Quick question regarding eSATA

[terrorist96]

I have my WD hard drive in an enclosure, attached to my computer by eSATA. I have an eSATA bracket with 2 female eSATAs plugged into two onboard SATA plugs. This, of course, means that it's not "hot swapable" or whatever. My question is that is it bad to turn off the enclosure when I'm not using it? And turn it back on when ever I need to back up my stuff. Because when I first installed it, I had to reboot for my computer to detect the HDD. Thanks!

 

[mvnsnd]

That's really a question of your motherboard as some newer ones will support hot swap of sata drives. Does it show up as removable drive like a USB drive does? If not, then my advice is to add a dedicated eSATA card instead.

 

[nate42nd]

Go into the motherboard BIOS and look for AHCI mode. Switch to it and if you don't get a BSOD when you restart, you should be able to "hot swap".....if you do get a BSOD, just go back into the BIOS and switch back to IDE.

Make sure the controller you switch to AHCI is the eSATA controller NOT your controller that controls the main hard drive. This is important.

So, in short, switch the controller which controls the eSATA to AHCI and restart, then try it.

If you get a BSOD.....don't panic....just go back into the BOS and switch it back and look for the eSATA controller and switch it to AHCI.

All the best.

 

[JonM33]

Give up on eSATA and go for USB 3.0 instead.

 

[win7clutz]

Give up on eSATA and go for USB 3.0 instead.

Nonsense!

 

[terrorist96]

That's really a question of your motherboard as some newer ones will support hot swap of sata drives. Does it show up as removable drive like a USB drive does? If not, then my advice is to add a dedicated eSATA card instead.

No, it doesn't show up as a removable drive.

Go into the motherboard BIOS and look for AHCI mode. Switch to it and if you don't get a BSOD when you restart, you should be able to "hot swap".....if you do get a BSOD, just go back into the BIOS and switch back to IDE.

Make sure the controller you switch to AHCI is the eSATA controller NOT your controller that controls the main hard drive. This is important.

So, in short, switch the controller which controls the eSATA to AHCI and restart, then try it.

If you get a BSOD.....don't panic....just go back into the BOS and switch it back and look for the eSATA controller and switch it to AHCI.

All the best.

I have no idea what you just said.
What's AHCI and how do I select it? (I have "Dual BIOS" by the way).

 

[terrorist96]

By the way, I saw your Youtube video, Nate. I commented on it as well.
Could you please help me out with my enclosure?

Since last night, I put my computer to sleep, and turned off the enclosure from the back. When I turned my computer back on, the external wasn't on. I turned it on as well, but same thing. It's not detected. I'd have to restart every time for it to detect it. I didn't have this problem when I had a Toshiba external (which was terrible). It too was attached by eSATA and it would always turn off whenever it felt like it. No power options. But if I just manually turned it back on, it was detected. (I flashed it so I could get rid of the virtual CD and crappy backup tools that came with it).

 

[nate42nd]

By the way, I saw your Youtube video, Nate. I commented on it as well.
Could you please help me out with my enclosure?

Since last night, I put my computer to sleep, and turned off the enclosure from the back. When I turned my computer back on, the external wasn't on. I turned it on as well, but same thing. It's not detected. I'd have to restart every time for it to detect it. I didn't have this problem when I had a Toshiba external (which was terrible). It too was attached by eSATA and it would always turn off whenever it felt like it. No power options. But if I just manually turned it back on, it was detected. (I flashed it so I could get rid of the virtual CD and crappy backup tools that came with it).

I'm sorry, but eSATA is a little tricky sometimes. You need the correct drivers. I would find out what controller is controlling your eSATA and update the drivers. Also, you need to find out what controller is handling the eSATA ports and switch it to AHCI. Your options might be limited depending on the setup, but it's worth a try. I don't know how else to explain it. I don't have much time as I'm working all day but you could try these things. It will work, if you have to look at the motherboard manual to find out....that might be the answer. If your eSATA id controlled by the same one that your boot disk is on.....you might be WAY more complicated. I will try to look into your boartd when I get a chance.

 

[terrorist96]

I checked in the BIOS and it's on IDE channel 2 slave.
I checked all of my BIOS and I didn't see anything called "AHCI" though. :\

 

[nate42nd]

I am sorry I don'r have more time. I even downloaded you motherboard manual and looked it over. I see all SATA ports are controlled by the ICH7 southbridge. You don't have a separate controller. I would make sure you have the latest driver for the chipset but eSATA can be a pain to get working....especially over the forums. I wish I could have the machine for a day.

Please find out if you have the latest drivers for the G31/ICH 7. I am in over my head at work. I hope someone can help. Here is the download link for you motherboard. That should help you or someone else who can help. I wish you all the best.

GIGABYTE - Support&Download - Motherboard - Manual Download

You also might try a BIOS update if you are running F or under. Gigabyte boards are so easy it's worth a try. Here is my video on how to do that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFLRCwhjujM

 

[terrorist96]

My BIOS is already updated to the latest version cuz I flashed it about a month ago. I went ahead and updated my chipset as well, just now.

 

[terrorist96]

Bump for anyone else who can help me.

 

[terrorist96]

Alright, here's another question: Let's say I restart my computer, turn on the external so it is detected.. would it be bad to turn off the external HDD after the backup is finished, while the computer is still on?

 

[terrorist96]

Since I'm just talking to myself here.. might as well keep it up. I played around with it a bit and discovered that if I put my computer to sleep, then turn on the external drive, then turn my computer on, it'll be detected. So I'll just do that since I'm planning on just backing up once a week.

Put my computer to sleep, turn on the drive, backup through the night, put my computer to sleep again the next morning, turn off the drive, turn computer back on, and I'm done. If anyone has an easier solution though, I'd love to hear it. But I'm just talking to myself here...

 

[nate42nd]

I'm still "listening" but if you don't have the "safely remove hardware" icon with the eSATA drive, I still think it's a controller issue. I think it's a matter of getting the correct driver for your controller/chipset or both. As soon as I got the latest JMicron driver for my controller, it worked like a charm.....but it can be complicated as you know.

If you have a way to do what you need to do.....stick with it until you find something better. eSATA can be a hassle for some systems I have noticed. All the best!

 

[terrorist96]

Yeah, I'm just gonna stick with that, I guess. I don't wanna turn off the drive while the computer is still on, cuz that probably can't be good. And I don't want it on all the time.. cuz the light on the enclosure is REALLY bright and the fan is pretty loud... so one night a week will suffice, I suppose.