Can't get SATA drive to work in PS2...

[kungmidas]

Hey guys...

First, I had the following:

PS2 SPCH-50004 -> network adapter -> Hitachi 160gb 7200rpm 3.5" IDE drive.

This has worked great for a long time (and still works when I reconnect it).
However I wanted to replace it with a quieter SATA drive. Before I throw money on a bigger drive, I want to get it to work with a smaller drive... So I tried this:

PS2 SPCH-50004 -> network adapter -> short 40-lead F-M IDE-extension cable & big->small molex power adapter-> IDE-SATA adapter based on Marvell 88SA8040-TBC -> Western Digital 120gb 5400rpm 2,5" SATA drive.

This didn't work. Both HD Loader and ULaunchElf says they can't find a supported drive. I can hear the drive spin up when I start them.

I've tried to replace the components in the chain, one-by-one, so I've tried the following as well:

* Replaced the IDE cable with a 80-lead M-M IDE cable and a gender changer.
* Replaced the IDE-SATA adapter with another one, looking very similar and based on the same chipset.
* Replaced the hard drive with two other drives: a similar 250gb drive, and a Fujitsu drive (80gb 5400rpm).

I get the same problem regardless of combination. I've also made sure that all the adapters and drives are compatible with each other by basically connecting the whole stack to a PC instead of the network adapter.

So basically, either I have had very bad luck and have two broken adapters, or two broken IDE cables, etc... Or something is not compatible with something... Or I'm doing something wrong

The IDE-SATA adapters use a chip that I've seen being recommended on several sites and both of them looks pretty much identical to most pics I've seen on working adapters (yet different enough to see that they come from different places, for example, one has a master/slave jumper while the other one does not. The drive is set to MASTER. I'm a bit unsure if I've actually tried CS instead, I'll try that next but I doubt it will help (if I don't update the post it didn't help )

The only thing I can think of (except the master/CS thing is to just try more things, first of all IDE-SATA-adapters, until I find some that works.

Any ideas are appreciated!

Thanks!

EDIT: One thing I also haven't done is to wipe the SATA drives before putting them in the PS2. I have assumed that HDL/ULaunchElf would be able to format them properly. Maybe thats stupid of me?

[soteris]

Buy a sata network adapter I have the same console as you and works perfectly.

[RandQalan]

Have you use uLE HD manager to see if it recolonizes it if so try formatting it but don't if you want to keep you stuff

and it should be master BTW

[kungmidas]

Thanks for your replies!

Buy a sata network adapter I have the same console as you and works perfectly.

I've actually concidered that and it looks nice, but unless I am mistaking, they don't have a network port... I really want to be able to install games over the network...

Have you use uLE HD manager to see if it recolonizes it if so try formatting it but don't if you want to keep you stuff

and it should be master BTW

I've tried that with ULE 4.40... After the drive has spun up ULE shows "connected: no / formatted: no", and both "Create" and "Format" fails instantly...

Thanks again though! Any other ideas are appreciated!

[RandQalan]

With what you tried above sounds like hardware or driver incompatibility you tried everything I could even think to do even hooking it up to PC

but make sure you didn't damage the network adapter is all I can think of now

BTW you might want to try with new uLE but should not make a diff AFAIK

[kungmidas]

Thanks!

I think the NA is ok, at least it still works fine with the original IDE drive...

I DO have another PS2, I might try the stack in that one instead. That one is dismantled as well so I could take of the bottom to check that I'm not jamming any cables etc when I insert the stuff into the PS2. That machine is a completely different revision so that could rule out the PS2 hardware and firmware itself...

I'll try to find another molex adapter as well just to make sure it isn't glitchy or whatever. It did work fine in the computer though...

I'll try OPL and a newer ULE as well.

I think I'll take some pictures of the setup and put them here, maybe someone can see if I'm doing something obvious wrong that I've forgot to mention...

[kungmidas]

I think the problem is with the IDE cables. Putting a gender changer between an 80-pin IDE cable and the NA just doesn't work - the key pins wont match. The IDE cable has to either be fully connected, or basically "mirrored" at one of the connectors... So i don't know, maybe some important pin is not connected or the controller in the NA thinks the cable is up-side-down or something.

I'm guessing my 40-pin F-M IDE cable is just bad, it fits a bit loosely.

I've just ordered a couple of those angles used by the clever guy in the other thread... They seem to work for him at least

[RandQalan]

Good luck hope they work for you and yea it sounds like it might be the IDE especially loose or not enough pin count.

[kungmidas]

I replaced the IDE cable with angled things shown in that other "startech" thread, and as suspected everything works now.