eSATA drive not working

[dulcificum]

Help! I recently bought a PCI eSATA controller and an eSATA to eSATA cable but my external is not being recognised by eSATA.

The enclosure is the Sumvision 3.5" USB2.0 & eSATA Black.
The hard drive is a Samsung HD204UI Spinpoint F4 2T.
The eSATA controller is a VIA VT6421A PCI.
Running Windows 7.

Here's the lowdown:

• HDD works fine by USB 2.0 connection
• When connected by USB, if you plug in the eSATA connection into the HDD, it disconnects the USB connection to try and use the eSATA connection but no luck
• eSATA controller works fine with both SATA ports connect with SATA-to-SATA, just not the eSATA port.
• Have tried booting up with HDD on and connected by eSATA to eSATA but nothing is seen by the PC.
• The controller has 2 x SATA ports and 1 x eSATA port but only accepts two SATA connections at once. However, there's no way to chose which two SATA connectors are active and, in any case, it doesn't work when I just try to connect via eSATA.

Any ideas? Anyone got this card to work with eSATA?

[razer121]

Wow, i had the exact same problem! turns out it was the cable mind you, so worth replacing? may i point out although i cannot help on the esata card, the external drive is the same as mine and had the same issue, so disconnect the cable and try that.

[dulcificum]

Did anything happen at all when you plugged the cable in? Or just nothing? And everything worked fine when you replace the eSATA to eSATA cable? Do you mind saying which controller and enclosure you used?

[Unique]

have you tried both the internal SATA ports and they are working fine, and it's just the eSATA that's not? there might be jumpers on the card to choose which ports are active or not

also, i have a sumvision 2.5" caddy that's sata and usb, and there is a switch on the back to swap between USB and eSATA, so check that. also, unplug the usb cable completely when plugging in the sata cable. also remember you need power running to the caddy if you are using a 2.5" caddy, thus you need usb to power it and eSATA for data

also check you have drivers installed, and check the devices settings when you bootup the pc, press F1 or whatever to get into the menu

what exact card was it you got? got a link?

[dulcificum]

have you tried both the internal SATA ports and they are working fine, and it's just the eSATA that's not?

"eSATA controller works fine with both SATA ports connect with SATA-to-SATA, just not the eSATA port."

there might be jumpers on the card to choose which ports are active or not

"there's no way to chose which two SATA connectors are active"

also, i have a sumvision 2.5" caddy that's sata and usb, and there is a switch on the back to swap between USB and eSATA, so check that.

There is no switch.

also, unplug the usb cable completely when plugging in the sata cable.

I have.

also remember you need power running to the caddy if you are using a 2.5" caddy, thus you need usb to power it and eSATA for data

"The enclosure is the Sumvision 3.5" USB2.0 & eSATA Black".

also check you have drivers installed, and check the devices settings when you bootup the pc, press F1 or whatever to get into the menu

No device settings at boot, got latest drivers from VIA website.

what exact card was it you got? got a link?

"The eSATA controller is a VIA VT6421A PCI."

[Unique]

what exact card was it you got, and do you have a link to it? "VIA VT6421A" is a chip and there are loads of different cards

i have two machines running slightly different PCI cards (both with PCI-e cards too) that do the same/similar thing. i found with one card at least that it was set to use the 2 internal slots, and to use the external slot i had to change jumpers, but as it was a cheap chinese made card (like most cards) there were no instructions to tell what the jumpers did (and there were 2 of them that could be in 3 different positions), and through a bit and trial and error i couldn't figure out the right setting, although in the end i just used the internal sockets. with another card 1 internal and 1 external were enabled, so i just ran a cable from outside the case back inside (a SATA to eSATA cable - which you could alternately use to run from inside to outside to use eSATA with a standard SATA)

also, it may not be clear at the bootup stage that you can enter a boot menu. what do the instructions say? if you can link to the exact card you bought it might be helpful as it may be the same as one i have or someone else has, or the answer can be googled from that data

is this the card for example? does your card have PATA/IDE http://www.svp.co.uk/product.php?product=MTE094

or is this the one? http://www.wowparts.com/store/produc...604-02020.html - you can see the jumpers next to the external port on that card

generally the top and external ports are shared and a jumper used to swap them over, but both can't be active at the same time and/or automatically switched

[dulcificum]

This is the card: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SATA-eSata-Ser...item3f061ae23f

As I said, there are definitely no jumper settings and no boot menu options. I have checked this several times. I bought an eSATA card so I don't have to run a SATA-eSATA cable out of the back of the case.

