Patent ID: 8161203

Claim:
A resistor divider circuit configured to indicate if a mass storage device is mated to a storage backplane and if the mass storage device is active, the circuit comprising: a first resistor divider connected to a first pin of a mass storage device reserved for connection to a ground signal, the first resistor divider configured to provide a voltage within a first voltage range if the mass storage device is not mated to the storage backplane, and a voltage within a second voltage range if the mass storage device is mated to the storage backplane and is active; and a second resistor divider connected to a second pin of the mass storage device reserved for providing a drive ready signal, the second resistor divider configured to provide a voltage within a third voltage range when the mass storage device is mated to the storage backplane and the mass storage device is active, wherein the first resistor divider is connected to an input pin of an integrated circuit that is configured to read the first, second, and third voltages and, based on whether the voltage is within the first voltage range, the second voltage range, or the third voltage range, to determine if the mass storage device is mated to the storage backplane and if the mass storage device is active.