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E6400 XFR Internal disk drive: Not recognized in external enclosures?
Hi all, I've got a real perplexing situation. I've got a Latitude E6400 XFR (the ruggedized version) with a dead hard drive. It was under warranty, so dell sent me a new one overnight. So far so good. BUT...
My plan was to re-image this drive from my other, working E6400 XFR, because the software is identical (they're Mobile Data Computers on fire trucks). So I took my trusty SATA-to-USB dongle...and no computer I tried recognizes the "ruggedized" disk. The new disk is recognized by BIOS when it is in the internal slot, but not via the external dongle. I tried three external dongles and two other SATA drives. Everything else is working perfectly fine. But the "ruggedized" disk doesn't work unless it is in its "home" slot!!! I even tried to bypass the USB transition by getting an adapter to fit in the CD slot. So I'm bypassing the USB conversion altogether, and hooking up directly via the SATA interface in the CD bay. STILL NO LUCK!!!
So, what is it about these drives that only allows them to be recognized in their "home" slot? Oh, I did try it in my conventional (non-ruggedized) E6400. And that machine recognizes the drive when it's in the hard-drive slot...BUT NOT VIA THE USB DONGLE OR IN THE CD CADDY!!
So I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out why I just can't hook this thing up to the running E6400 XFR and copy the image; then return it to its original machine and booting up.
The only thing I can think of is that this drive has the "Free Fall Sensor", and somehow the SATA connection must support some kind of signal for that, and only the internal disk bay has that signal. But that is just a shot in the dark.
HELP, before we get lost going to a fire!!! :emotion-2:
buckyswider
16 Posts
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May 3rd, 2012 17:00
OH, and I did take the hard drive out of the *working* E6400 XFR. It exhibits the exact same behaviour...works via the "internal" hard drive slots, but not via either of the external methods. AND, to complete the loop, I bought a new dongle which supports eSata connectivity in addition to USB. No luck with that either...
buckyswider
16 Posts
0
May 5th, 2012 05:00
Well, I think I my "Shot in the dark" is correct. there's a Dell video on YouTube which talks about the "Free Fall Sensor" and indicates that they have a "dedicated wire" over which the motherboard signals the device that the accelerometer senses impending danger, and allows the drive to shut down quickly.
Issue is now, how do I get an external enclosure with this extra capability?? Or could I even get the CD/DVD adapter from Dell that has support for this "extra wire"? And, for what it's worth, I don't see any "extra wire" on the device. If this is in fact the issue, I guess the signal somehow travels over the SATA connector- but requires an interface that supports it. Here's the Dell vid: