Help with eSATA Connection on Portable Hard Drive

illumination on 25/10/2010 - 17:52
Last edited 25/10/2010 - 17:53

Hey not sure if this is the correct forum, but it doesn't seem to fit anywhere else.

Did anyone else get this? http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/32055

I got it but only tried using it today. With just a standard USB connection it actually didn't work the first two times I plugged it in (two different USB slots with two different USB cables), and the red HDD light would flash, and it would make a kind of weird beeping sound. On the third time I connected it, it worked and didn't make the funny sound. I just had to format it myself in Disk Management.

The USB cable provided for standard USB connectivity is a double-headed USB cable, something like this: http://www.girr.org/mac_stuff/080704_usb_acomdata_two_headed…
Does anyone know what the point of something like that is? Just out of curiosity, what is the difference between each of the cables and what is the point of having two?

The package came with an eSATA slot to stick into the back of the computer case, to enable eSATA connectivity between the portable hard drive and the computer. It requires a USB connection for power, which was expected. However, it doesn't even detect the hard drive when I connect it via eSATA. When I plug in the USB for power, it works, but when I plug in the eSATA cable, nothing happens. The eSATA slot is connected to one of the four SATA slots on the motherboard.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

General Discussion

Comments

  • Mikinoz on 25/10/2010 - 18:09

    just to make sure you arent connecting the esata and usb at the same time?

    otherwise should be fine, if nothing try connecting esata and rebooting the computer see if it detects

    • illumination on 25/10/2010 - 18:24

      The USB cable that I connect to the hard drive has to be connected with the eSATA. It's not the usual microUSB on one end and normal USB on the other, but rather an AC input on one end, and USB on the other. In the package there were 2 USB cables and one's the normal one that you use to transfer data and the other one's for power with eSATA.

      So, short answer, no, I'm quite sure I haven't been doing that part wrong.

      I tried rebooting and it didn't help.

      • Mikinoz on 25/10/2010 - 18:46
        +1

        Ahh sounds like a bit of a weird setup anyway, good luck :)

        ps i didnt neg you greeny (just in case)

  • retiredfeline on 25/10/2010 - 18:13

    The double USB connector cable is to be able to suck more power from the computer than one port can supply. Only one of the connectors has data pins. So you probably need to plug both USB connectors to the computer.

    • illumination on 25/10/2010 - 18:25

      Well I actually just tried plugging in eSATA + USB (power) on a laptop with built-in eSATA and it worked absolutely fine so I don't think that is the issue.

      • retiredfeline on 25/10/2010 - 18:33

        Nonetheless it may depend on the computer and the ports and it doesn't hurt to have more spare power lines so that's why you have two connectors.

        PS: If you are the one negging me, that's poor form. State your reasons for your position rather than hitting out at posts that don't suit you.

        • illumination on 25/10/2010 - 18:42

          Hmm but for the power USB cable, there is only one USB head that I can plug into the computer. The double headed USB input is for the USB connectivity (USB data transfer), so if I were to plug both in, I would be plugging in both eSATA connectivity and USB connectivity.

          I didn't neg you. You're trying to help me, that would be ridiculous for me to neg you!

          Oh and as I had said in my initial post, USB connectivity is not a problem at all. Well, I haven't actually tried transferring everything but the hard drive is detected without problems and it appears to work as any normal functioning external/portable hard drive would work.

        • retiredfeline on 25/10/2010 - 18:49

          Ok sorry, not you then.

          Have to reply here since they changed the site to prevent staircasing comments.

          So how does one select between USB/eSata? Any doco provided? I'm curious too.

