Can't get an eSATA controller to work with Win 7/64

546 Inspiron

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None of the eSATA controller cards to hook up an external HD are for Win 7 and 64 bit. I guess it is all too new but now I can't use my new external drive with a sata connection on my Dell 546 desktop. Does anybody know who makes them? I've been through 2 cards and trying different drivers with no luck. My computer only has 4 sata ports and they are all taken. :cry:
 

My Computer My Computer

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Windows 7 home premium with 64 bitAMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhzDell integrated ATI 3200
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell 546 Inspiron desktop
OS
Windows 7 home premium with 64 bit
CPU
AMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)
Motherboard
Dell 780g
Memory
8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Dell integrated ATI 3200
Sound Card
None
Monitor(s) Displays
20" Dell
Screen Resolution
1200x1600
Hard Drives
Two 1TRB Seagate Barracuda drives with a 32MB cache in raid 1 (Mirrored)
PSU
300 Watts Dell
Case
Mini-tower
Cooling
3 Fans total at PSU, CPU, and case.
Keyboard
Dell
Mouse
Logitech trackball (marble mouse)
Internet Speed
DSL
Other Info
Western Digital 1.5tb external drive (green back-up drive) Cool and quiet!

My Computer My Computer

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Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 (Build ...Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA77...Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 560
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 (Build 6.1.7601)
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA775 (FC-LGA6)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R (Rev. 2.1)
Memory
Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 560
Sound Card
RealTek ALC885/889A/890
Monitor(s) Displays
ChiMei CMV CT-730D 17inch (LCD Monitor)
Screen Resolution
1280-1024 60Hertz (Ture Colour 32bit)
Hard Drives
2x Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 160-GB Hard Drive ST3160815AS (AHCI)
PSU
ANTEC 750w Earthwatts
Case
Thermaltake Shark (VA7000SWA ATX) Full Tower
Cooling
Front 120mm fan (1400 RPM) /Rear 120mm (1400 RPM) blue LED
Keyboard
Labtec Media Desktop Y-SAD65
Mouse
Razer DeathAdder 3G Infrared Sensor (1800DPI)
Internet Speed
Telstra BigPond Elite Liberty ADSL2+ 24Mbps/256kbps
Other Info
ASUS PCE-N13 802.11n Wireless LAN card
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My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 home premium with 64 bitAMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhzDell integrated ATI 3200
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell 546 Inspiron desktop
OS
Windows 7 home premium with 64 bit
CPU
AMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)
Motherboard
Dell 780g
Memory
8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Dell integrated ATI 3200
Sound Card
None
Monitor(s) Displays
20" Dell
Screen Resolution
1200x1600
Hard Drives
Two 1TRB Seagate Barracuda drives with a 32MB cache in raid 1 (Mirrored)
PSU
300 Watts Dell
Case
Mini-tower
Cooling
3 Fans total at PSU, CPU, and case.
Keyboard
Dell
Mouse
Logitech trackball (marble mouse)
Internet Speed
DSL
Other Info
Western Digital 1.5tb external drive (green back-up drive) Cool and quiet!
What brand is the eSATA card?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 (Build ...Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA77...Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 560
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 (Build 6.1.7601)
CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA775 (FC-LGA6)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R (Rev. 2.1)
Memory
Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 560
Sound Card
RealTek ALC885/889A/890
Monitor(s) Displays
ChiMei CMV CT-730D 17inch (LCD Monitor)
Screen Resolution
1280-1024 60Hertz (Ture Colour 32bit)
Hard Drives
2x Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 160-GB Hard Drive ST3160815AS (AHCI)
PSU
ANTEC 750w Earthwatts
Case
Thermaltake Shark (VA7000SWA ATX) Full Tower
Cooling
Front 120mm fan (1400 RPM) /Rear 120mm (1400 RPM) blue LED
Keyboard
Labtec Media Desktop Y-SAD65
Mouse
Razer DeathAdder 3G Infrared Sensor (1800DPI)
Internet Speed
Telstra BigPond Elite Liberty ADSL2+ 24Mbps/256kbps
Other Info
ASUS PCE-N13 802.11n Wireless LAN card
It's a StarTech pexesata1. Nobody claims that Win 7 /64 will work with their cards but in the customer comments pages many say they are detected. It is in the device manager under Silicon Image but not in the Bios. I have downloaded their drivers, etc, and the Cavalry 1TB external drive is good because it works with USB and it is the second new one in 2 weeks. The first one had the "click of death".
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 home premium with 64 bitAMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhzDell integrated ATI 3200
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell 546 Inspiron desktop
OS
Windows 7 home premium with 64 bit
CPU
AMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)
Motherboard
Dell 780g
Memory
8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Dell integrated ATI 3200
Sound Card
None
Monitor(s) Displays
20" Dell
Screen Resolution
1200x1600
Hard Drives
Two 1TRB Seagate Barracuda drives with a 32MB cache in raid 1 (Mirrored)
PSU
300 Watts Dell
Case
Mini-tower
Cooling
3 Fans total at PSU, CPU, and case.
Keyboard
Dell
Mouse
Logitech trackball (marble mouse)
Internet Speed
DSL
Other Info
Western Digital 1.5tb external drive (green back-up drive) Cool and quiet!

