Hi, I am trying to install an older SATA hard drive into my new dell. The hard drive has the 4-pin (molex I believe) input, however my computer has the newer sata plug. I bought an adapter from performance-pcs and it still doesn't work. I'm thinking the adapter isn't the right one, since the pins look different, even though everything plugs in fine. When I hook it all up and boot up my computer, and new hardware icon shows up in the system tray for a second but then it disappears. I looked in my disc management and it didnt display the drive. Also, when I shut down my computer it made a weird clicking noise that I never heard before. Should I post a picture of the adapter?
Are you sure that this hard drive works? Have you checked the BIOS to see if the drive is listed? Also, there was a period where some manufacturers had different connectors, so you might want to check the manufacturers sight for specific adapters (I think it was Western Digital).
If you don't see the hard drive in the BIOS, then you're not going to see it in Windows. I'm not sure if it's the adapter or the controller on the motherboard, but your hard drive isn't been seen. Do a search for the exact brand and model of that hard drive and see if it has a specific adapter that is required. Worst case scenario, you can buy a cheap PCI SATA controller card. Of course, if you're going to go that far, you might as well buy a new hard drive.
I dont understand why the SATA controller isnt picking it up... i've tried hooking it up with the normal sata power instead of the legacy power and it still can't find it. My SATA controller is a NVIDIA MCP61