        • illumination on 25/10/2010 - 18:57

          1) USB: Basically, if you want to transfer data via USB, you just plug in a regular USB data connectivity cable that you get on other standard portable USB external hard drives.
          So, the cable is like this: http://ulyssesonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/microusb…

          Summary: one simple microUSB to USB cable from external hard drive to computer

          2) eSATA: If you want to transfer data over eSATA, you plug something like this in:
          http://bixnet.net/bixpower/Cab-Z4M4.jpg
          Obviously the USB bit goes into the computer, and the other end goes into the external hard drive.
          AND
          you plug this in:
          http://www.akumen.com/store/files/images/d_553.jpg

          Summary: One eSATA connection AND one AC input (is that what it's called?) to USB connection

        • retiredfeline on 25/10/2010 - 19:09

          Did you paste the correct images? This looks like a mobile phone charging cable.

          http://bixnet.net/bixpower/Cab-Z4M4.jpg

          And this looks like an eSata cable but I can't be sure because of the low res of the image. It would help if you posted the URL of the product page instead of just the image.

          http://www.akumen.com/store/files/images/d_553.jpg

        • illumination on 25/10/2010 - 23:18

          I didn't paste the ACTUAL images of the cable. These are ones I found off google images because I'm capped and it's a little slow to work on the net so I just whatever I could get first.

          You're probably right that it is a mobile charging cable, but the point I was trying to make was, on one end, it's not the standard microUSB head/input but one that looks like it's for power, similar to the mobile charging cable that a old-school Nokia phone would use.

          The eSATA cable is basically a standard eSATA cable. Standard eSATA heads/inputs on both ends. Looks like they are identical on both ends.

          Oh and to answer your previous question, there actually is some documentation but there is nothing that shows clearly how to operate it in eSATA mode.
          First document: Just shows how to prepare the hard drive for use (how to format it into NTFS mode in Disk Management)
          Second document: Like a standard user manual for how to use something, but as I said, nothing to show HOW eSATA is used.
          Sections:
          1. Contents of package
          2. Technical data
          3.2. Installation of the software for Windows 98/SE (don't know where 3 or 3.1 is)
          4. DISK Paritition management
          5. Disconnect HDD enclosure from USB port
          6. LED indicator light
          7. Hardware and system requirements

          Nothing to show how eSATA should be used/installed.

          If it helps, there is a CD involved, but Windows 7 needing to install drivers for an external drive?! And, as I said, eSATA works on the laptop with built-in eSATA. Having trouble on the desktop.

    • Davo1111 on 26/10/2010 - 02:13

      hmm the person who negged you didnt even comment on this thread. oh well, ive evened it up

  • Mikinoz on 25/10/2010 - 19:27

    Okay so the usb to ac connection and the esata need to be plugged in at the same time, by the sounds of it you have tried that .

    Wonder what happens if you plug in the usb to ac and the esata plus usb y cable both plugs in to the computer hmm power overload ? i wouldnt try it :) although might answer a few questions

    • illumination on 25/10/2010 - 23:35

      Yep I have tried it.

      Ohh that would be interesting. Before I opened the package up, I was kinda imagining how a 2.5" eSATA hard drive would work. People here told me that you would need USB to provide power but I didn't get it. In my mind, I was imagining connecting a hard drive to computer via USB (normal way), having the computer detect a portable hard drive, then plugging in eSATA, and thinking, how does it know which method to use? Haha

  • retiredfeline on 25/10/2010 - 23:32

    I think it may be a software issue then if you got it working with the laptop. Perhaps your desktop is somehow not ready to deal with an eSata drive. Especially if the eSata is an add-on card or the OS was installed from a generic distribution DVD. The laptop would have come with the eSata port enabled by the OEM. So why not go ahead and install the driver?

    • illumination on 25/10/2010 - 23:41

      I did actually have that in mind. I had a feeling maybe the SATA drives may need something to be installed, as this was an external add-on. It is an add-on card as you've said.

      I had a look at the CD that was provided and it was really confusing. All the folders are basically labelled with some kind of alphanumeric code. I don't know what it represents, but in every folder, there is a Win98 sub-folder in all of them. That's why in my mind, it seems as if, if you're using a very old OS, you will certainly need a driver to be installed. Even if I were in that situation, I would have no idea how to go about it. As I said, all the folders are given an alphanumeric label/code.

