is one of them, and fixing it is simple.
The second one was a little more challenging. On occasion, the system might hang up while booting. Before we discovered the hard drive light was solid and the interface CRC error counts (not all drives have this SMART attribute), there must be an issue with the central processing unit, random access memory, motherboard, or power supply.
In the second instance, rather than being a square “box,” the plastic “shell” of the connector had bent into a somewhat D-shape due to age-related deformation, encasing the drive’s “tongue” in an imperfect manner. It appears that the connector may not have applied sufficient pressure to the spring contacts, leading to irregular contact. Changing out the cable was the final solution here.
Keep in mind that these SATA connectors only have a 50-cycle rating, so they aren’t meant to be unplugged and replugged indefinitely. It’s not that they can’t function beyond this, but there are a lot of reasons why they could become unreliable, such as plating loss or fatigued spring connections, and that was never their intended use. Some SATA data cables, after being used for a while, may also experience spring fatigue in the contact, which increases the likelihood that they may go intermittent.
Another instance of a booter that would occasionally fail to load occurred on an SSD-based system that lacked an interface CRC error count SMART property; in this case, simply switching out the cable fixed the issue.
However, these issues might be the least difficult ones…
A Gradual Demise?
We had an LG BH16NS55 16x BDXL BluRay Burner installed as the “primary” optical drive when we built a “new” workstation in 2017. After almost five years, Windows no longer recognizes this drive—despite the fact that the tray opens and closes without a hitch. The secondary LG GGW-H20L 6x BluRay burner is functional despite the dead tray belt. However, it’s not a great drive to use all the time.
We disconnected and rejoined the power and data cables, assuming that one of those above could be the issue. Nothing has changed. We decided to try another known-good SATA cable from our bulk SATA cable, but that didn’t help either.
Out of desperation, we switched the power and data wires for the two LG burners—now neither of them is identified. That’s strange. There was a brief moment when the GGW-H20L was operational. Does this spell the end for the BH16NS55? No change even after switching the power cords again.
In order to make a more thorough diagnosis, we removed the LG BH16NS55 from consideration and obtained a spare LG GH24NSB0 DVD writer. Nothing changed; it went undetected. Although switching SATA connections had no effect, the GGW-H20L began to make an odd noise, as if it were resetting itself, after some adjusting. We suspect that the BN16NS55 disk and one of our motherboard’s SATA ports have been damaged.
It wasn’t until we went to check the BH16NS55’s SATA data connector two days later that we realized the problem: the data pins were oxidized and rusted. Quite strange. A poor connection here would obviously disrupt data connectivity, making the drive invisible.
To help with the cleanup, we gathered a flat-head screwdriver, some tissue paper, and
some alcohol. We had to “scratch away” the surface and the gold plating on one of the pins because there was some residual green powdery corrosion. Although we have our doubts about the connection’s reliability in the long term, it was an improvement over a dead drive. After reconnecting the cable to the GGW-H20L, this drive resumed normal operation.
The SATA data cable that came with one of the motherboards seems to be the root cause. The spring contacts on the connections are completely polluted and rusting, and the connectors themselves have somewhat distorted with age. The springiness of the springs has gone, and it appears that the contacts on the motherboard’s SATA connector have also been slowly but surely eaten away by corrosion. Being on both sides of the issue leads me to believe that the cable is to blame.
The contacts of the ports on the motherboard are very hard to access because the motherboard was mounted in a chassis. Unfortunately, we are only left with one SATA port after attempting to clean the contacts with a paper towel and a tiny plastic spudger. Having said that, we are certain the problem was not electrical.
We are unaware of who manufactured the cable assembly; however, DingSheng is the manufacturer of the SATA wire. Both cables arrived bundled with a motherboard at one point, and the second one we have here is also from them and shows no indications of corrosion.
In our opinion, the connection has likely deteriorated over the years due to someone either using too much flux when soldering the connector or failing to clean the flux properly. We really needed clarification on this since this is the first time we’ve seen something like that… It’s unfortunate, but such is life. Until we undertake a complete system takedown again, the GGW-H20L will remain unconnected for the time being.
Do You Need SATA Cable?
In spite of SATA’s relative simplicity, We are starting to notice cable failures as they get older. Usually, when a SATA data cable fails, all you have to do is replace it. However, this particular failure is a little different; it appears that the cable’s production caused corrosion on the connector contacts, which caused semi-permanent damage to the drives and motherboard connectors. Since this has never happened before, it was important to let others know how frustrating it is. We pray it stays away from you so you do not have to go and pay the SATA cable price again and again.
Where To Buy SATA Cables?
First things first… We don’t use any chemicals, contact cleaners, or flux to clean the connections before connecting them for the first time. Nobody does that, really. We established these connections when we built the machine in late 2017 and haven’t done anything with them since… Thus, a failing data link has finally been chewed through after five years. So, if you want to buy a Direct Macro SATA data cable, then do not wait any more.