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Wind...INTEL i9-7920X LGA 206664 GB (4 X 16 GB) G-Skill V Series DDR4 3200 ...EVGA GTX 1060 SC 3 GB
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Built
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1,
CPU
INTEL i9-7920X LGA 2066
Motherboard
Gigabyte X299-WU8 F3
Memory
64 GB (4 X 16 GB) G-Skill V Series DDR4 3200 Quad Channel
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 1060 SC 3 GB
Sound Card
Realtek Onboard ALC1220
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung S27E310
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Samsung 2 x 970 EVO Plus 500 GB NVMe
1 x 6TB WD 6003FZBX SATA
1 x 6TB WD 60EFRX SATA
12 x 3TB WD 30EFRX SATA
PSU
Seasonic X-1050
Case
Thermaltake Armor+
Cooling
Corsair H80i V2 Liquid AOI Cooler
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 2S
Internet Speed
200 Mb/s
Antivirus
ESET NOD32 13.1
Browser
EDGE (Dev, Canary, Beta), Chrome
Other Info
ASUS RT-AC68U router
Malwarebytes 4.0.4

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 home premium with 64 bitAMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhzDell integrated ATI 3200
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell 546 Inspiron desktop
OS
Windows 7 home premium with 64 bit
CPU
AMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)
Motherboard
Dell 780g
Memory
8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Dell integrated ATI 3200
Sound Card
None
Monitor(s) Displays
20" Dell
Screen Resolution
1200x1600
Hard Drives
Two 1TRB Seagate Barracuda drives with a 32MB cache in raid 1 (Mirrored)
PSU
300 Watts Dell
Case
Mini-tower
Cooling
3 Fans total at PSU, CPU, and case.
Keyboard
Dell
Mouse
Logitech trackball (marble mouse)
Internet Speed
DSL
Other Info
Western Digital 1.5tb external drive (green back-up drive) Cool and quiet!
That card operates as eSATA the only thing it does not have is eSATA connectors externally.

I used it because I already have eSATA connectors and I am using it to connect two external drives that I can Hotswap.

They also make a card, 622 I believe, that has external connectors as well.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Wind...INTEL i9-7920X LGA 206664 GB (4 X 16 GB) G-Skill V Series DDR4 3200 ...EVGA GTX 1060 SC 3 GB
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Built
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1,
CPU
INTEL i9-7920X LGA 2066
Motherboard
Gigabyte X299-WU8 F3
Memory
64 GB (4 X 16 GB) G-Skill V Series DDR4 3200 Quad Channel
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 1060 SC 3 GB
Sound Card
Realtek Onboard ALC1220
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung S27E310
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Samsung 2 x 970 EVO Plus 500 GB NVMe
1 x 6TB WD 6003FZBX SATA
1 x 6TB WD 60EFRX SATA
12 x 3TB WD 30EFRX SATA
PSU
Seasonic X-1050
Case
Thermaltake Armor+
Cooling
Corsair H80i V2 Liquid AOI Cooler
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 2S
Internet Speed
200 Mb/s
Antivirus
ESET NOD32 13.1
Browser
EDGE (Dev, Canary, Beta), Chrome
Other Info
ASUS RT-AC68U router
Malwarebytes 4.0.4
That card operates as eSATA the only thing it does not have is eSATA connectors externally.

I used it because I already have eSATA connectors and I am using it to connect two external drives that I can Hotswap.

