[E6400] - Power Over eSata problem, Windows 7 x64

Hey everybody,

I was very happy to get my brand new Lacie Rugged eSata external HDD today, as I could get (for those who don't know it yet) eSata transfer speed AND power for the HDD with only one cable...

The thing is, it's not that good with my laptop... The drive gets recognized, no problem, but every time I start opying something on it, my Windows kinda freezes, the copy progress bar gets stuck in the middle (not every time at the same "place"), and all I can do is unplug the HD or either shut down the computer by holding the power button for a couple of seconds.

I tried it on another computer which only has an eSata port, and I used the included USB cable to power the drive, and everything goes fine on this one. The thing is, I don't have a "normal" eSata cable, so I can't try using 2 cables on my laptop (eSata + USB), as I guess the drive gets the power from the combo cable if it's plugged in.

For those who wonder, all my drivers are up to date and installed, I'm thinking the chipset drivers and Intel Rapid Storage drivers (which were called Intel Matrix Storage Manager before version 9 was released)

Any clue or idea are welcome, any question too
Thanks,
Mickaël

 

Hi

So, this Lacie drive has a eSATA connector on it - not a SATA/PWR connector like a naked drive, right?

eSATA does NOT carry power. You can get a combo cable for the combo USB/eSATA port from Newmodeus (http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=235), BUT it won't help you with the Lacie Enclosure. The SATA end of the cable plugs directly into the INTERNAL SATA/PWR connectors on a drive (the cable comes with a little rubber "drive condom" so you can throw it around a bit.

In order to use your new eSATA drive, you will have to get a dual USB B - mini cable, and plug the POWER ONLY USB tail into the PC. Then use the other (mini) end to power the drive.

russ

 

I don't think that power is the issue. I have seen something similar with my E6410 a few days ago when copying to an eSATA HDD which has its own PSU. It would stop part way through a big copy job. However, one or two retries and it would finish the task. I wonder whether the problem lies with Windows.

John

 

@russ :
Thanks for the reply, man.
The LaCie drive does have a eSata/USB combo port, and so does my E6400. Check this link

@john :
Thanks too.
I had the idea it was a problem with the combo port not delivering enough power or something related because when I tried the drive on a computer which only had an eSata port (so I had to use the optional USB cable to get power), it worked like a charm... But yeah, can't tell FOR SURE that's the issue. I should get an eSata-only cable and try it on my E6400 to be 100% sure.

Anyway, I'm gonna google for any eSata transfers hanging in the middle.

Thanks again, boys, let me know if you have anything new ;-)
Mickaël

 

Does the Lacie drive also have a USB port (and therefore some electronics between the cable and the disk drive)? I don't think I have had any hangups on either my E6400 or the E6410 when I have used an eSATA combo cable which connects directly to the HDD.

Also, I've only had the problem happen with my eSATA HDD dock and not with any of my other enclosures some of which are USB + eSATA. Which has me wondering if my dock and your Lacie enclosure use the same controller chip.

John

 

Hi
Thanks for the edumification on the LaCie eSATA combo port!
OK, I remember we had an issue with what seemed to be an intermittent eSATA problem. Didn't make sense at the time, but it ended up being the BIOS setting (M6400... hopefully similar to your setup), and maybe the new Intel storage management thingy. I think the BIOS HDD setting had to be AHCI (can't remember IRRT setting).
I also installed the Intel Chipset and new Storage management drivers/application.

Hope that helps.

russ

 

Thanks again for the replies

@john :
Yeah, it does have a USB port, so the drives remains usable if your computer doesn't have an eSata or eSata/USB port.

@russ :
My laptop HDD setting is set to AHCI in the BIOS from the beginning, and all the drivers are up-to-date.
This is getting me a bit sad :-(
I'm still looking for information on the Internet, will let you know if anaything new comes up.

Have a nice day,
Mickaël

 

Two more thoughts:

1. Check if the policy for the external drive is optimised for quick removal or better performance (this is under the drive properties in Device Manager). Whatever, the current policy setting, try the other one. There is also a write caching option.

2.See this thread for alternative eSATA options. The simple cable / HDD connector (2nd option) is very effective.

John