Vista - eSATA Drive Question

Anna wrote:Perhaps because (some people) have limited patience and perseverance (old
school values)? (Usually it's the young-ins who have this limitation
:-).

No annoyance. The thread went on and on and explored all the ins and outs
of booting and installing Windows with BIOS changes, etc. There just isn't
anything new I have to add. Most of the dialog was between you and another
fella and I mostly listened in.

"Anna" <myname@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23XcmSoxrIHA.2520@xxxxxx

"pbl" <pblnews@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:O7GdnX4gPtmzW4PVnZ2dnUVZ_uCdnZ2d@xxxxxx
I need to get a new external HDD for my laptop and I'm thinking of getting
an eSATA drive. My question is this: Can any HDD be turned into an eSATA
drive by housing it an enclosure which has an eSATA port or is there
something special about SATA drives? I'm not sure whether I should buy an
already enclosed SATA or buy the HDD and the enclosure separately (cheaper
option). Thanks for your help.
---

Thanks very much Jeff, Anna, Robert, Collin & Bill for your replies.

Just for clarification - I have a Dell XPS M1530. It has an internal 200 GB
7200 RPM SATA drive but it does not not have an eSATA. I have an
ExpressCard/54 slot. It will fit a 34 mm ExpressCard but it doesn't feel
secure. There are a few 54mm eSATA II ExpressCards including a Belkin model.
For speed and size I am after a 3.5" drive and using it in my computer would
not be an option.

I need to write/record music in real time via a firewire audio interface and
prefer to get it away from my system drive. At present I have this USB
drive:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digi...sbs_ce_title_4
but unfortunately it is really SLOW and is only useful for backing up.

Thanks for the heads-up on the ANTEC cooled enclosure. If anyone has a
suggestion for a 3.5" SATA drive to go with it I am all ears.

On 06/05/2008 in message <O#OmyA1rIHA.3420@xxxxxx> pbl wrote:
The hardware groups feel the most reliable one currently is the Samsung
SpinPoint HD501LJ 500GB SATAII. Do not under any circumstances get a HD
that is made in China, they are proving very unreliable.

--
Jeff Gaines
Damerham Hampshire UK

"pbl" <pblnews@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:O%23OmyA1rIHA.3420@xxxxxx
pbl:
First of all, I think you are wise to consider an external enclosure to
house a SATA HDD that provides SATA-to-SATA connectivity to your laptop via
the ExpressCard slot. And since your ExpressCard slot is the 54mm variety it
will, as you know, accommodate the 34mm variety of ExpressCards as well.

Virtually all SATA external enclosures on the market today are equipped with
an eSATA port. And most of these external enclosures also are equipped with
a USB interface as well.

The beauty of having SATA-to-SATA connectivity is really twofold...
1. Data transfer will be considerably speedier than the USB interface.
Significantly so since for all practical purposes the system treats the SATA
HDD (even while it's "external" to the system) as an internal HDD.
2. The external SATA HDD is potentially bootable, assuming that (for
example) you cloned the contents of your internal (boot) HDD to the external
SATA HDD through a disk-cloning program, e.g., Acronis True Image,
Symantec's Ghost, or our favorite, Casper 4.

From your description of your objective as to how you'll be using the
external SATA HDD I realize you're not particularly interested in that drive
being potentially bootable, but it is an important element for you to
consider possibly for the future.

At least in theory, an ExpressCard with an eSATA port should serve as a
bootable device. So far our experience with a few of them has been erratic.
In one case (an Addonics card) we could consistently boot with a connected
SATA HDD. In two other cards we could not do so (at least on a consistent
basis). I have to add that I've only worked with the 34mm variety of
ExpressCards in this area and *not* any 54mm card. I would be *most*
interested in your experience with your Dell so if you do go that route I
would be really appreciative of learning of your experience, particularly
the "bootability" aspect. Have you heard anything particular about the
Belkin card you mention?

BTW, for others who might be interested, our experience with the older
CardBus (PCMCIA) cards equipped with a SATA or eSATA port led us to conclude
that these devices did *not* provide boot capability although they were
quite useful in terms of fast data transfer.

Incidentally, unless you're dead-set on using an external SATA HDD as a
storage device and not a bootable device, you may want to consider a SATA
external enclosure that accommodates a 2 1/2" SATA HDD rather than a 3 1/2"
drive. The advantage here is that should the need ever arise where for one
reason or another you wanted to replace your laptop's internal HDD, you
could use the SATA HDD installed in the external enclosure. Again, we're
assuming it would be a bootable device. There might be, however, a slight
decrease in data transfer speed re the external SATA HDD as compared with a
3 1/2" HDD, so if your primary or exclusive interest is using the external
HDD as a storage device, then the 3 1/2" drive would be more appropriate for
your needs.

I really don't have any special recommendations for a SATA external
enclosure. We've worked with a few of them (having both SATA or eSATA ports)
and they've all pretty well done the job. Heretofore our recommendation was
generally to purchase the enclosure and the HDD separately but we note in
the past year or so prices of the "one-piece" commercial units have fallen
so dramatically that you might want to consider purchasing one of those
units. I would add that we prefer an enclosure that has the ON-OFF switch
and accompanying LED on the front of the unit facing the user. We find that
much more convenient, but this is just a personal preference. Anyway, take a
look at the newegg offerings.
Anna

"Colin Barnhorst" <c.barnhorst@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:100FC1E0-E479-4A83-B6AB-C8D2087EF7F9@xxxxxx
Colin:
Well, I'm glad to hear that.