They also make a card, 622 I believe, that has external connectors as well.
I guess you thread your cable through the case. I have never heard of that brand but I will look into it. Startech suppurt has been good so far, I am waiting to hear from them tomorrow...............Thanks
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 home premium with 64 bitAMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhzDell integrated ATI 3200
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell 546 Inspiron desktop
OS
Windows 7 home premium with 64 bit
CPU
AMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)
Motherboard
Dell 780g
Memory
8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Dell integrated ATI 3200
Sound Card
None
Monitor(s) Displays
20" Dell
Screen Resolution
1200x1600
Hard Drives
Two 1TRB Seagate Barracuda drives with a 32MB cache in raid 1 (Mirrored)
PSU
300 Watts Dell
Case
Mini-tower
Cooling
3 Fans total at PSU, CPU, and case.
Keyboard
Dell
Mouse
Logitech trackball (marble mouse)
Internet Speed
DSL
Other Info
Western Digital 1.5tb external drive (green back-up drive) Cool and quiet!
Esata is just a different connector, most internal cards come with a daughter-board that has an esata connector on it and plugs into the card inside the case. It does take up two slots, but thats what most folk do.
 

My Computer My Computer

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windows 7 RTM x64Phenom II 965 Quad Core 3.4GhzMushkin Blackline 8GB (4x2gb)XFX Radeon 5970 Black Edition
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Black_Box (homebuilt)
OS
windows 7 RTM x64
CPU
Phenom II 965 Quad Core 3.4Ghz
Motherboard
Asus M4A79T Deluxe
Memory
Mushkin Blackline 8GB (4x2gb)
Graphics Card(s)
XFX Radeon 5970 Black Edition
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell 2408WPF-main Dell E248WFP-secondary
Screen Resolution
1920x1200-main 1920x1200-secondary
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex Limited Edition 100GB (OS)
x1 WD Black Edition 500GB drive (Storage)
PSU
XFX 850w Black Edition (Modular)
Case
Mountian Mods H2go
Cooling
CoolITSystems ECO A.L.C.
Keyboard
Logitech MX 5500 wireless keyboard
Mouse
Razor Copperhead
Internet Speed
16Mb down/2Mb up Wowway Cable Internet
Esata is just a different connector, most internal cards come with a daughter-board that has an esata connector on it and plugs into the card inside the case. It does take up two slots, but thats what most folk do.
The ones I've been looking at have eSATA ports outside and sata ports on the inside. All I need is 1 esata port but nobody claims theirs will support Win 7/64.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 home premium with 64 bitAMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhzDell integrated ATI 3200
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell 546 Inspiron desktop
OS
Windows 7 home premium with 64 bit
CPU
AMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)
Motherboard
Dell 780g
Memory
8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Dell integrated ATI 3200
Sound Card
None
Monitor(s) Displays
20" Dell
Screen Resolution
1200x1600
Hard Drives
Two 1TRB Seagate Barracuda drives with a 32MB cache in raid 1 (Mirrored)
PSU
300 Watts Dell
Case
Mini-tower
Cooling
3 Fans total at PSU, CPU, and case.
Keyboard
Dell
Mouse
Logitech trackball (marble mouse)
Internet Speed
DSL
Other Info
Western Digital 1.5tb external drive (green back-up drive) Cool and quiet!
Just to clarify, the card I chose doesn't have eSATA connectors, just standard SATA but my case already has eSATA connectors mounted on it that use standard SATA connectors to interface to the motherbaoard or an add-on card. This card also gives me the option to add internal 6.0Gb/s drives if I chose not to use it for eSATA.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Wind...INTEL i9-7920X LGA 206664 GB (4 X 16 GB) G-Skill V Series DDR4 3200 ...EVGA GTX 1060 SC 3 GB
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Built
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1,
CPU
INTEL i9-7920X LGA 2066
Motherboard
Gigabyte X299-WU8 F3
Memory
64 GB (4 X 16 GB) G-Skill V Series DDR4 3200 Quad Channel
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 1060 SC 3 GB
Sound Card
Realtek Onboard ALC1220
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung S27E310
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Samsung 2 x 970 EVO Plus 500 GB NVMe
1 x 6TB WD 6003FZBX SATA
1 x 6TB WD 60EFRX SATA
12 x 3TB WD 30EFRX SATA
PSU
Seasonic X-1050
Case
Thermaltake Armor+
Cooling
Corsair H80i V2 Liquid AOI Cooler
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 2S
Internet Speed
200 Mb/s
Antivirus
ESET NOD32 13.1
Browser
EDGE (Dev, Canary, Beta), Chrome
Other Info
ASUS RT-AC68U router
Malwarebytes 4.0.4
Just to clarify, the card I chose doesn't have eSATA connectors, just standard SATA but my case already has eSATA connectors mounted on it that use standard SATA connectors to interface to the motherbaoard or an add-on card. This card also gives me the option to add internal 6.0Gb/s drives if I chose not to use it for eSATA.
What I have is 4 ports on the mobo that are all taken and I bought a Cavalry ext drive with an eSATA option but only the USB option works on it. I got a controller card from StarTech with 1 eSATA port but I can't get to work because it doesn't support Win 7/64. I am starting to think I am out of luck with the sata option.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 home premium with 64 bitAMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhzDell integrated ATI 3200
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell 546 Inspiron desktop
OS
Windows 7 home premium with 64 bit
CPU
AMD Athlon 630 2.8ghz X4 (Quad)
Motherboard
Dell 780g
Memory
8 Gigs of ddr2 at 800 mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Dell integrated ATI 3200
Sound Card
None
Monitor(s) Displays
20" Dell
Screen Resolution
1200x1600
Hard Drives
Two 1TRB Seagate Barracuda drives with a 32MB cache in raid 1 (Mirrored)
PSU
300 Watts Dell
Case
Mini-tower
Cooling
3 Fans total at PSU, CPU, and case.
Keyboard
Dell
Mouse
Logitech trackball (marble mouse)
Internet Speed
DSL
Other Info
Western Digital 1.5tb external drive (green back-up drive) Cool and quiet!

