What the? 3.5" SATA drive has wrong mounting holes

[AllGold]

I have a 3.5" 8TB Western Digital Gold (enterprise class) SATA internal hard drive. I have had it for quite a while and I'm just now getting around to opening the anti-static bag and installing it in my Mac Pro. I discovered that two of the four screw holes on the bottom (the drive is mounted upside down) are in the wrong place and don't fit the Mac Pro sleds that every other 3.5" SATA hard drive I've seen uses.

It's not a SAS drive or anything weird like that. I double checked the connectors and they are the same as the drive it is replacing. (I didn't pay much attention to the screw holes on the sides because the Mac Pro can't use them.)

The drive appears to work correctly although the solidity of the mounting with only two screws is iffy.

Anyone know what the deal is with this drive?

[JoeH]

They changed the default locations for drive mounting holes years back. For a while some brackets included holes for both locations. So depending on when you got that drive, the holes in the Mac Pro brackets may have only been made for drives current at the time.

[AllGold]

I didn't get that memo.

I picked up a couple 4TB drives that are the old standard, although I didn't pay attention to when they were manufactured. Obviously, the 8TB drive is newer.

[MrNoBody]

Never, ever had a 3.5 HDD that didn't mount correctly to a cMP sled.
The screw pattern for 3.5 HDDs was standardized back in the 20th century. bad info

Any possibility the 'Western Digital Gold' was a custom spec for
server storage?
like one of these...

[Sarcany]

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MPRODBKTLG6/


OWC Hard Drive Tray
for Mac Pro (2009-2012)

Updated for 2015, the OWC Hard Drive Tray is the new universal standard to install any SATA hard drive in a Mac Pro tower, including the latest SATA hard drives which feature the new industry-standard mounting screw pattern. With screw mounting holes for all SATA drives, it's the drive sled built for compatibility, flexibility, and ease of use.

[btfc]

https://support.wdc.com/images/kb/2579-771970-A03.pdf

[AllGold]

Sarcany wrote:
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MPRODBKTLG6/


OWC Hard Drive Tray
for Mac Pro (2009-2012)

Updated for 2015, the OWC Hard Drive Tray is the new universal standard to install any SATA hard drive in a Mac Pro tower, including the latest SATA hard drives which feature the new industry-standard mounting screw pattern. With screw mounting holes for all SATA drives, it's the drive sled built for compatibility, flexibility, and ease of use.

(tu)

Thanks. That's where I was headed but you saved me the trouble.

(tu)

[MrNoBody]

2015, I stand corrected.

OWC wrote:
Utilize all 3.5" SATA and SAS drives including newer models of 6.0TB and
larger capacities utilizing the new screw hole mounting pattern.

[AllGold]

I got the new sled from OWC already. (tu)