SSCSET.TXT Rev. A 15-Nov-2005
SSCset.EXE version 1.00
Utility to toggle Spread Spectrum Clocking setting
Copyright (c) 2005 by Seagate Technology LLC. All rights reserved.
Newer Serial ATA (3Gbps SATA) interface disk drives may employ a standard technology called Spread Spectrum Clocking (SSC) which helps to reduce electronic emissions (EMI) in large, multi-drive systems. Single drive environments do not need SSC to meet EMI requirements.
A small number of SATA host products do not support this SSC standard feature. Similarly, RAID controllers may need to enable SSC on drive configurations with SSC disabled by default to reduce EMI.
The SSCset utility can disable or enable the SSC feature.
Table of Contents
DISABLE SSC: A second SSC compatible system is required to disable SSC.
Host products that do not support SSC cannot detect the presence of the disk drive. Therefore, in order to disable SSC the drive must be attached to another host platform that does support SSC so that the feature can be disabled. Once SSC is turned off, the drive can be returned to the original host system.
ENABLE SSC: Use any standard SATA system to enable SSC.
If the drive has SSC turned off by default and SSC is required for a large multi-drive environment, the target system is usually supported by the SSCset software. RAID controllers, however, can pose a barrier to communicating with the SATA at the low hardware level required to make the SSC change. If your RAID controller is not supported then a more standard SATA system may be needed to toggle SSC on the drive. Once SSC is turned on, the drive can be returned to the original RAID controller.
Usage
This utility may not be executed while Microsoft Windows is active. To use this utility, create a bootable MS-DOS disk or CD-ROM that contains a copy of this utility and boot from it.
Be sure the hard drive that needs SSC disabled is the only hard drive on the system.
This program will run as a menu-based program.
From a command prompt, type:
- sscset
- and press ENTER.
In the menu-based mode, use the up and down arrow keys to select the controller and the drive to re-configure. The utility will only allow selection of supported devices (if only one supported device is present, the arrow keys will appear to have no effect).
After the utility has completed, reboot the system.
- What SATA models have SSC?
- What is the default state of SSC on Seagate 3Gbps SATA drives?
- Would a compatible, single-drive system benefit from SSC?
- Some 3Gps SATA drives have a jumper to limit the interface to 1.5Gps. Is this the same issue as SSC?
What SATA models have SSC?
SATA drives such as those in the Barracuda 7200.9 family utilize 3Gbps transfer rated chipsets. A few special OEM-only models of Barracuda 7200.7 were released with 3Gbps.
What is the default state of SSC on Seagate 3Gbps SATA drives?
Initial 7200.9 models were released with SSC enabled. Currently, there are two configurations available with SSC disabled as the target for general distribution and retail channels.
Would a compatible, single-drive system benefit from SSC?
No, because Spread Spectrum Clocking is not associated with drive performance. They are unrelated.
Some 3Gps SATA drives have a jumper to limit the interface to 1.5Gps. Is this the same issue as SSC?
They are unrelated. However, they can appear to be similar in the way that drives are undetected in either case. Systems that cannot support 3Gps just need to put the jumper on. Some 3Gps SATA models use the limit transfer rate jumper to also disable SSC. Generally, problems in either case are associated with legacy SATA technology. In the event that 1.5Gps are SSC is required, then SSCset can be used to enable SSC by software.
v1.00 09-Nov-2005 Initial public release
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