Mac Mini doesn't recognize new secondary hard drive

[ritchey]

Hi there,

I have a Mac Mini Late 2014 Server (MacOS Mojave) and currently am running it with two hard drives (primary SSD for MacOS and apps and secondary is the original Apple HDD 1TB). So far everything ran OK. Unfortunately, lately the original HDD started to report remapped sectors, so I wanted to swap it with a new WD Red Mobile 1TB SATA III hard drive (as the Mac Mini runs all day long I choose this drive as it is intended for running in NAS). The disk (its model code is WD10JFCX) is recognized when attached via USB. However, when I swapped it on the secondary position in the Mac Mini, it is not recognized by the OS (I can see just the SDD). Any suggestions on what am I missing or what should I try to do? Thanks in advance.

Ritchey

 

[Kaida]

If the hdd is detectable at usb, then it should be the hdd ribbon cable problem or the motherboard connector problem.

 

[ritchey]

If the hdd is detectable at usb, then it should be the hdd ribbon cable problem or the motherboard connector problem.

But the original HDD is connected via the same ribbon to the same motherboard connector. After unsuccessful swap I have put the original HDD back and it runs smoothly (the ramapped sectors are still the problem of course). That should exclude the ribbon or connector failure as an option, shouldn't it?

 

[Kaida]

Yes you are right. Cable and port should be working.

I went into the WD RED specs and saw that it is using 12v instead of 5v. So that could be the reason why it would not turn on in the mini. This is very much like the WD velociraptor in the past, which is a thicker 2.5" hdd but requires 12v to operate.

Mac Mini Sata port is only delivering 5v over to the 2.5" HDD. So it will not work if you connect a 3.5" HDD or a 2.5" HDD requiring 12v.

https://documents.westerndigital.com/content/dam/doc-library/en_us/assets/public/western-digital/product/internal-drives/wd-red-plus-hdd/product-brief-western-digital-wd-red-plus-hdd.pdf

side question: your USB to SATA interface, is it powered by an adapter?

 

[ritchey]

Yes you are right. Cable and port should be working.

I went into the WD RED specs and saw that it is using 12v instead of 5v. So that could be the reason why it would not turn on in the mini. This is very much like the WD velociraptor in the past, which is a thicker 2.5" hdd but requires 12v to operate.

Mac Mini Sata port is only delivering 5v over to the 2.5" HDD. So it will not work if you connect a 3.5" HDD or a 2.5" HDD requiring 12v.

https://documents.westerndigital.com/content/dam/doc-library/en_us/assets/public/western-digital/product/internal-drives/wd-red-plus-hdd/product-brief-western-digital-wd-red-plus-hdd.pdf

side question: your USB to SATA interface, is it powered by an adapter?

Oh, I see. Well, the voltage never came to my mind as a cause of my problem. Thank you for your advice. I will buy a different drive (hopefully it will work) and leave this as external.

Side answer: but my USB external case is powered just by USB cabel, no adapter :/

 

[deksawyer]

The 2.5 reds are 5vDC/0.55Amps.

Can the Mac see the partition on the external WD red, or just the USB controller in the enclosure?

 

[Kaida]

Side answer: but my USB external case is powered just by USB cabel, no adapter :/

hmm that is really weird too then, the usb port is 5V too. I have tried the blue SCPX for 1TB and 2TB model before. Both works.

The 2.5 reds are 5vDC/0.55Amps.

I thought the spec sheets shows 12v at 1 amp? Or maybe I am reading it wrongly.

 

[deksawyer]

Yeah, I seen that but also this:

WD Red 2.5" 1TB HDD Review (WD10JFCX)

The WD Red family of NAS-tuned hard drives is a perfect example of the…

www.storagereview.com

strange, eh?

 

[for this]

Maybe the original SATA connector is too loose for the new drive?

When I swapped in a Samsung SSD into my 2012 mini, I noticed the SATA connector was very loose when connected to the new SSD but had a good fit with the stock HDD.

Luckily, it turned out to be working fine. But I'm still a little paranoid about it.

 

[for this]

hmm that is really weird too then, the usb port is 5V too. I have tried the blue SCPX for 1TB and 2TB model before. Both works.



I thought the spec sheets shows 12v at 1 amp? Or maybe I am reading it wrongly.

That can be a typo because an older version of spec sheet (2018) shows it uses 5VDC.

https://media.flixcar.com/f360cdn/Western_Digital-3805661149-eng_spec_data_sheet_2879-800002.pdf

 

[Kaida]

That can be a typo because an older version of spec sheet (2018) shows it uses 5VDC.

https://media.flixcar.com/f360cdn/Western_Digital-3805661149-eng_spec_data_sheet_2879-800002.pdf

I would think the old one is the typo and hence the newer updated one puts it back at 12v. But OP USB to SATA interface works without a power adapter too so that's also something to think about.

It could be loose like you mentioned too, the original one has a piece of black tape keeping it secure too.

 

[ritchey]

Wrong login. :/

 

[ritchey]

I would think the old one is the typo and hence the newer updated one puts it back at 12v. But OP USB to SATA interface works without a power adapter too so that's also something to think about.

It could be loose like you mentioned too, the original one has a piece of black tape keeping it secure too.

Sorry, I have posted my answer from different computer and it seems, that I have two separate logins. Didn't know about that, must have forgotten about the second one.

I have checked the WD RED drive and it states 5VDC: 0,55A on the sticker. So the voltage probably isn't the problem.

I have also tried another drives I have at hand. So when I put there my old drive from my MacBook Pro, it is registered by the system.

Then I put the new WD RED inside. No avail. Then I realized I have another WD RED (from year 2016) at hand, so I put it inside. Again, it was not recognized by OS.

So I put my original HDD back and put my new WD RED to the USB enclosure, so you can see, what the Disk Utility says on them.

 

[deksawyer]

Not that I think it'll make any difference, but can the Terminal see the WD Red with the comand diskutil list ?

And can you actually access the partition on it when connected by USB?

 

[Fishrrman]

Fishrrman's credo:
Use what works for you.
Ignore that which doesn't work.

OP:
These "WD reds" are platter-based hard drives we're talking about here, correct?
In that case, I doubt you would see much difference in speed whether the drive was mounted inside, or connected to USB3 using an external enclosure.

So... use the connection scheme "that works" for you...

(I'd put a 2gb SSD inside the Mini, and let it go at that...)

 

[Kaida]

try the red in your macbook pro too

 

[ritchey]

Not that I think it'll make any difference, but can the Terminal see the WD Red with the comand diskutil list ?

And can you actually access the partition on it when connected by USB?

I can access the partition on USB. In fact I decided to use it as my Time Machine Disk.

Fishrrman's credo:
Use what works for you.
Ignore that which doesn't work.

OP:
These "WD reds" are platter-based hard drives we're talking about here, correct?
In that case, I doubt you would see much difference in speed whether the drive was mounted inside, or connected to USB3 using an external enclosure.

So... use the connection scheme "that works" for you...

(I'd put a 2gb SSD inside the Mini, and let it go at that...)

Yes, that would work. However, having the drive inside is always more neat solution. And 2GB SSD. Oh, am I dreaming now?

try the red in your macbook pro too

I can try that. Maybe on weekend.