WDC1001FALS vs WDC1002FAEX
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The HDD does auto-speed selection for the SATA interface so they are backward compatible to the previous SATA interface. Some motherboard chip sets can not handle auto-speed selection and the PHY jumper is used to lock the SATA interface to the lower speed for compatibility.
Problems encountered installing SATA II hard drives on SATA I controllers
The advanced format jumper is ONLY used when running on an XP system to align the partition to the new format. Windows 7 will recognize the Advanced Format Drive and align the partition accordingly.
Jim 
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Okay, then I don't need the PHY, and probably not the AFT, but according to the WDC page that I linked above, it is needed when using a cloning utility. I don't know if I will need this or not, because I may use the drive from clone another. However, since I have already initialized and formatted the drive, I'm not sure if I can use this or not. It kind of sounds as though it can only be used before ever formatting the drive.
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I assume you are using Windows 7. If it is a new install of Win 7 the partitions will be aligned by default. If you clone from an old drive that is not aligned then the new drives partition will not be aligned as it is a clone of the original. After cloning then you run the alignment tool to align the new drive.
Quote: Using your WD Advanced Format Hard Drive with a Windows Operating System may require you to run the WD Align Windows software utility after you install your operating system or partition and format the drive as a secondary drive. The WD Align software aligns existing partitions on the Advanced Format drive to ensure it provides full performance for certain configurations. (Please see table for configuration details)
If it is Win XP and the drive will have only one partition you need to add the jumper before installing the drive. If multiple partitions the jumper is not needed but you need to run the alignment tool. The table seems to indicate that under XP with one partition if you don't use the jumper then you run the alignment tool after format.
The alignment tool is only run after the drive is partitioned and formatted.
Jim
Last edited by Phone Man; 05 Sep 2010 at 04:17.
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Well, my WD1001FALS finally died a second time from bad sectors and chkdsk, going to have to use recuva again then send my drive back into WD, read other reviews that the drive gives bad sectors...
Bought it off newegg back in the beginning of March :x
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Hmm, I haven't had any problems with mine YET, but then being used externally for storage maybe it will do better...crossed fingers. If the FALS is a problem, then the FAEX is probably the same. I wish you had posted sooner, before I bought a third one.
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Hmm, I haven't had any problems with mine YET, but then being used externally for storage maybe it will do better...crossed fingers. If the FALS is a problem, then the FAEX is probably the same. I wish you had posted sooner, before I bought a third one.
One failure does not make a problem for the WD drives. Lots of things could cause corrupted files. Cables, software, drivers and of course a defective drive. Thats why you make backups. And with a 5yr warranty I don't see a problem here.
Jim
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Actually, that is why I bought the last drive, to act as a backup, rather than doing it with software. I still have a ways to go, but I'm very quickly filling them with videos that I don't want to lose because of some fluke. Even though the software does compress an image some, it still requires a great percentage of the original source, so for a lazy man like me, it seemed good to simply have a pair of identical twin drives.
My original idea of getting another matching external case has fallen through, because the vendor cancelled the order...I assume because they no longer had any stock. I thought that it would be nice to be able to swap drives between them, so I could access files directly on both computers on my network. I know that I could still do that by buying a new pair of cases, but the one that I have is pretty good, and I would hate wasting it, not to mention the cost of replacing it.
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The recovery that I just did on my FALS the second time failed to recover some folder names, so I have to go through a shitload of sorting now... yay.
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