M17 eSATA port with WD 1TB eSATA Mybook

Anyone running their M17 with a 1TB WD eSATA Mybook? According to WD, the eSATA version is not hot swappable, and you must plug in the drive prior to booting the computer, and leave it plugged in until shut down of the computer to prevent data loss. Ok, thats fine, BUT...

When I start my M17 laptop up with the 1TB eSATA WD drive plugged into the dual eSATA/USB port on my M17, the laptop never boots to windows and hangs after the Microsoft "Green Loading Bar" screen finishes at a black screen. So the question is, is anyone using their eSATA port to run an external hard drive, and is it working? Below is my conversation with WD.

(ME):
Following the instructions in the Quickstart guide, I have installed my WD External 1TB hard drive via an eSATA cable to my Alienware M17 laptop with the laptop shut off. I have the drive plugged into power, and the eSATA cable connected. I then power up the drive, and then the computer. The computer boots through the green rolling status bar of the windows Vista boot-up process, and then locks up at a black screen. The drive appears to be being accessed as noticed by sounds, and the lights on the front rolling upwards. After a few seconds the lights on the drive shut off, and the computer never finishes booting up. I have Windows 64-bit installed. I am able to utilize the drive fine via USB, but I can't seem to get the computer to boot with the drive installed via an eSATA cable. I have also tried doing this method and booting the computer into safe mode with the same results, the computer never boots. Any assistance would be appreciated

(Western Digital):
Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Have you updated your BIOS to the most recent release? Also, have you enabled your eSATA port in your computer's BIOS? Are you using the power adapter we supplied with your drive? Do you plug your external hard drive's A/C adapter into a power strip or directly into a wall socket? If you are using a power strip or battery backup then we recommend that you connect your hard drive directly into a wall socket. In the past, we have seen several customers who have had issues using power strips and battery backup devices.

In order for us to help you further, we need to have more information.
- Have you installed the latest OS updates as well as updated the SATA controller drivers on your computer?
- Have you tried connecting your external hard drive's eSATA cable into a different eSATA port on your computer?
- When connected to a different port, do you have the same problem?
- How long is the eSATA cable that you use and have you tried a different eSATA cable?
- Are you experiencing any other problems with eSATA devices on your computer?
- Does your external hard drive have the same problems if you try it on a different computer?
- Have you change the Booting sequence in your BIOS to boot only from your C:/ drive?

The answers below may have resolve some or all of your questions.

(ME):
I have the latest motherboard BIOS from Alienware installed. There is no option to "enable" the eSATA port in my computer's BIOS. It is a dual eSATA/USB port, and it does work when connected as a USB port to the HDD and other devices. I am using the supplied power adapter, and I tried it plugged into a wall socket with the same results (windows gets just past the green bar loading screen but never boots up and HDD shuts off). I have installed all the latest OS updates, and the SATA controllers on my computer are the current ones for my computer. I only have one eSATA/USB port on this computer to test, so another port is not an option. I am using this eSATA cable http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?Sku=C184-10220 and I do not have another cable to test out. I have no other eSATA devices to attempt to install on this computer, so I don't know if I have issues with other devices. I do not have another eSATA compatible computer to test if the HDD works on it or not. There was no need to change the boot sequence in the BIOS of the computer to boot from the C:/ as it was already set this way, and yes I checked. Hope this helps.

(Western Digital):
Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support.

The eSATA controllers listed below have been successfully tested to work with the eSATA compatible Western Digital hard drives; if your card is not listed it may or may not work with the drive. This listed is updated periodically, try a different ESATA cable if available, or try the drive on a different computer with ESATA to see if the problem follows the drive.

Answer Title: List of eSATA controllers tested with the WD My Book eSATA compatible hard drives.
Answer Link: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1524

Answer Title: Specifications for the Western Digital My Book Home Edition external hard drives.
Answer Link: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1676

Answer Title: How to contact Western Digital for support (email or phone)
Answer Link: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1048

 

Although I do not have the same computer as you. Just to let you know I'm too having the exactly same issue on my 640GB MyBook with my NP8660... A few search around the internet I found this to be common issue and WD's documentation on this is hardly anything useful.

Some report that when they "cut" away the plastic tip of their eSata cable in order to allow the cable itself to goes in deeper helps. Despite of that, I'm not going to try and end up giving up using the eSata cable and stick to the usb (And also regret why I got this drive in the first place).

 

i am using 1tb hitachi hdd on the esata port. i put my dvd and then my laptop hdd to boot first in my bios. i don't have a probelm with boot into windows.


this was after i updated to the new chipset from intel. before that i would also lag with the hdd, flash drives, etc when plugged in from boot.

http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/CS-029319.htm

 

Thanks mate, I'll be sure to try it out when I go back in a few days time!

