What is eSATA?
November 1, 2007
eSATA is a External Serial ATA interface. Serial ATA is a commonly used interface for internal Hard Drives, and eSATA is an extension of that specification to be used with external devices.
If you’re using a USB or Firewire external drive, what you’re really using is a ATA or Serial ATA hard drive, and an external enclosure. The enclosure has a controller in it which translates the ATA or SATA protocol to USB or Firewire.
This translation causes some delay and there is also some overhead involved in the translations.
eSATA is already in the format that the drive is transmitting. No translation necessary means no lag.
Why Would I want to use eSATA?
Reason #1 - The transfer rate is fast. I mean really fast. Currently there is a 1.5 Gbps and a 3 Gbps Standard. This blows FireWire (IEEE 1394) and USB 2.0 out of the water.
Reason #2 - Less Lag. Since the data is already in a native format, there is no translation involved. This means data gets to the interface faster.
Reason #3 - It isn’t terribly expensive. Maybe this isn’t a reason to use it, but it isn’t much of a road block either. If your motherboard has SATA connectors laying around, you can extend them with a $3 bracket. SATA expansion cards can be found right now for under $30.
Should I replace all of my External Drives?
Sure, and I can give you an address to ship them to. Seriously though, I wouldn’t replace what you already have if it works. When you decide to buy a new drive, eSATA is worth some thought.
There are currently many drives shipping with USB and eSATA interfaces. So even if you don’t currently have eSATA capability, I would take a good long look at the drives with both interfaces, since they would allow you to upgrade later.
Read More:
Serial ATA - Serial ATA International Organization
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Posted in Tech, SATA, Personal-Computing, Hard-Drives, eSATA
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December 2nd, 2007 at 7:08 pm
[…] What is ESATA? - An explanation of the external Serial ATA specification. I know what I’m using the next […]
October 29th, 2008 at 1:03 am
Hi, thank you for sharing your knowledge
My new laptop has an eSATA port, and I have a USB external hard.
Is there any sort of cable that can connect my external hard drive to eSATA port?
and if so, is this faster than ordinary USB cables?
Thank you very much, good luck
October 29th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Well, there are a couple of routes you can go. If you google “esata to usb” you’ll find some converters, although the ones I’ve seen suffer from speed issues.
There’s also the option of buying a new enclosure, disassembling the USB drive, and placing the drive in the new esata enclosure.
The drive inside is more than likely older anyway, and older usually means slower. To be honest, if you get a converter from eSATA to USB, you’ll still be limited by the speed of the USB connection.
If I were you, I would just use it as a USB drive, and then when you’re ready to buy another external drive, then you can look at eSATA drives.
There are also enclosures that offer a eSATA connector, and a USB connector fairly inexpensively.
Hope that helps, and thanks for your comment!
November 12th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Thanks a lot agian
I think you’re right about “just use it as a USB drive” .
And actually there’s something new for me: I can plug my USB hard right into eSATA port on laptop without any converter, surely the speed is limited but it works.
good luck and bye, Tnx again
November 13th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Well I’m glad I was able to help, but I’m pretty sure that if you can plug your USB cord into the eSATA port, then it’s actually a USB cable your using. Unless your laptop has some new universal connenctor I haven’t heard of. I would be curios to see a picture if you could.
Thanks again for stopping by!
November 15th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Hi
Ye, surely I’m using a USB cable. actually I meant eSATA port is capable to reseive USB cables too. so my laptop which has 3 USB ports + 1 eSATA, can be assumed as a laptop with 4 USB ports.
I think eSATA port interface is capable to switch its behavior, depending on the sort of cable plugged to it.
If my explanations are ambiguous, I’ll send you a picture of my external USB H.D.D plugged into eSATA port. but how? please send me your email address.
thanks, bye
November 16th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
What kind of laptop is it?
November 16th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
HP Pavilion DV7-1070ee
November 17th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I looked at the Laptop’s product’s page, and it says that you have 4 USB ports, and 1 eSATA.
If you want to send me a closeup of the ports, you can send it to mike AT port16 DOT com. I don’t see how the USB cable would plug into the esata connector and work.
Thanks.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:36 am
WHAT IS E-SATA PORT
November 19th, 2008 at 7:16 am
The port that you plug your eSATA connector into.
November 21st, 2008 at 7:13 am
” Zenith ” new admirale plus laptops comes with e-sata port.
And there is no need to explain esata which has many advatages over ordinary usb port
November 21st, 2008 at 9:13 am
I didn’t even know Zenith made laptops. Heck, I didn’t think they were in business anymore at all.
Of course there’s a need to explain eSATA. I get hundreds of people every week who come here searching for “What is eSATA.” I do agree, it’s much faster. Of course, USB is still much more popular.
