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The SATA connector that comes with the drive seems to include a "power" section, which in theory means I don't have to deal with those terrible molex power connectors any more. But no dice, it seems my motherboard or the connector or something doesn't supply power through the SATA plug, so I still have to use those awful old style power connectors. Sigh.


SATA does not provide power through the 7 pin data connector that goes to your motherboard. SATA power is a seperate plug that should be coming from your power supply.

I'm suprised SATA drives even ship with the molex power ports. The Seagate my friend bought was a full SATA drive, with no sign of jumpers or molex power. It came with a molex to SATA power converter if needed.

The SATA power is easy to plug in and unplug, as it is supposed to be hot pluggable. Thus, the placement of the plugs is part of the SATA standard as well.