# eSATA drive not recognized.



## jmc (Oct 7, 2002)

Ah, the fun of new builds. Worked out most of the problems, but keep coming across new ones ::sigh::

M2N-SLI Deluxe motherboard, Western Digital MyBook 500GB.

WD works fine under USB. I bought it for the supposedly fast speeds of eSATA, so I got a cable when I bought the system. The board has an eSATA connector built in.

Today, I hooked up. Nothing. Not recognized in BIOS, and then of course not in Windows. Enabled all the SATA/Raid drivers available. Not sure what the problem is, and since eSATA is brand new to me, not sure where to begin ('cept of course in the BIOS)

Any help appreciated!

jmc


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## jmc (Oct 7, 2002)

Anyone? Am I the only person then to have had a problem with eSATA?


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## cwils02 (Jul 5, 2007)

No. My WD MyBook Premium Edition 500GB external HD has both USB 2.0 and eSATA connections. Other than the relative slowness of USB, the USB connection works fine. Using the eSATA connection, my PC does not even recognize the drive. I am using the recommended eSATA Adapter. I've emailed WD, but no real response yet. I'm pretty sure the adapter is working okay. That would leave the cable and WD's eSATA capability.

Have you had any resolution since your problem occured???


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## jmc (Oct 7, 2002)

Nope. But I haven't spent much time on it either - as you said, USB does work fine. If you get an answer from WD, would you post it here please? If they're not recognized in BIOS, not sure how much hope we have


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## Parkman (Nov 30, 2006)

JMC,
Here is what I do to get it to work on other systems, might as well give it a try. First go to BIOS, advanced, onboard device configuration, and set the Jmicron mode to AHCI. download this driver
ftp://driver.jmicron.com.tw/jmb36x/Win2k_xp_Vista/JMB36X_WinDrv_WHQL_R1.17.20.03.zip
and install it and see if it works.


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## JackalDark (Jul 22, 2007)

Hey guys, I'm having the exact same problem and I can't seem to get it working.

Parkman, I tried doing what you said, but when I run the install on the JMicron Driver, I get a No JRaid SCSI Adapter found error and then it halts the install.

When I try to do an Update Driver on the PCI device that isn't recognized in the Windows Device manager, it fails, even when I point it to the JMicron Folders etc..


I don't know what to do, I've tried setting the JMicron mode to AHCI, RAID and IDE to no avail...


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## cwils02 (Jul 5, 2007)

1) The problem was with WD's MyBook Premium ES Edition.
2) The email supports which suggested that I would get a response in 24 hours took 16 Days, 2 days after I had resolved the problem.
3) There is no mention of the problem in their database, but after talking to a tech support person, it became clear that this is a widespread problem. WD's stance is that the eSATA I connectors on most cables are sufficiently long enough to make contact with the eSATA connector on the drive.
4) The reality is that their drive has a metal shroud inside the plastic case that prevents the connector from making a secure connection. The cables otherwise connect to the adapter on the PC with no problem.
5) I bought three cables before I found one that would reach deep enough to make contact. It was like magic. As soon as I plugged the cable in, the drive powered up and the drive registered and has worked great since.

This may not be the solution for those of you with build-your-own PC's, but if the connector is loose on the drive especially the WD drive, it might be something worth checking.

I got the successful cable from http://www.satagear.com/eSATA-3003_SATA_External_Cable.html Their customer service isn't the best, but the cable works. WD also now suggests one from SIIG at http://onlinestore.siig.com/shopexd.asp?id=725

Hopefully, this will help some of you.

The 1st computer I worked on had vacuum tubes. Over the years, I've built a few of my own PCs but now I'll leave it to you young folks. It difficult enough for us old guys to just get the store bought stuff to work like it should.


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## cwils02 (Jul 5, 2007)

FYI:

I am using a SIIG eSATA PCI Express Adapter recommended by WD:
eSATA II PCIe i/e

In BIOS, all that is shown is an entry under PCI:
Slot 1: Mass Storage Device


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## Parkman (Nov 30, 2006)

JackalDark, are you using the M2N-SLI deluxe motherboard as well? Or just the same E-Sata hard drive?