Thanks for stopping by Vicky!
November 28th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Hello All
I have the same problem with Siavash. My Laptop HP Pavillion DV4-1022TX with 2 USB and 1 e-SATA port. The Laptop cannot detect 3G Modem Huawei E172 USB stick, if i plug into USB port, but successfully detected and running if i plug into e-SATA port.
I just knew that if e-SATA port compatible with USB.
But could someone tell me, is it OK to do that ( plug 3G modem USB into e-SATA port), coz i’m afraid it will damage my 3g modem someday..
Thanks
November 28th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Hi,
There is no problem connecting your G3 modem to eSATA port, and It won’t damage your modem. because this port in HP laptops is customized to receive both USB connections and also eSATA. so you can use it safely.
Good luck, bye
November 28th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Like Siavash said, it’s not a matter of USB and eSATA being compatible, or even that you’re plugging in a USB device to a eSATA port, it’s the HP has 1 port which is made in such a way that it accepts both plugs, and they have their own set of connectors.
I had never heard of it until Siavash sent me some pictures. (Thanks again Siavash!)
November 30th, 2008 at 5:14 am
I believe so.
But another thing, the technician where i purchased 3G modem said that USB port in HP laptop for some series ussualy have problem with USB devices according to his experience. It seems that it doesn have much power to run the USB devices like modem, external HD, etc. Thats why it wont work with my modem.
November 30th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Although I’m not going to argue with him on that, I don’t use HP laptops, since you’re plugging the device into a USB port, and not a eSATA port, then you would still run into the same problem.
I’ve personally seen where a device is only recognized on one USB port, and not any of the others. Sometimes it’s because the device was installed incorrectly in the other port, sometimes it’s just because it’s a little finicky.
Long story short, if it’s working in that port, then you should be fine.
November 30th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Yup. My USB port still can be used for mouse device.
Thanks a lot for sharing..
December 10th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
I have a tower with SATA hard drives. Can I buy a laptop with eSATA, add connectors or cases, and simply add them to the laptop?
December 10th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
@Robertpri
Yup. To be honest, you don’t even need a laptop with eSATA, if you plug the SATA hard disks into a USB external carrier. The one thing I want to make sure we’re clear, I have 2 points:
1. The hard drives from your tower would be external to the laptop, unless by some small chance the drives are 2.5″ drives, or your laptop takes standard 3.5″ drives.
2. You probably wouldn’t be able to boot your laptop off of the hard drives from your tower.
I have a few computers that I upgraded the hard drives in, and had a few 80G SATA drives laying around. This is exactly what I did.
Thanks for dropping by!
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:28 am
Re: some USB devices don’t work in all ports. It is known that some computers have USB ports that provide significantly less than the correct 500mA of +5VDC. This deficiency is known to prevent larger-capacity 2.5″ USB drives from working unless a special cable is used to draw power from *two* USB ports simultaneously.
One possible reason that dio’s USB modem works in his combo port and not in the USB port may be that E-SATA requires more current to be available.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:19 am
That’s a good point Neal!, although I don’t see why a modem would need so much current.
Thanks for dropping by!
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Having posted before looking up the ESATA specs, it turns out I am slightly wrong. The ESATA data interface does not draw any power; it is data only. So the only answer left is that the companion USB port just happens to have been built to supply the full 500mA, while the others probably supply closer to 360mA.
Modem needing power. Hmmm. Ah, the Huawei modem is a 3G RF device. I can see it needing almost all of USB’s 500mA current. Y’all’ll recall that 500mA of 5VDC is 2.5W. If the modem is transmitting at 0.5W, it’s entirely possible that it needs all 2.5W to operate.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Jeez, whack me in the head with Ohm’s law!
Thanks Neal, I wasn’t too sure about the power available on the port.
January 4th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
I have a Sony Digital Movie Camera, Which uses a 4 pen 1394 Firewire cable. My new laptop has the eSATA/USB port. Is this the best way to make this connection?
January 4th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Sorry Bill, 1394 isn’t compatible with eSATA or USB. You shouldn’t even be able to plug it in there.
Thanks for dropping by!
January 7th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Can an eSATA port be used to transfer video from a DV camera to a computer at all, or is firewire the only option?
January 7th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Hi Emily!
I’ve never seen any DV cameras that connect to a computer via eSATA. Sorry.
January 9th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
To connect a 1394 cable you need to buy a express card with the 1394 port on it. then you can download movies off your cam.
January 10th, 2009 at 6:04 am
Bill is correct, and of course, 1394 is firewire. Pinnacle also had a USB capture device that allowed you to connect S-Video, Composite, and Firewire, which is also called “DV sometimes”. Here’s a link to the one I have Pinnacle Studio Moviebox Ultimate V12
The Pinnacle Studio software that comes with it is pretty sharp. I liked this device because it allows me to capture from my old analog camcorder as well as a newer DV camera. Of course if you have a laptop, then this isn’t a bad way to get firewire (IEEE 1394) support on your system.
