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Problem
- In Raid configurations of RAID 0, 1or 5, when using the nForce 4 SLI MCP SATA 3Gb/s Raid controllers, the system may not be able to format the ST3120813AS HDD or install Windows OS in the RAID set.
- When using a Seagate ST3120813AS as a stand alone HDD on some SATA 1.5GB/s VIA and SIS SATA controllers, the controller may not detect the HDD. Users may believe that the HDD is DOA.
- When using a Seagate ST3120813AS as a stand alone HDD on some SATA 3Gb/s controller the HDD’s may not be able to format the ST3120813AS HDD or install Windows OS.
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Reason
The Seagate ST3120813AS HDD’s supports a feature called Spread Spectrum Clocking (SSC). SSC is a technology used to reduce EMI emissions within the system when used with certain SATA controllers and multiple HDD solutions. Single drive solutions do not used SSC and not all SATA Controllers support SSC. In the case of ST3120813AS this feature poses a problem with some platforms.
On VIA and SIS chipsets, due to this problem, users believe that SATA 3Gb/s HDD’s are not compatible with SATA 1.5Gb/s controllers. This is inaccurate as the technology is definitely backwards compatible.
The major complication in this issue is distinguishing which drive supports SSC and which do not. According to Seagate, they have released some ST3120813AS drives with SSC enabled and some with SSC disabled. Initial batches of the ST3120813AS were released with the feature enabled. Latter batches for distribution and retail were released with SSC disabled. At the moment, we have discovered that we may have both types in stock. We cannot distinguish between the two.
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Solution
We have received a utility called SSCSET.EXE from Seagate that can allow the user distinguish and change the mode for the SSC setting to ENABLE or DISABLE on the ST3120813AS HDD.
This utility has been mailed to the branches.
The utility can be used as follows…
1. In single HDD solutions, users may find that the ST3120813AS may not detect on some motherboards with the SATA controller. This is mostly on the VIA 8237 (for VIA chipset motherboards) and the SIS 964 (For SIS Chipset motherboards). These chipsets do not support the SSC feature. This problem may happen if the SSC on the HDD is set to ENABLED.
Solution
A .Use another motherboard or SATA controller that supports SSC e.g. Gigabyte 8I915 series motherboard
B. Make Windows 98 Boot disk
C. Copy SSCSET.EXE utility to Stiffy Disk
D. Boot up with the Stiffy Disk with SATA HDD attached to the SATA controller
E. Run SSCSET.EXE Utility
F. Change SSC setting to DISABLE
2. In other single drive solutions, the HDD may be detected but may not complete the installation of Windows OS successfully. This may occur on some Intel ICH7R (945/955) chipset motherboards. This problem may happen if the SSC on the HDD is set to disable. Although Seagate’s information says that Single Drive solutions do not support SSC. We have found that it can affect the system in some cases.
Solution
A. Since the HDD can be detected, there is no need to use another SATA controller.
B. Make Windows 98 Boot disk
C. Copy SSCSET.EXE utility to Stiffy Disk
D. Boot up with Stiffy Disk with SATA HDD attached to the SATA controller
E. Run SSCSET.EXE Utility
F.Change SSC setting to ENABLE.
3. In Multiple HDD Solution used with SATA 3Gb/s controller set to RAID 0, 1 or 5 configurations users may find that the ST3120813AS may behave very erratically during Windows XP installation. The system may freeze during Windows installation, or the user cannot format the HDD. This has been found common on the nForce 4 SLI MCP chipsets.
Solution
A. Make Windows 98 Boot disk
B. Copy SSCSET.EXE utility to Stiffy Disk
C. Boot up with Stiffy Disk with SATA HDD attached to the SATA controller
D. Run SSCSET.EXE Utility
E. Change SSC setting to ENABLE.
These solutions are confirmed to fix problems 1 and 3. We are still investigating problem 2.
It is difficult to establish which HDD’s may have SSC enabled or disabled which makes it difficult to diagnose the problem with SATA controllers using the ST3120813AS during the troubleshooting process. The easiest method is to change the SSC to on or off and to see if it can solve the problem, only if the solution to the relevant platforms is not listed here.
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Changing the SSC mode does not interfere with the performance of the ST3120813AS HDD.
Other Problems reported
Some users have been using other brands of HDD’s (in RAID configurations) on the Intel Matrix Storage with the ICH7R on the 945 and 955 chipset and have reported that the system crashes during the installation with a BSOD. They have blamed the motherboard and memory but this is not the case. This is because SSC is disabled on the HDD. The user will have to download the HDD vendors SSC utility to enable this feature and in some cases they may need to set the transfer rate of the HDD to 3Gb/s.
Affected Products
ST31208AS
nForce4 SLI chipset Platforms
VIA 8237 Southbridge Chipset Platforms
SIS 964 Southbridge Chipset Platforms
Intel ICH7R 945/955 chipset Platforms
Also reported on some other models of Seagate HDD’s like the ST3500641AS.
Reference:
WikusB – RCT JHB
SoneilP – Corex |
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