      • retiredfeline on 26/10/2010 - 00:14

        Doesn't the CD autostart when you insert it? Look for some top level program to run.

        • illumination on 26/10/2010 - 00:35

          Nope doesn't auto-start. Top level program? Sorry.. I don't understand?

        • retiredfeline on 26/10/2010 - 01:05
          +1

          Call in a tame geek and offer them a cooked meal or something. :)

  • StewBalls on 26/10/2010 - 03:04

    FWIW, sorry to say but eSATA is problematic at best IME!

    That said, have you tried powering the drive with a plugpack? USB ports are not always entirely equal in terms of their ability to deliver enough current to adequately supply certain devices, hard drives being some of the more power hungry! ;)

    • Mikinoz on 26/10/2010 - 12:06

      Thats really good point, not all usb's are powered the same

      • equinoxxx on 26/10/2010 - 12:52

        Good chance is that the eSata port has not been enabled in your BIOS. Many older boards had the port there but did not have it enabled or even required a BIOS update to enable the port. I bet if you check the port in your BIOS you might find it disabled. :)

  • mutantx on 26/10/2010 - 14:59

    i visit a friend with my portable eSata external drive (different brand model but came with similar sets of usb connectors etc ) and i've found that his computer doesnt "see" the external the same or as easily as my computer at home does automatically.

    So the workaround i use is to go to System Properties/Hardware/Device Manager and scroll down to "Disk drives" , then right-click and "Scan for Hardware Changes".

    Lo and behold it magically appears !!!

    For some reason i need to do this afresh each and every time i try to use eSata on his computer with my external eSata portable drive.

  • illumination on 27/10/2010 - 15:42

    Thanks for all the help guys.

    In the end I have managed to get it working. I checked the BIOS to see if anything could be done there, and there was a function which can auto-detect a new hard drive that has been plugged in. You select 'detect hard drive' and it will search. Anyway, so keeping that in mind, I plugged the eSATA connection in again and then went into the BIOS, and I didn't even need to select 'detect hard drive' and it was already there.

    I tried googling it, and it seems to be quite a common problem that people have (able to use USB but not eSATA). Most of the suggested solutions provided seemed much more complicated though. Some people suggested restarting, or plugging it in while off.

    I think what I did wrong was, all I had to do was plug it in while it was OFF. I only RESTARTED it while it was plugged in. I'm not sure how much of a difference it would've made, but that's how it seems to be working now. I haven't tried plugging it in while the computer's already on, but it's working fine when I plug it in while it's off. It starts up, and it's almost detected as if it's a second internal hard drive. For anyone who's curious, sustainable maximum transfer speed seems to be about 55-65MB/sec (starts off at 140MB/sec, can drop off to 35-40ish), compared to about a maximum of 33MB/sec for USB 2.0 (average seems to be about 14-22 though).

    • Mikinoz on 27/10/2010 - 15:48

      So Cold boot worked but not reboot, interesting well done on finding the solution!

      • illumination on 27/10/2010 - 17:09

        Yep exactly right!
        Thanks!

        • equinoxxx on 27/10/2010 - 17:24

          There is a little tool to help with Hotswapping (providing the drive you have can do it and it sounds like yours cant!)

          http://esatap.sg/sw/hotswap5.zip

          There are 2 versions 32 bit and 64 bit. Use the scan for changes button when right clicking in the system tray to detect the drive and use eject to remove it.

          I have not used in a while but a friend reminded me of it.

        • illumination on 28/10/2010 - 15:34

          Oh cool thanks for posting that, but I can't seem to get it to work. It doesn't detect the eSATA connection to the hard drive when I plug it in while it's on.

          That's ok, I don't find that to be a huge issue. Most important thing is it works!

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