SATA Ports on motherboard not functioning: is USB 3.0 a viable short - mid term solution?

[10737403]

While installing a new PSU, I made a silly mistake and caused some kind of damage to my motherboard - specifically the SATA ports.

The motherboard is a MSI Z270 Pro and everything else is still working fine, however the BIOS (MSI click bios 5) no longer recognises the SSD and 2 HDDs that I had installed.

After performing several tests such as trying different SATA ports and cables as well as resetting CMOS and tweaking BIOS settings, I have determined that the SATA ports or controller are simply damaged - though I have not yet been able to test other drives in this PC or test my drives in another PC as I don't have any handy at the moment.

Anyway, my question is whether or not I can use 3 SATA to USB3.0 adaptors and just use the drives externally until I come up with a more elegant solution - specifically if the Windows 10 installation on the SSD will still work despite the changed circumstances.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ralston18]

I will say yes in the context of using a USB 3.0 port to connect a USB 3.0 to SATA adapter.

Key is being able to boot the SSD via a USB port.

And the HDD's will require an external power source - USB will not be enough.

You may need to settle with only one HDD at a time.

Get the SSD to boot and see how things work. Then add HDD's one at a time. Making sure that everything works and continues to work each step of the way.

Still the performance is likely to be impaired.

 

[samer.forums]

You cant install windows on USB3 external hard disk . it is not allowed ... it wont let you.

 

[10737403]

You cant install windows on USB3 external hard disk . it is not allowed ... it wont let you.

The SSD already has a working Windows 10 installation on it, so hopefully that won't be an issue

 

[10737403]

I will say yes in the context of using a USB 3.0 port to connect a USB 3.0 to SATA adapter.

Key is being able to boot the SSD via a USB port.

And the HDD's will require an external power source - USB will not be enough.

You may need to settle with only one HDD at a time.

Get the SSD to boot and see how things work. Then add HDD's one at a time. Making sure that everything works and continues to work each step of the way.

Still the performance is likely to be impaired.

Thanks for the response - I'm not too worried about performance as long as I can still play the odd game and browse the web as normal which I hope is the case.

As for powering the HDDs, what should I look into getting for that?

 

[samer.forums]

Are the USB3 still working ? the SATA controller is the same USB3 controller (Chipset)

 

[10737403]

Are the USB3 still working ? the SATA controller is the same USB3 controller (Chipset)

They are... That does not bode well for me as it suggests that the SATA ports are still working but it was the drives that were damaged. Do you think this is the case? I can potentially test the drives in another computer tonight.

 

[samer.forums]

Are the USB3 still working ? the SATA controller is the same USB3 controller (Chipset)

They are... That does not bode well for me as it suggests that the SATA ports are still working but it was the drives that were damaged. Do you think this is the case? I can potentially test the drives in another computer tonight.

Lets hope not ... try it and see.

 

[Ralston18]

I have an USB to SATA adapter that uses a wall wart to power the HDD. Connect the SATA data cable as usual but instead of using an internal power connector the wall power is provided instead.

Not this product but similar:

https://www.amazon.com/DiGiYes-Converter-Adapter-Supply-Included/dp/B0197MJ01G/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1509488461&sr=8-15&keywords=usb+adapter+for+sata+hard+drive

 

[DRagor]

While installing a new PSU, I made a silly mistake and caused some kind of damage to my motherboard - specifically the SATA ports.

If you don't mind sharing with us, what exactly you did that you call 'mistake', this could help evaluate your problem and find solution.

 

[10737403]

While installing a new PSU, I made a silly mistake and caused some kind of damage to my motherboard - specifically the SATA ports.

If you don't mind sharing with us, what exactly you did that you call 'mistake', this could help evaluate your problem and find solution.

Ah I meant to add that as an appendix my bad, the mistake was forgetting to replace the old modular power cables running from the old PSU to the drives with the new cables that came with the new supply.

 

[DRagor]

While installing a new PSU, I made a silly mistake and caused some kind of damage to my motherboard - specifically the SATA ports.

If you don't mind sharing with us, what exactly you did that you call 'mistake', this could help evaluate your problem and find solution.

Ah I meant to add that as an appendix my bad, the mistake was forgetting to replace the old modular power cables running from the old PSU to the drives with the new cables that came with the new supply.

Ouch. In that case drives damage is much more likely then motherboard damage, I'm afraid.

 

[10737403]

While installing a new PSU, I made a silly mistake and caused some kind of damage to my motherboard - specifically the SATA ports.

If you don't mind sharing with us, what exactly you did that you call 'mistake', this could help evaluate your problem and find solution.

Ah I meant to add that as an appendix my bad, the mistake was forgetting to replace the old modular power cables running from the old PSU to the drives with the new cables that came with the new supply.

Ouch. In that case drives damage is much more likely then motherboard damage, I'm afraid.

Yeah it's looking more and more like that is the case unfortunately, good excuse to upgrade my ageing drives though I guess!