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## JackalDark (Jul 22, 2007)

Yes I have a M2N-SLI Deluxe with Windows XP
I can't seem to get the driver installed, tried running the installer in the package and I've tried having the Device manager update the driver and look in the driver folder and it just says it can't find a driver..


I have a Vantec Nextar 3 with a 500gig WD sata2 drive in it.
The drive enclosure supports eSata 
I don't know what to do.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Gentlemen when you have a problem please start your own thread. While you may think you have the same problem often you do not. With one problem per thread it is difficult to follow what has / has not been done. With two or more, it is impossible.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Now on to the original poster.

Your esata is controlled by the jmicron controller. There are two things you must do.
1 The controller mode must be set to what you want ie raid or non-raid. 
2 You must load the correct driver. Note often there are different drivers depending on what mode is selected.

Does the jmicron controller show as working in device manager? Post a screenshot of device mgr.


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## JackalDark (Jul 22, 2007)

What do you do if you have a n Unknown PCI Device in your device mgr and when you try to run the JMicron installation it doesn't detect any hardware and prevents install?
and if the Unknown device doesn't find the driver when you tell it to search the JMicron driver Folder?

and you know the unknown device is a JMicron controller?


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## sgf323 (Aug 6, 2007)

I bought the WD drive from NewEgg along with this cable. After reading this thread and how most cables are too short for the WD drive I took a razor blade to the cable to remove some of the plastic so it would go in the drive further. It worked like a charm!


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## Nerullian (Aug 10, 2007)

I had two issues with the MyBook I own. 

1) I could not copy large files (4gb or so) onto the drive even though I had over 100 GB of free space.

2) My computer at home (Windows XP Pro) would not recognize the drive using USB. I knew for certain that my USB ports were working fine with every other USB device I owned. Oddly enough, two different computers at work, both Windows XP Pro, WOULD recognize it, in addition to another computer I have at home that has Windows 2000.

Both of my problems were solved by removing everything off of the drive and formatting it using NTFS instead of Fat32. 

Of course, you have to have access to a computer that it actually works with in order to do this, but it can be done in Windows XP by going to the Control Panel, then Administrative Tools, then Computer Management, then Storage, then Disk Management.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING OFF THE DRIVE THAT YOU WISH TO KEEP AND THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE CORRECT DRIVE! 

Find the drive then RIGHT click on the bar beside it and choose "Format". Use the drop-down menu to choose "NTFS" then let it do its job. You can accomplish the same thing in Windows 2000 using the same directions if I recall correctly. 

I hope this helps someone.


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## jrouss (Oct 6, 2007)

You ended months of frustration. I have an Abit IP35 pro that I couldn't get the esata to work. I trimmed back my cable and it is fixed.


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## jmc (Oct 7, 2002)

sgf323 said:


> I bought the WD drive from NewEgg along with this cable. After reading this thread and how most cables are too short for the WD drive I took a razor blade to the cable to remove some of the plastic so it would go in the drive further. It worked like a charm!


Plastic from the very end, or - as I'd assume - from around the jacket? How much did you have to remove?

I enabled the JMicron controller in BIOS, but it still doesn't see the drive on boot, so I'm guessing I have 'too short' a cable as well.

jmc


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## jrouss (Oct 6, 2007)

I took about 3-4 mm off the top and sides. In the BIOS I set the drives to IDE and it was recognized rigth away.


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## 3do2 (Nov 28, 2007)

Hi all,

Well, this is illustrated how much trimming I had to do.

Se picture, top connector I had to cut about 3mm with a sharp utility knife.
Be careful dont cut to deep...

In Bios controller is set to IDE.

Works great with WD My book Premium ES.
Reformatted drive in NTFS and it works clean.

Take care all.

John


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