 

Anyone else using an external drive via eSATA on their M17's? Neither WD, nor Alienware seem to have a reason why its not working for me. I haven't tried updating the chipset drivers, but shouldn't the ones Alienware provide work?

I did cut back the sheathing on my eSATA cable so it fit all the way into the WD Drive, but that didn't fix it.

 

I heard there are issues with the WD My Book HDDs. I would recommend trying another brand and see if it gives you the same problem.

 

nope my hdd does it to. the e-sata port needs a stable driver. nothing is good. tried everything trust.

 

So while researching this problem (yes it's still a problem) I came across this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=391171&highlight=JMB36X

The JMB36X Controller driver supplied by Alienware is 1.17.37.1 and Jmicron's Website starts at 1.17.45 and goes to 1.17.50. Has anyone tried other JMB36X Controllers with any success?

Has anyone with an M17 (or an M17x if it uses the JMB36x Controller) run across an issue with using a Western Digital MyBook using eSATA.

 

Sorry mate, I'd try and let you know if I still had my machine, got an ESATA/USB2.0 Akasa enclosure last week because I thought I'd be getting my M17 back, so my 750GB external drive is sitting there trying to work out the meaning of life lol

 

I was about to post the same problem as you Marvie, I have a 1 TB WD that does not work VIA eSATA

 

Well, let me phrase my question a different way. Can anyone think of a way (hopefully a cheap way) to verify that my eSATA port actually works?

 

If the usb component works, then I'm guessing it works?

 

I'm pretty sure its just the WD drive. I've used the eSATA/USB port as a USB port no problem. Even with the WD Drive. I have to plug the WD Drive in via USB after windows boots. If I have the WD Drive plugged in via iSATA or USB the computer hangs after the green windows loading bar appears. This leads me to believe the WD Drive is to somehow blame.

 

Problem Solved!!

Alienware's eSATA drivers do not work with the WD MyBooks.
I installed the latest JMicron Drivers from this site ftp://driver.jmicron.com.tw/jmb36x/XP_Vista_Win7/ (I used the JMB36X_WinDrv_R1.17.50_WHQL_eSATA version) and now my MyBook is working like a champ via the eSATA Cable.

So if you have issues with an eSATA External Hard drive on the M17, I recommend updating your JMicron drivers directly from JMicron's website.

 

Thanks for the solution. I am about to get a eSATA cable to hook up my TB drive I have.

 

I've got an M17x and a 1tb WD MyBook and am having the exact same issues, But I don't think this solution will work for me.

 

Try it out; it seems that Jmicron controller is fairly popular, not sure if its the one in your M17x though, even if not there might be a driver update elsewhere.

 

Damn, I had such high hopes after reading this. I tried the same JMicron driver on my m17/whitebook and it didn't solve my problem. Are you saying that your eSATA MyBook now works with JUST the eSATA cable?

The problem I have is that my external 2.5" HD enclosure won't work with just the eSATA cable. I thought the eSATA cable would do power and data. The only way I can get it to work is if I use a USB "power" cable to power up the drive, and then an eSATA cable to do the data transfer. I can't tell if my issue is the enclosure, the cable, or the eSATA port on the m17

 

eSATA doesn't power the hard drive enough to run it on its own. the MyBook has an AC adapter to provide it power. What is the enclosure does it have a DC in port where you could connect an AC/DC plug?

Side Note: I've also noticed however, after an extended period of time while connected but not being utilized, the MyBook sometimes disappears My Computer as a valid hard drive. Still looking for a solution to this.

 

Argh, so its lack of power then, damn. Yes it has a DC port to connect an AC/DC plug but I was hoping for something with faster-than-USB transfer rates and only having to use one cable. Blast.

 

It seems that power cycling the MyBook when its not showing up in My Computer sometimes revives it.

 

Ok testing this out, hopefully it works. Thanks!

 

UPDATE:

Ok I tried the new driver and yet it doesn't work.

-I did notice though that when I turn on my comp, the activity light on the WD HD indicates that it is being accessed.

 

1. Ensure Computer is off.
2. Plug in eSATA Cable and power cable to MyBook.
3. Turn on MyBook
4. Turn on Computer

Its not hot swappable, i.e. you can't plug in the eSATA drive while the computer is on.

It does seem a tad testy to me, its definitely not perfect.

Mine used to hang at a black screen after the green running windows bar, but at least now it still boots. As i stated sometimes the MyBook isn't showing up in My Computer, and sometimes turning the MyBook off, and turning it back on brings it back, but this is not always the case.

 

I did that but it doesn't work.

 

The only other thing I could suggest is to try the other driver with "Write Cache Disabled" and see how that goes. Sorry it didn't work for you

 

Ok its working now, but I'm getting USB 2.0 speeds, what gives?

 

Could try seeing if you can enable performance mode instead of quick remove. Could also have a slow drive.