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Wind...INTEL i9-7920X LGA 206664 GB (4 X 16 GB) G-Skill V Series DDR4 3200 ...EVGA GTX 1060 SC 3 GB
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Built
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1,
CPU
INTEL i9-7920X LGA 2066
Motherboard
Gigabyte X299-WU8 F3
Memory
64 GB (4 X 16 GB) G-Skill V Series DDR4 3200 Quad Channel
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 1060 SC 3 GB
Sound Card
Realtek Onboard ALC1220
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung S27E310
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Samsung 2 x 970 EVO Plus 500 GB NVMe
1 x 6TB WD 6003FZBX SATA
1 x 6TB WD 60EFRX SATA
12 x 3TB WD 30EFRX SATA
PSU
Seasonic X-1050
Case
Thermaltake Armor+
Cooling
Corsair H80i V2 Liquid AOI Cooler
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 2S
Internet Speed
200 Mb/s
Antivirus
ESET NOD32 13.1
Browser
EDGE (Dev, Canary, Beta), Chrome
Other Info
ASUS RT-AC68U router
Malwarebytes 4.0.4
The problem must be a fairly common one with Win 7 ... I just purchased an Addonics ADSA6GPX1-2E PCI Express eSata card that provides two external eSata ports, also for a "Dell" — my new Alienware Aurora that has only one external eSATA port.

Drivers are not found, even though it sees the card in Hardware. Addonics is usually quick on their replies, so we shall see what they want me to do. The site says the card does support Win 7, btw.

I'm a photographer and keep extensive external backups so need the eSATA ports. Oh, their outstanding SATA media card reader works like lightening, much faster than the fast external Firewire 800 one I used on my old computer.

Only the PCI Express to external eSATA is giving me the dickens of a time installing. Help would be appreciated!

ADDENDUM on EDIT:

Well, it took just shy of an hour for the folks at Addonics to get back to me ... and their solution worked! I will include their instructions below as they might work for the OP also:

In cases where the “Found New Hardware Wizard” does not display and Windows automatically installed the built-in Windows drivers for this controller card, try to locate this driver in Device Manager.

In Device Manager, navigate to IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers. The driver that Windows uses is Standard AHCI1.0 Serial ATA Controller.

Highlight and right click on the Standard AHCI1.0 Serial ATA Controller driver then select Update driver. Navigate to the drivers on the folder labeled XXXXX
(I removed my device's specific driver folder name that I downloaded from their website, you should use yours).
 
Last edited:

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