Compatibility issue between 2nd Generation SATA Drives and VIA Chipset SATA Controllers

Problems are encountered when installing Second Generation Serial ATA hard drives on VIA chipset Serial ATA controllers.

Question

Why is my Second Generation Serial ATA hard drive not detected by my VIA Serial ATA controller or motherboard?

Answer

Problem:
Second Generation Serial ATA hard drives are not detected when connected to a VIA Serial ATA controller. These controllers include the following chipsets:

VT8237
VT8237R
VT6420
VT6421L

Cause:
Our Second Generation Serial ATA hard drives use autospeed negotiation. This enables our Second Generation Serial ATA hard drives to automatically detect the motherboard data transfer rate, making it backward compatible with First Generation Serial ATA data transfer rates. However, because this technology is so new, some older motherboards are unable to support autospeed negotiation and cannot recognize the drive. This “drive not detected” condition occurs when a chipset is incapable of correctly negotiating the data transfer speed with a Second Generation Serial ATA hard drive.

Resolution:

You can purchase and install a third party PCI or PCI-Express Second Generation Serial ATA controller card for your Serial ATA hard drive(s).
To lock the drive at 150 MB/s data transfer rate, install a jumper shunt on pins OPT1, shown in the picture below.
If the OPT1 jumper setting does not resolve the issue, please contact Western Digital Support for further troubleshooting.