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MP 1,1-5,1 MacPro 5.1 & high capacity hard drives

I would like to confirm which 14TB or 16TB drives work properly such they are present after a warm boot, where my interest is a Mac Pro 5,1. Pin 3 is manageable thus not an issue, though it would be useful to know if the drive will spin up on a cold boot without taping pin 3.

While traditionally I have avoided Seagate, their current enterprise range of drives show improved reliability. It was stated earlier in this thread the Seagate 16TB Exos (ST16000NM001G) is working without issues. No problems warm booting this drive?

Another enterprise drive range is Toshiba's. Does anyone have experience with either their 14TB drive MG07ACA14TE or 16TB MG08ACA16TE?
 
vsc said:
I would like to confirm which 14TB or 16TB drives work properly such they are present after a warm boot, where my interest is a Mac Pro 5,1. Pin 3 is manageable thus not an issue, though it would be useful to know if the drive will spin up on a cold boot without taping pin 3.

While traditionally I have avoided Seagate, their current enterprise range of drives show improved reliability. It was stated earlier in this thread the Seagate 16TB Exos (ST16000NM001G) is working without issues. No problems warm booting this drive?

Another enterprise drive range is Toshiba's. Does anyone have experience with either their 14TB drive MG07ACA14TE or 16TB MG08ACA16TE?
Click to expand...

I had no problems. To be clear. My boot drive is an SSD and I used the 16TB as a time machine drive. It showed up fine after a warm or cold boot no issues. Now if you're asking about actually booting off the 16TB, I haven't tested that at all. I see no reason why it wouldn't work since it shows up without issue otherwise, but I haven't tried it.
 
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Indeed I have an 8TB SSD as the boot drive and I'm looking for an internal time machine drive, thus your configuration sounds like a winning combination.

I should ask, did you have to tape pin 3 on the drive?

[Edit] I notice in the Seagate manual that pin 3 of the drive in question is still defined as a +3.3v power pin. So...it would appear the drive will spin up at power on given they have not implement power management / reset on pin 3.

ZombiePhysicist said:
I had no problems. To be clear. My boot drive is an SSD and I used the 16TB as a time machine drive. It showed up fine after a warm or cold boot no issues. Now if you're asking about actually booting off the 16TB, I haven't tested that at all. I see no reason why it wouldn't work since it shows up without issue otherwise, but I haven't tried it.
Click to expand...
 
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vsc said:
Indeed I have an 8TB SSD as the boot drive and I'm looking for an internal time machine drive, thus your configuration sounds like a winning combination.

I should ask, did you have to tape pin 3 on the drive?

[Edit] I notice in the Seagate manual that pin 3 of the drive in question is still defined as a +3.3v power pin. So...it would appear the drive will spin up at power on given they have not implement power management / reset on pin 3.
Click to expand...

I just plugged it straight in and it worked. No taping.
 
tsialex said:
Even after reboot/warm boot/wake from sleep? Lot's of new hard drives don't work after a reboot or wake from sleep with a MP5,1.
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hmm my 5,1 never went to sleep. So not sure about that. But definitely works after both cold and warm reboots.
 
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I don't recall a prior discussion other than vague reference of an issue with the drive disappearing after sleep in this thread, where i just searched for "sleep" in this thread and any others that I had looked at in the past. No mention of this. Where was this discussed?

tsialex said:
Even after reboot/warm boot/wake from sleep? Lot's of new hard drives don't work after a reboot or wake from sleep with a MP5,1.
Click to expand...
 
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I can confirm that the Seagate 16TB Exos (ST16000NM001G) does indeed work correctly in a Mac Pro 5,1, where I tested cold and warm boot as well as sleep. In all cases the drive spins up without taping pin 3, as well as stays mounted after a warm boot or sleep.

The drive's mounting holes are not compatible with the Apple drive sled, thus I'm using an OWC.
 
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Can someone please explain what this new vs. old screw mounting issue is about?
Are the HDD's mounting holes located elsewhere? Can the new drives be partly mounted (i.e. 2 screws instead of 4)? Is there a height difference so the SATA/power connectors no longer attach with the regular mounting sleds?

Living outside of the US I see that buying new sleds will cost me quite a bit, so if there are other solutions I want to look into those first.
 
The screws have a different pattern. If someone doesn’t post a link, look up the OWC sled and you can see the measurements.
 
macstatic said:
Can someone please explain what this new vs. old screw mounting issue is about?
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IIRC, for higher capacity drives - certainly beyond 4TB - apparently some manufacturers are using slightly bigger platters. This necessitated moving 2 of the mounting screw holes. If you have a specific drive in mind, search the forum and see what has been said about it.

I don't believe you can just use 2 of the screws. Remember the drives essentially hang from the sleds.
 
I'll see if I can look up some technical drawings of an "old" SATA drive and a newer, larger platter type SATA drive. I believe most manufacturers have drawings with dimensions and such.
As for the sleds... it's been a while since I opened up my 5,1 MP but was under the impression that they sit upon a sled, but if they actually hang underneath I totally agree that securing the drive well is necessary. Maybe new holes can be drilled into the existing sleds to accomodate for all type SATA drives?
 
macstatic said:
I'll see if I can look up some technical drawings of an "old" SATA drive and a newer, larger platter type SATA drive. I believe most manufacturers have drawings with dimensions and such.
As for the sleds... it's been a while since I opened up my 5,1 MP but was under the impression that they sit upon a sled, but if they actually hang underneath I totally agree that securing the drive well is necessary. Maybe new holes can be drilled into the existing sleds to accomodate for all type SATA drives?
Click to expand...

They hang beneath the sled, instead of holes I would try some kind of plastic or string tie around the sled. Using the depression where the existing screws are for a path to not interfere with the use of it when sliding it back in the machine.
 
I've got a couple of 8TB drives in my 3,1. The sleds are different to those in the 4,1 or 5,1 & there are no sleds available from OWC for newer drives that fit the 3,1. The drives are well secured with two screws in the holes that do align please some gaffer tape.
 
I found this a page about "location of 3.5 inch HDD bottom mounting holes position" at Toshiba's website; is this what you're all talking about when you refer to the new and old screw positions?
bottom-holes-1.jpg


Comparing the photos with a "regular" 2 TB SATA hard drive I have it appears to be a "Type 2" while "Type 1" must be the new, larger drives.
So at least 2 of the screw positions are the same as before, and I'm assuming the connector height/position is the same as before -in that case I think a nylon cable tie/zip tie will do to secure the rest of the drive.
Self-locking-Nylon-Cable-Ties.jpg


I see there are even steel zip ties available, which might be even better, depending on how hot the drive will become and if the heat will eventually damage it, though it will need some more work to bend and make a good fit.
91UzdxcrnbL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
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macstatic said:
I found this a page about "location of 3.5 inch HDD bottom mounting holes position" at Toshiba's website; is this what you're all talking about when you refer to the new and old screw positions?
bottom-holes-1.jpg


Comparing the photos with a "regular" 2 TB SATA hard drive I have it appears to be a "Type 2" while "Type 1" must be the new, larger drives.
So at least 2 of the screw positions are the same as before, and I'm assuming the connector height/position is the same as before -in that case I think a nylon cable tie/zip tie will do to secure the rest of the drive.
Self-locking-Nylon-Cable-Ties.jpg


I see there are even steel zip ties available, which might be even better, depending on how hot the drive will become and if the heat will eventually damage it, though it will need some more work to bend and make a good fit.
91UzdxcrnbL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
Click to expand...


The type 2 is the old one from looking at the 500gb in my 1,1 tray I just picked up and looked at again. That metal tie idea I do not think I would take the chance it may contact the surface and short something out. Though looking at the path it would take through the depressions where the screws are it goes above the connectors to the motor in the center of the drive. They are in a little depression of their own at that point so it is possible I worry about nothing.
 
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That's a good and important point I should have considered -metal isn't ideal with electrical connections, so I'd have to take an actual look at the drive and sled before attempting that.
I guess I was also thinking about heat dissipation from the drive: the metal tie would act like a heatsink and possibly reduce the overall heat. And I'm hoping for a more secure fastening that way.
Another idea is that right-angled metal fastenings of some sort could be used to secure the drive from the sides. As far as I remember there are 2 screw holes on each side of a drive -maybe these could be used?
 
The way I see it we’re lucky to have a company that offers drive trays with the new hole pattern, you should buy them while they’re still available because they won’t be forever.
 
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macstatic said:
That's a good and important point I should have considered -metal isn't ideal with electrical connections, so I'd have to take an actual look at the drive and sled before attempting that.
I guess I was also thinking about heat dissipation from the drive: the metal tie would act like a heatsink and possibly reduce the overall heat. And I'm hoping for a more secure fastening that way.
Another idea is that right-angled metal fastenings of some sort could be used to secure the drive from the sides. As far as I remember there are 2 screw holes on each side of a drive -maybe these could be used?
Click to expand...

Metal tie will not have enough contact to act as a good heat sink. Only problem with the side hole idea is you have to ensure that the outer side of the tray is free from obstruction as it is what slides into the metal tab slots to hold the drive up into place. Which is why I mentioned using the depression where the screws are as a way of securing it, it will work perfectly for this idea I think. If you can get piece of metal shaped with a hook that will secure to a side hole and use the depression to hang from that would work too. But that is a good half an inch on an angle from the depression with my drive I just measured here to the middle hole you would have to use on the drive itself.
 
bsbeamer said:
It is 99.9% the same feel, fit, and finish as the original authentic MP5,1 sled.
Click to expand...


Thanks for clarifying!! Good to hear it was practically same appearance. Coming from outside US, shipping might be challenging, but I think I can manage that and better buying in bulk altogether in single shipment. I need eight of them to put in two machine, also my old stocks sled is quite dirty so I prefer to have fresh shiny look sled while having capability mounting high capacity drives.
 
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