EP45-UD3R eSATA Problem

[Madman_X]

I've searched the forum for suggestions and tips on getting eSATA to work properly on my UD3R. I've tried everything I can think of and still cannot get a new FANTOM GDP1000EU drive to be either recognized at boot. I had purchased it hoping to use the eSATA features of the drive and my rig. I've installed the eSATA bracket, with cabling to the JMicron ports. The JMicron ports are in AHCI mode as well via the BIOS. The Intel ICH10r is in IDE mode since that's what I originally installed Vista some time ago and also have a samsung SATA CD on that controller.

The odd thing is that the drive isn't even detected by the JMIcron scan that occurs initially after boot. The Fantom drive has external power and is powered up. Likewise, it works fin via USB. I only have the one eSATA cable, but I just purchased it new and it looks fine. All other connections look to be good as well. I'm beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with the drive itself; however, I find that a bit odd since it's new. I've also installed the latest JMicron JMB36x drivers as well as tried the Gigabyte sata drivers from their web site... both to no avail.

I've googled "FANTOM" and "EP45-UD3R" and don't get any relevant information that seems helpful.

Any advice or help with solving the mystery would be most appreciated. BTW, the drive came preformatted as Fat32, don't know if that makes a difference or not.

Thanks,

Madman_X

[profJim]

Re: EP45-UD3R eSATA Problem

My esata bracket is connected to the yellow Intel sata connectors. My other hard drives are also connected to the Intel sata connectors. My boot drive is connected to the sata2_0 port. No problems.

In the bios Integrated Peripheral section, what are your settings for:
Onboard SATA/IDE Device = ?
Onboard Sata/IDE Ctrl Mode = ?
These are settings for the Jmicron gsata2 connectors.

[Madman_X]

Re: EP45-UD3R eSATA Problem

My esata bracket is connected to the yellow Intel sata connectors. My other hard drives are also connected to the Intel sata connectors. My boot drive is connected to the sata2_0 port. No problems.

In the bios Integrated Peripheral section, what are your settings for:
Onboard SATA/IDE Device = ?
Onboard Sata/IDE Ctrl Mode = ?
These are settings for the Jmicron gsata2 connectors.

Onboard SATA/IDE Device = Enabled
ONboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode = AHCI and I've also tried RAID/IDE too

Again, with the external drive powered on and eSATA cable connected to the drive and bracket, it shows no detection at boot (when the jmicron port scan occurs)....

I'll try attaching all the stuff back to the intel ports, making sure my boot drive is on sata2_0 and see what happens. If I understand correctly, I shouldn't even need to enable AHCI on the Intel ports unless I want to hot swap or use native mode, so I should be able to get the drive detected and usable after bootup by just making sure it's connected and powered on at startup? If I get that far, I'll worry about enabling AHCI and installing the Intel drivers.. does that sound like a logical plan?
***UPDATE***

I moved the eSATA bracket connections back to the Intel ports, rebooted with external drive powered on and connected.. still no detection during bootup. Also tried with AHCI enabled for the Intel ports and still no luck. Tried RAID on the Intel ports, still no detection of the drive, but Vista halted. I suppose the previous Intel drivers for AHCI that I had installed were still intact, so I set it back to AHCI and Vista boots fine, but still no external drive detected on eSATA. I'm currently on the F4 BIOS rev. Should I update it to see if it solves a potential incompatibility? I'm more familiar with DOS flashing, so I can read the necessary posts in the forum to figure out the safest way to flash, if that would be helpful to do. Otherwise, I guess I'm stuck with using the drive as USB 2.0. I've already backed up some data to it, so I'm hesitant to RMA the drive. I may also go ahead and order another eSATA cable, just to eliminate that as a possible cause.

*****UPDATE #2*******

I think it's the eSATA cable I bought at Staples. I originally bought a 7 Pin to 7 Pin cable, which fits the connectors on the bracket and drive just fine. I'ts a Belkin cable that cost about $13. I found a cable in the motherboard box that plugs into the motherboard Intel or JMicro sata ports and the other end is the 7 pin type that plugs into the hard drive enclosure. Plugged it in, booted and it detected it on the Jmicron ports with no problems!! Not sure what could be wrong with the eSATA cable that I bought, but I suppose things do go wrong ocassionally. I'll return it and exchange it to see if it makes a difference. It is a 6' cable, so if the new one still has problems, I'll go with a shorter one.



Thanks again,

Madman_X

[profJim]

Re: EP45-UD3R eSATA Problem

My system is running w2k pro (sp4) so I can't use AHCI.
When I use the eSata connection, I hook up my hard drive before I boot my system.
Also, I'm not using any raid setups.

Let us know if it's the cable that's causing your problem.

[Madman_X]

Re: EP45-UD3R eSATA Problem

It was the SATA cable. Apparently, eSATA cable quality varies greatly and could be the source of problems that many of us experience.. provided the failure being experienced is detection of the eSATA drive on boot. I did a google search for eSATA cable problems and found a Tivo site that had a pretty good illustration of the problem that I was having:

eSATA problems - bad cables abound! (pic) - TiVo Community

If you check that site, look at the eSATA cable measurement from the plastic/rubber shroud to the tip of the connector. The Belkin I had was a good 1/8" to 1/16" shorter than the spare cable I had in the motherboard box. The connection to the PC was loose, now I know why. Rather than trim the cable shroud as indicated in the article, I ordered a new one and will be returning the Belkin to Staples. Hope this helps someone else!

MMx

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3R eSATA Problem

Glad to see you found the issue, and thanks for posting about it as it may help others down the road!