220-1101 Question 211
Single answerHard drive cablesA technician is upgrading a desktop PC with a new 3.5-inch SATA hard drive. After mounting the drive, the technician notices the motherboard has available SATA ports, but the drive is not detected because the technician only connected one cable from the motherboard to the drive. Which action should the technician take NEXT to properly connect the hard drive?
- A
Connect a SATA power cable from the power supply to the hard drive
- B
Replace the SATA data cable with a 40-pin IDE ribbon cable
- C
Move the hard drive jumper to the master setting
- D
Connect a Molex cable directly to the motherboard SATA port
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
SATA storage devices require both a 7-pin data connection to the motherboard and a 15-pin power connection from the power supply. A common real-world installation mistake is connecting only the SATA data cable and forgetting the power cable. Unlike older PATA/IDE drives, SATA does not use master/slave configuration on a shared ribbon cable; each drive has a point-to-point connection. CompTIA A+ Core 1 expects candidates to distinguish among common hard drive cable types and apply proper cabling practices during installation and troubleshooting. These details align with standard motherboard and drive manufacturer installation guidance for SATA devices.
- A. Correct.
Correct. A SATA hard drive requires two separate connections: a SATA data cable to the motherboard and a SATA power cable from the power supply. If only the motherboard cable is connected, the drive will not receive power and will not be detected by the system.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A 40-pin IDE ribbon cable is used for older PATA/IDE drives, not SATA drives. SATA uses a much smaller 7-pin data cable. This option reflects confusion between legacy and modern hard drive interfaces.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. SATA drives do not use master/slave jumper settings in normal operation the way older PATA drives did. Each SATA device has its own dedicated connection to the motherboard, so changing a jumper to master would not solve the problem.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A Molex cable does not connect to a motherboard SATA port. Molex is a legacy power connector from the power supply, and while some older drives or adapters may use Molex for power, it is not used as a data connection to a SATA motherboard port.