Plugging in a cd rom while pc is on/sleeping?

athlon64

New member
So i almost never us a CD rom, really no need for cd-s. However i do sometimes need it, maybee one a year. So i don"t like having it in my PC but i don"t feel like turning my pc off when i want to use a cd rom.

I wanted to ask you is it possible to plug it in while pc is running because i heard SATA is hot swappable? My controller is running in AHCI but i"m afraid i"d destroy something by plugging a sata power connector in while pc is ruunning.

If that is not possible is to possible to do it while pc is on sleep. Sata power connectors shouldn"t be getting voltage when pc is on sleep?
 
Etlar: they are expensive, not worth it if i use it once every decade

James: So i can plug in a sata CD-rom while pc is running? I know i can"t plug in a molex but a sata power connector i can right?
 
You should be able to yeah. I don't see why you couldn't do it with molex either tbh. As long as you're careful.
I've blown up hard drives in the past trying to put in molex connectors the wrong way while the system was on. Just be careful
 
My advice here would be go the easy route... get a USB DVDRW drive then you aren't messing around with your system all the time.

USB External ones don't cost much and are no harder to use than any pendrive etc
 
Supported, technically, yes. But as mentioned, I have blown a hard drive and a CD-ROM connecting power while PC was one because when the electrical connection was made, I guess there was some sort of surge and pop.

Maybe when the PC is asleep? Not sure about that.
 
*coughs* the sata allocations are collected by BIOS during the PC's boot-up.

plugging a HDD directly into the PSU, AND then plugging it into the mobo, will result in it not being recognised.

only USB HDD can plug-n-play'd

the purpose of a hotswap bay is make it easier to swap drives (ie: not take the rig apart, to get at them)... WHEN THE RIGS ARE POWERED OFF

:D

EDIT: when a system is asleep, the power to the mobo is still on, and the BIOS has already been configured. it is just like it being on life-support ;)
 
Actually... :)

With my Windows 7 and a Hot Swap bay I can pull drives in and out without powering down. I just need to go into disk management and rescan the disks to pick up what has been pulled out and plugged in...
 
Actually... :)

With my Windows 7 and a Hot Swap bay I can pull drives in and out without powering down. I just need to go into disk management and rescan the disks to pick up what has been pulled out and plugged in...

this is because you have HOTSWAP bays.
these bays have extra hardware, at the back of the bay, to enable the doing of this.

on a normal mobo, in a case without hotswap bays, cannot be done.

you have been told - proceed at your own risk ;)
 
use a USB enclosure for the drive.
now no risk of SATA controler issues. plug and play
and temporary CD/DVD support.. and can be found for less than $10.

airdeano
 
The AHCI DO actually support hot swap function, but it's more up to the controllers firmware whether it actually works fine, or you get a nice blue screen when you scan for new hardware...

Play it safe - power off the pc first :)
 
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External USB DVD-RW drives are much much cheaper than they used to be. Six months ago they were about $75 in my area. Now I can get one for $25. Thats nearly as cheap as the standard internal drives at $19. Pretty awesome. I might have to get one soon just because I can.
 
i bought a USB HDD dock several months ago from amazon... very cheap.

it takes IDE, sataI/II/III (2.5 and 3.5 drives).
 
this is because you have HOTSWAP bays.
these bays have extra hardware, at the back of the bay, to enable the doing of this.

on a normal mobo, in a case without hotswap bays, cannot be done.

you have been told - proceed at your own risk ;)

Right - I totally gapped there. You are correct sir...
 
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