Adding missing SATA connectors to motherboard

You're assuming that the second SATA controller exists to utilize them.

Even if a chip is in place that has unused ports on it, the MOBO BIOS will not carry them.

Yes, and apparently the NVidia chipset does support additional SATA devices. I don't know if the BIOS does, and it's possible that a termination voltage source/sink isn't there fro the extra SATA connectors.

Hours??? Similar mods in the past took me 20 minutes, including the time to desolder the parts from a junked mobo.

That would entail a 500' walk to Fry's Electronics.

If I got paid that much, I'd also take hours to do this job. ;)

I don't see any problem except possibly an active termination voltage regulator, but because differential signals are involved, I assume that only ordinary resistors are used.

Just curious: How many times have you done mods like this?

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:57:06 -0800 (PST), "larry moe 'n curly" put finger to keyboard and composed:

The "resistors" at the SATA4 connector appear to be labelled as C151-4. This begs the question, what are caps doing on a high speed interface?

This URL talks about 100 ohm termination resistors across the two signal pairs:

This URL suggests that 20K pullup and pulldown resistors may sometimes be used in noisy environments:

- Franc Zabkar

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 09:52:10 -0800 (PST), "larry moe 'n curly" put finger to keyboard and composed:

There exist utilities (eg AMIBCP) that can enable hidden features in your BIOS. It could be that your additional SATA ports are supported, but they may have been turned off by default.

For example, count the "not active" features in this AMI BIOS:

- Franc Zabkar

He's obviously never done this kind of thing so the hours are needed to assemble the tools and practice. It wouldn't be especially hard to solder given practice with similar work, would be harder to find an incompatible SATA header than an compatible one, and indeed is a 20 minute job if the board's not already in a fully assembled system.

Uphill both ways!

LOL

The resistors you could probably just measure, since they're present for the other two ports. "IF" all other elements of doing this were in place, at most the bios would have the feature hidden but still present logically if the capability were otherwise present.

Are nVidia 430 and 410 pin-compatible, at least enough that ECS did what they do best, economized by using the same PCB layout for either possibility? That seems to be the problem, use of 410 chipset which only supports 2 SATA ports instead of 430 chipset which supports 4. Unless nVidia is pulling a fast one and 410 is just a whole 430 chip rebranded that manufacturers have agreed not to implement all 4 SATA ports on, it seems having the 410 is the show-stopper.

I could find a reference to AC or DC coupling here. (I bet some sata-io.org document would cover this in more detail.)

I have an Intel sample schematic where the 1.5Gb/sec SATA interface was DC coupled. And can also find examples with AC coupling.

Pg. 8 here uses 10nF capacitors.

PCI Express uses AC coupling, and also uses 8B10B coding like SATA does. At least with PCI Express, coupling caps are used consistently.

Paul

Hello, I am not an expert, but the caps you see are the coupling caps. The termination resistor would be at the end of the line, not the middle. I'm not sure what the value of the cap would be, but 100nF is a good start. I could be wildly wrong about the value, I know nothing of the SATA specs.

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:19:29 -0500, Paul put finger to keyboard and composed:

Thanks again. I'd always thought AC coupling wasn't necessary when the two devices at either end of the cable were differentially coupled or powered from the same supply. I tend to associate AC coupling with analogue circuits rather than digital.

- Franc Zabkar

Which chipsets do these boards have? AFAIK, nVidia 400,

One thing we might need to consider is that if anyone were to pull some stunt trying to save a fraction of a cent on resistors, it'd be ECS/PCChips.

I don't have an nForce /4xx series board available to check it, but checking an old A7N8X board that uses a Silicon Image SATA controller, it has the SATA data pins coupled directly to the chip inputs with a 2200pF ceramic chip capacitor in series.

The picture linked above is a little high in contrast so it's hard to tell but might those empty spots be corresponding to capacitors on the adjacent used SATA spots? Further, if you can trace these data lines to the chipset, are there unused surface mount pads adjacent to it?

I must be blind, upon looking at the picture again obviously what I was thinking of is supposed to be capacitors as marked with the C(nnn) silkscreening but now I wonder if you were looking at the resistor, R(nn) silkscreened positions above the SATA port in the pictures. They don't seem to be for SATA?

I live in Phoenix. What do you mean by "hill"? ;)

This mobo has an nVidia 405 chipset. :( You've made the case for me to give up on this project.

You're obviously an idiot.

Multi-layer boards *are* difficult to work with. Try removing through hole devices on an 0.092" thick PCB. I can certainly do simple SMD work. I have both laid down more fresh lead as well as reworked more assemblies than you probably ever will. I was working on electronic assemblies back in the seventies. You know... before you were even born, punk.

I know more about soldering and connections between metals than you ever will.

Now this 'kony' retard is talking about rework and post fit operations in an *installed system*, and he claims that *I* don't have any experience.

Bwuahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

The slight incline that the flood rushes down toward you on.

I let my technicians do that work for me.

My technicians can do very complicated SMD work.

Sounds like you were an assembler before being a technician?

I let my technicians worry about good solder joints.

I think you have lots of technician level experience, based upon your comments here. In our company a technician with an attitudde like your would not last very long though. Only the very best engineers can have an attitude, in my experience.

pretty cocky for being a technician.

The person who can do something is the idiot instead of the one who can't. Keep on telling yourself that if it makes you happy.

No they aren't more difficult when the part is as this is, soldered into plated holes. Exact same procedure. For that matter, just about anything with solder exposed is no different on multi-layer boards, though when something is connected to a power or ground plane it does take a lot more heat.

I was actually being conservative with the prior mention of it being a 20 minute job. It's a 4 minute job, maybe 10 if the solder sucker didn't get enough out of the holes on the first try.

It's not a problem, though it's not a 0.092" PCB either.

It's questionable whether your ability at SMD work is as great as your ego if adding a mere SATA port seems difficult.

Then at some point you stopped learning.

Maybe you're just an idiot then, if you've been trying for so long and still can't do something simple.

Ever thought about tracing the local circuitry with a DVM? D'OH!

Especially useful at the unpopulated areas for schematesizing the work in progress. Pretty much leaves out all doubt.

I smack holier than thou retards like you around.

Yeah... you got a whole gang of 'em. Right.

You're an idiot. I'm an engineer, and I also assembled, and still do in large system integrations. I also worked as a technician. I also worked as an engineering technician.

I'd bet that all your technicians know very little about soldering science.

I think that you are a retarded pussy that jacks off at the mouth a lot in Usenet, but would cower irl.

That is one of your problems. You should give the same credence as one would during a face to face meeting, not use some other lame standard because you are in Usenet. You making assessments "based on" a single post tells a lot about how little you must know.

Like I said, fucktard... I smack retarded little asswipes like you around. I know EXACTLY what stupid shitheads like you are about.

Well... Fuck off! How's that, dumbass?

You're pretty stupid for claiming to have a mental age that matches your numerical age.