Hello!
I’m sharing my experience regarding an issue that several people seems to have. I would have just added a message here, but the thread seems closed:
https://community.wd.com/t5/Desktop-Mobile-Drives/WD-Black-3TB-3003FZEX-problem-with-SATA-connectors/m-p/691629/highlight/true#M16088
First, everything in my system is brand NEW! The power cable is super tight into the drive (which is GOOD). However, the SATA cable is so loose into the drive that it could fall off just by a candle light blow. With all due respect to Help4All in the above thread mentioning that the drive’s SATA connector is standard, I believe this to be a design flaw. Maybe this is good when the drive is inserted into an enclosure (less friction), but it is definitely bad for SATA cables.
After a quick observation, I notice that the drive’s sata connector doesn’t have a top plastic edge that the SATA cable counterpart can clip onto. That’s the problem! I searched the Internet for a solution, but the users didn’t seem to speek from experience, or didn’t seem to understand the issue by asking clarifications about completely unrelated details, or by making jokes (push the cable harder).
What I did is to secure the SATA cable to the drive using ELECTRIC TAPE. I know that this is not a permanent solution. I have no idea how long the tape will hold. Permanent glue is out of the question for me, and I’m affraid of possible side effects of chemicals released by a removable glue.
So, I put a one-inch long ELECTRIC TAPE under the drive, on its black plastic side grabbing the bottom part of the SATA cable. Now that the SATA cable is firmly into place, I put a second tape, 2-3 inches long over the SATA cable plug AND the power cable plug. That’s it! Maybe I’ll check in a year or two if it still holds…
Feel free to add your solution here. I’m interested! If I don’t reply back, it’s because my RAID array is finally initialised, and I’m using it!
Cheers!
:-Dominique.
