The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    eSATA port powered on T420?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by wkearney99, Jul 28, 2011.

  1. wkearney99

    wkearney99 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    66
    Messages:
    212
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Are the eSATA ports on the T420 or the dock powered? As in, can I make both a power and data connection to a drive? If so, how much power does it provide, and who makes a cable that'll work?

    I picked up one of these at a local Microcenter:
    MANHATTAN : eSATA+USB Cable

    But it would not power a 3.5" WDEARS20 drive. I did not try any others. I tried it in both the port on the side of the T420 and the one on the back of the dock.

    I don't know if power was making it to the drive or not (no lights, and it's too quiet to hear).

    But will the port even power a drive this way?
     
    wkearney99, Jul 28, 2011
    #1
  2. pipspeak

    pipspeak Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    94
    Messages:
    1,041
    Likes Received:
    55
    Trophy Points:
    66
    no, I'm pretty sure the eSATA ports are not powered, so a combo SATA/USB cable will be needed to power an external drive (assuming the drive enclosure itself takes power over eSATA, which most do not).

    I use an external 2.5" drive enclosure with both a USB port (for power) and eSATA (data transfer). Even with two cables it still beats needing a power brick.
     
    pipspeak, Jul 28, 2011
    #2
  3. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    982
    Messages:
    5,162
    Likes Received:
    33
    Trophy Points:
    216
    According to the specs in tabook.pdf the eSATA port is a combo port thus powered.
     
    Thors.Hammer, Jul 28, 2011
    #3
  4. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    7,197
    Messages:
    28,842
    Likes Received:
    2,172
    Trophy Points:
    581
    Normally, if the eSATA port is shared with a USB port then the appropriate cable will take power from the USB connectors in the socket.

    That cable should work with 2.5" drives which use 5V power but 3.5" drives need a separate 12V supply which the USB cannot supply.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Jul 29, 2011
    #4
  5. wkearney99

    wkearney99 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    66
    Messages:
    212
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Ah, thanks for pointing out the 12v requirement. Makes sense. I'll give it a try with a 2.5 and report back.
     
    wkearney99, Jul 29, 2011
    #5
  6. bogatyr

    bogatyr Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    85
    Messages:
    693
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Yes John is correct, 3.5" drives won't be powered using eSATAp, only 2.5". I had the same misconception when I tried mine... wish they would have a port that would power a 3.5".
     
    bogatyr, Jul 29, 2011
    #6
  7. wkearney99

    wkearney99 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    66
    Messages:
    212
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Well, given the tiny size of the connectors in the eSATA plug I can sort of understand. There are limits on how much power you can carry through thinner gauge wire and connectors. I could see where a drive might pull too much power and overheat the connector.

    Kinda sucks as the only real reason I'd be using the eSATA port is to deal with 3.5" drives.

    I'll have to see about picking up some sort of eSATA docking station instead, one with support for wall power. I have a USB 2.0 docking station but would rather get the increased performance of a SATA connection.
     
    wkearney99, Jul 29, 2011
    #7