[Unique]

This is the card: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SATA-eSata-Ser...item3f061ae23f

As I said, there are definitely no jumper settings and no boot menu options. I have checked this several times. I bought an eSATA card so I don't have to run a SATA-eSATA cable out of the back of the case.

if that is the card, and it's the same as the one in the photo on the link you posted, it's similar if not the same as the second one in my earlier link, and in both photos you can clearly see the jumpers in the same place on the card next to the external connector (above the CE mark). try moving the jumpers to the bottom setting from the top setting (or vice versa) and see how you get on. the jumpers should only swap between the top connector and external connector

[dulcificum]

It doesn't have jumpers as I've already said multiple times. It's not exactly the same as in the photo as there are clearly no jumpers to change.

[Unique]

It doesn't have jumpers as I've already said multiple times. It's not exactly the same as in the photo as there are clearly no jumpers to change.

ok, so if the product advertised differs from what you've received you should contact the supplier and advise them you haven't received what was advertised, and ask them to either let you know how to make it work as advertised, or arrange uplift

you could also take photos of the product on both sides, plus box and manual and upload them here so it might be identified to give further help to you. without knowing what product you have it's going to be hard to help you, and if you post a link and say it's the item when it's not the same one, it doesn't help much either as there are a number of different types of pci card with that chip

[dulcificum]

There is no box or manual - it's OEM. The card is exactly the same as the red one except where the two jumpers are there are just flat chips. It's also missing the large SATA chip and has a red and a green LED on the top. The red LED is for SATA activity and the green for PATA. It's in my box now so can't take photos.

I've already got a refund from the seller but this board should be able to do eSATA and I just can't work out how to get it to work. There are definitely no jumpers or boot menus.

[Unique]

There is no box or manual - it's OEM. The card is exactly the same as the red one except where the two jumpers are there are just flat chips. It's also missing the large SATA chip and has a red and a green LED on the top. The red LED is for SATA activity and the green for PATA. It's in my box now so can't take photos.

I've already got a refund from the seller but this board should be able to do eSATA and I just can't work out how to get it to work. There are definitely no jumpers or boot menus.

can you remove the card from your pc, take photos of what you do have, showing both sides of the card, and if there are any identifying product or serial numbers, upload them and that should help identify what you have, and help you get it working

also, have you tried using the card with only the eSATA and nothing plugged into any of the other sockets? sometimes the back mirrors the external, sometimes the top mirrors the external, but using when the top mirrors the external you get jumpers

and lastly, what flashes on screen during the boot process?

[dulcificum]

Have tried with just the one eSATA port active.

Nothing at all related to the card comes up at boot.

[dulcificum]

Also just took my enclosure apart to use jumper settings to force HDD down to SATA 1.5 Gb/s. Still no dice even after rebooting...

[Unique]

Have tried with just the one eSATA port active.

Nothing at all related to the card comes up at boot.

ok, so if you plug in 2 drives to the internal sockets, they both show up in windows and work fine? and when you do that, nothing shows up during boot? and likewise with no drives plugged in at all, nothing shows at boot? in other words, just to be clear in case it does show drives when working, but nothing when not working

and when you tried with just the eSATA, you have nothing at all plugged into any of the other sockets, and not a cable with no drive or an unpowered drive at the end? and when you tried with the eSATA only, did you try with the external drive powered before boot, and again unpowered at boot, and powering after boot? and disc management under windows computer management (compmgmt.msc) didn't show anything. as sometimes drives can work, but just not show under windows until you've enabled them in computer management (whilst they may work via USB)?

