[mdlug] Hardware Issue: Hard drive power requirements

[Michael Rudas (computer)]

Raymond McLaughlin wrote:

> I can't find any documentation stating what is considered a permissible current draw on
> draw on an ATA hard disk. My guess is that it would be an IEEE standard or some
> such, but I haven't been able to find any references.

Power consumption is not covered in the specs for IDE (hardware and 
timing) or ATA (signals and protocols) on attached devices . The 
specifications only extend to the 40-pin interface itself and whether 
the cable is 40 wires (up to ATA33 speeds) or 80-wire (ATA66 and up).

That having been said, if you can hook it up to a working system and run 
some SMART tools on it (under either Linux or Windows) you can see what 
the drive ITSELF reports about its self-monitor status. You will have to 
turn on SMART in the BIOS on most PCs, but there are many free tools 
available once you do.