Anyway, I am interested in your experience (or for that matter with anyone's
direct experience) as it pertains to using an ExpressCard (either the 34mm
or 54mm variety) particularly with reference as to whether a SATA HDD
connected to that device can be bootable.
Anna

"Anna" <myname@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eojBS43rIHA.3604@xxxxxxThank you very much Anna for your detailed response. I will most likley go
for a 3.5" drive for the additional speed. But I'm unfortunately having a
battle with Dell at the moment about the M1530 display and because they are
being terribly uncooperative they are processing a refund. This is a huge
diappouintment becuase I love this new laptop except for the crappy grainy
WSVGA display. I expect I will be repurchasing a similar if not the same
laptop when the problem gets sorted but in the meantime I will be going back
to my old WinXP laptop with a PCMCIA port. I know you can purchase PCMCIA to
eSATA adapter but would this work as I recall your first bit of advice to be
about laptop compatibility with SATA drives??

Regarding the Belkin card, I don't know anything special about it. It is a
54 mm card and I haven't found too many ot them. Yes the 34 mm cards will
fit but not snuggly and although you can get a plastic extender for the 34
mm variety but I have not had much success with them.

Thanks again for your help.

pbl.

"pbl" <pblnews@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23Gv9fhbsIHA.5724@xxxxxx
pbl:
Sorry to hear about your not-so-good experience with the Dell XPS M1530. I
haven't worked with that machine but I noticed it has garnered favorable
reviews by & large. Ironically (at least from your experience) one of
features of that laptop the reviewers particularly liked was the screen
display. One never knows, does one?

BTW, as you probably know Dell has come out with a larger (17" screen)
version - the XPS M1730. Haven't seen or used one myself but a friend tells
me that one of his friends (having a primary interest in gaming) has one and
virtually swoons over it. But it's expensive - in the $4,000 range I
believe.

As long as you're going back (at least in the meantime) to a
CardBus-equipped laptop or notebook you can use a CardBus (PCMCIA) card with
either a SATA or eSATA port. Most of them actually come with two ports -
generally eSATA, but as a practical matter it really doesn't matter whether
they're SATA or eSATA ports. eSATA is considered a more secure type of
data-cable connection and usually the SATA data cable equipped with an eSATA
connector is more heavily shielded than the usual SATA connector data cable.
So all things considered, I suppose the eSATA port equipped CardBus would be
the one to go with, especially since there's really no significant price
differential involved based on the last time I checked. Take a look at...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...port&x=19&y=32
and you can also do a Google search on "CardBus with SATA port".

Understand - as I previously mentioned - that you will not be able to boot
from a SATA HDD (containing a potentially bootable OS) connected to the
CardBus device, regardless of whether it has a SATA or eSATA port. At least
we were never able to achieve that capability with a number of different
makes & models of CardBus SATA cards that we used. As you've indicated I
guess that's not an important consideration for you but it is a capability
we're particularly interested in so that a comprehensive backup system would
be available to a laptop/notebook in a relatively simple & straightforward
way. We're hopeful the ExpressCard devices will work out to achieve that
capability.

I haven't really worked to any appreciable degree with 54mm ExpressCards,
although the few times we used a 34mm ExpressCard inserted in the 54mm
ExpressCard module we didn't experience any problems. I believe there are
adapters now available that allow a CardBus-PCMCIA card to be used in an
ExpressCard module but I've had no experience with them. But that is not
what you were referring to as an "extender", were you? What would be the
function of the plastic extender you mentioned for 34mm ExpressCards. They
provide a more secure fit inside the 54mm module?

And have you actually used the Belkin ExpressCard? For what purpose?
Anna

As Anna says, you will not have a bootable external drive but you will have
a fast external drive. The throughput will be six times usb or firewire, so
go for it.

"Anna" <myname@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ec1ltydsIHA.1872@xxxxxx

"Anna" <myname@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ec1ltydsIHA.1872@xxxxxxHi Anna,

So, just to be clear, if I purchase a CardBus with an eSATA port for my
WinXP PCMCIA equipped laptop and an eSATA drive it should work? The plan
would be to eventually use the drive in a new ExpressCard equipped Vista
laptop, probably the M1530 again when they sort out the screen problem.

On the issue of the M1530 display - Dell ships both LG and Samsung WSXGA+
displays for this model and the problem only exists with the Samsung, if
you're unlucky enough to get one (you can't actually choose the brand you
want). You would think a simple swap would be the way to go but I have met
with firm resistance from one particularly strong-willed tech support guy.
As strange as it might seem, the easier thing for me to do is to obtain a
full refund, wait, and re-order as less Samsung screens are being released
now. In the US, LED displays have also been released but that may not happen
in Oz or at least for some time according to the newsgroups. The M1530 is
otherwise a superb hi-spec laptop with a lot of visual appeal (T9300, 4 GB
RAM, 256 MB GeForce 8600M GT). The XPS M1730 is a little out of my price
range and too heavy for portability, but the specs are rather impressive.

The extender that I spoke of is otherwise termed a 34/54 mm spacer adaptor.
It is a piece of plastic that snaps onto the side of a 34mm ExpressCard to
enable it to fit into a 54 mm module more securely. Google doesn't provide
much help locating one of these but one came with the Targus ExpressCard
docking station I bought with my M1530. I have a local picture of how it
works if you're interested.

No, I haven't used the Belkin ExpressCard at this point in time.