How can I test a mini PCIe 50mm SATA drive?

This is the first time I use this type of drives so I'm not really familiar with them.

I bought a brand new KingSpec 16 GB SSD mini PCIe SATA drive and so far I can't get it to work. I've tried it in 3 different laptops and none of them is able to detect it. The drive is not detected by Windows XP nor Windows Vista. It doesn't show in the explorer nor in the "computer management" console.

So my question is how can I check it before asking for a refund?

Do you think it's faulty?

 

Those types of drives are mostly set up to be recognized by certain systems like the older Asus netbooks and Dell mini 9s that used that type of drive as the main. I'm pretty sure there is a usb to mini pci-e adapter though

 

Hey there, the notebook has to support SATA over PCI-e (specific controller hooked up to the port) only usually included in notebooks that have a model that includes one.

 

I thought they are generic drives and thus supported by other laptops besides the mini 9 and the eeepc. I'll check for usb to mini PCIe adapters.

Thanks for the tip.

 

No, they do require specific support, though in the future we will likely see drives that include a PCI-e to SATA controller on the drive itself, thus allowing it to work in any slot.

 

Thanks for the info.

Next question, the dell mini 9 doesn't support sata SSD. It support pata only. What are the other laptops or netbooks that support sata SSD?

Thanks

 

I can't help you with that as they are not the sort of machines I deal with, so you will need someone else to jump in.

 

I believe the Asus eee pc series does, the cheaper versions that shipped with Linux on little 4gb drives. Not real power houses but should support it

 

You're talking about the eeepc 700 series. Right?

 

There are lots of adapters like these:
RunCore 70mm/50mm Mini PCI-e SSD to 2.5" SATA II Converter Adapter RCSATA-MPCIE | eBay

Unfortunately a lot of them use different standards, all the same, it says "standard mPCIE SSD" so you can hold them to that.

HWtools who is a little more focused on information & compatibility than they are marketing has some interesting info about their adapter for desktops:


Wonder what on earth is the difference between "msata" and "EEPC sata"

I think there are already some mPCIE SSDs that have onboard PCIE SATA controllers. I think nando4 might be the person you need to talk to.

 

Yea the 700 series, it has been a while since I owned mine

 

I'm still confused about the whole SATA PATA business. I've trying to gather informations for the last 2 weeks and I'm not getting anywhere. The Eee 700, 900, and 901 are supposed to be compatible and are supposed to use the same type of SSD drive (please correct me if I'm wrong). I borrowed an Eee 901 and I can assure you that the drive is an IDE/PATA and not a SATA. The new SATA drive I bought is not detected, while the faulty one from the Dell mini is detected.

Also I've checked the part number and those used in the Eee 700, 900, and 901 are identical. So I don't understand why everyone think that the Eee 700, 900, and 901 uses a SATA drive.

I will be grateful to anyone who can shade some light in the above.