and have you tried the external caddy with a drive of a lower capacity than 1.5tb, just to make sure that the eSATA capabilities aren't limited, even if the USB capabilities can handle a 2tb drive? and is the 2tb drive formatted with data, or brand new with nothing on it? sometimes with a new drive you need to go into windows disc management to enable it. sometimes cheap caddies have limits and can't use drives bigger than 1.5tb for example. i have a sumvision 3.5" caddy that takes PATA or SATA but it's USB only and it does take 2tb drives via USB, my 2.5" SATA/PATA has USB and eSATA but i haven't tried the eSATA with a 2tb drive, i'm not sure if it would physically fit with the case removed

also, have you tried connecting the caddy to one or both of the internal sockets with an eSATA to SATA cable, just to make sure that the issue doesn't lie with the drive, or the caddy? you would need to do this with the side of the case off or the cable stuck through the case somehow. and i presume of course that if there is a USB/eSATA switch on the caddy, it's in the right position? have you tried the caddy with esata on another pc, just to rule out the caddy and drive?

if you've tried all this and still can't get it to work, uploading images of the card you have, along with photos of the packaging (even if plain white box) and cd rom that came with it (as that might have a number on it, or something else to identify it), on the cdrom itself there may be some folder or filenames that might also help identify it, these will be handy for googling up, but there should be something on the card itself, just in case the cdrom isn't specifically for that card. there may be pins on the card for jumpers, but no jumpers provided, so having a look at the card would be the biggest help

[dulcificum]

ok, so if you plug in 2 drives to the internal sockets, they both show up in windows and work fine? and when you do that, nothing shows up during boot? and likewise with no drives plugged in at all, nothing shows at boot? in other words, just to be clear in case it does show drives when working, but nothing when not working

Exactly.

and when you tried with just the eSATA, you have nothing at all plugged into any of the other sockets, and not a cable with no drive or an unpowered drive at the end? and when you tried with the eSATA only, did you try with the external drive powered before boot, and again unpowered at boot, and powering after boot? and disc management under windows computer management (compmgmt.msc) didn't show anything. as sometimes drives can work, but just not show under windows until you've enabled them in computer management (whilst they may work via USB)?

Yes. Tried all those things the first time.

and have you tried the external caddy with a drive of a lower capacity than 1.5tb, just to make sure that the eSATA capabilities aren't limited, even if the USB capabilities can handle a 2tb drive? and is the 2tb drive formatted with data, or brand new with nothing on it? sometimes with a new drive you need to go into windows disc management to enable it. sometimes cheap caddies have limits and can't use drives bigger than 1.5tb for example. i have a sumvision 3.5" caddy that takes PATA or SATA but it's USB only and it does take 2tb drives via USB, my 2.5" SATA/PATA has USB and eSATA but i haven't tried the eSATA with a 2tb drive, i'm not sure if it would physically fit with the case removed

The caddy is rated to 2TiB for eSATA and USB. I checked this before buying.

also, have you tried connecting the caddy to one or both of the internal sockets with an eSATA to SATA cable, just to make sure that the issue doesn't lie with the drive, or the caddy? you would need to do this with the side of the case off or the cable stuck through the case somehow. and i presume of course that if there is a USB/eSATA switch on the caddy, it's in the right position? have you tried the caddy with esata on another pc, just to rule out the caddy and drive?

Don't have eSATA to SATA cable but have tried new cable. There is no switch on the caddy, it's automatic.

if you've tried all this and still can't get it to work, uploading images of the card you have, along with photos of the packaging (even if plain white box) and cd rom that came with it (as that might have a number on it, or something else to identify it), on the cdrom itself there may be some folder or filenames that might also help identify it, these will be handy for googling up, but there should be something on the card itself, just in case the cdrom isn't specifically for that card. there may be pins on the card for jumpers, but no jumpers provided, so having a look at the card would be the biggest help

No box or packaging - but here's a picture (http://fumpr.com/share-C1DD_4D270510.html). Any help much appreciated.