January 17th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I have the same problem of eSATA port as HP DV4 has same problem of two USB ports I need at least three for my External Hard Drive,Mouse and Printer. I may have to buy a Hub for USB but they are pain in the neck, My USB plug does nit enter the eSATA port and I did not force it lest it may damage the port. I have a Maxtor one touch 200GB hard drive.
Thanks anyway
January 17th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Hi Ali!
Yes, a USB hub is the way to go. If you need more ports than you have, that’s your best bet. I don’t know if you always travel with your printer or not, but one thing you can do is to buy a LCD with a USB hub in it, or maybe a docking station. The hub is the cheapest way though.
No, eSATA and USB are not comaptible. There are some laptops that have some strange port that has both connectors into one, but that is not the norm. Unless the port is labeled eSATA / USB, then it’s probably not going to work.
Good move not forcing it. If you have to force something, then you’re doing it wrong.
Thanks for dropping by!
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:36 am
Bill H Blankenship:
“I have a Sony Digital Movie Camera, Which uses a 4 pen 1394 Firewire cable. My new laptop has the eSATA/USB port. Is this the best way to make this connection?”
You could buy an adapter that is usb on one end and 4 pin ilink on the other end. That’s what I had to do to DL my videos to laptop.
Aaron
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Aaron, Where did you buy a 4 pin to USB. I have Best Buy, Frys and Radio Shack.
Thanks Bill
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Mike, In “Reason 3″. of “Why would I want to use eSATA?”, where could I buy the “$3 bracket”. Does it have an specific name? Do you have a photo? Alstan
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Here’s one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812226006
You have to love new egg.
Thanks for Stopping by Stan!
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:30 am
Thanks a million Mike.
Stan
March 7th, 2009 at 8:52 am
So i have the just ordered the Studio 15 with the eSata/USB connector as talked about above, it is supposed to take both, but to clairify some one i think said it does not provide as much power… will i be able to use a flash drive or some thing of that such ?
Incase i don’t find this web page again because i am on a school computer, if you could E-mail me at
Blake.Kawalec@Gmail.com
and lable the subject ESATA/USB connector that would be great.
Thanks, Blake
March 7th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Hey Blake!
I didn’t see a studio 15, but the Pinnacle USB capture device I was talking about above is connected via USB.
The power discussion was really about the specs of the interfaces.
Basically, if you buy a flash drive or a external hard drive, and you have that interface on your computer, then it should work.
If you’re trying to capture video to a flash drive, you can try it, but I don’t think it will be fast enough to keep up with the capture. That being said, you can always capture it to your hard drive, and then copy it to the flash device later.
Sorry if I didn’t understand what your asking, if I’m not covering what your asking, try rephrasing the question.
Thanks.
March 7th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
I guess i am asking is how much power does it supply, as much as a regular USB port. Because i rember reading it does not supply as much power and will not be able to power certain devices.
March 8th, 2009 at 7:42 am
If you have one of the laptops with the combination port, like we were discussing above, then it would appear that it was wired correctly and has the ability to supply enough power.
In the comments above Neal Murphy said that eSATA does not draw any power from the interface, and that USB is supposed to supply 500mA of 5 Volts DC Power.
Neal said that he has heard of some manufacturers who skimp on their USB interfaces, and they aren’t able to supply quite the same amount of juice. This would cause a problem if you had a device that needed the entire 500 mA of power. If your drive doesn’t need as much power as your interface supplies, then your good to go.
Of course, most of the external drives I’ve seen all use their own power supplys, and we were specifically talking about a 3G Modem.
March 8th, 2009 at 7:46 am
I just received a link from Blake K, and I see where the confusion is. He was talking about the Dell Studio 15 laptop, and I thought he was talking about the Pinnacle Studio 15 (which I couldn’t find), and assumed it was a upgraded model from the Pinnacle Studio 12 I mentioned above.
Here’s a URL:
http://i.dell.com/images/global/learnmore/studio15_grey_blacktrim.jpg
We haven’t seen the Dell Studio’s connector, and unless you’ve seen something to the contrary, there’s no reason to think it won’t power USB devices correctly. the eSATA connector is data only, and having it combined with a USB port doesn’t effect the amount of power that the USB port can supply.
Hope that helps.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Can i load an operating system from e-SATA?
I’m thinking of using two operating system. Can i load vista on external drive using e-SATA port?
I know it’s not possble from usb port. So was wondering!!!!!!!
March 11th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Yes, you should be able to. As far as the computer is concerned, it’s just another SATA drive.
March 25th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
is the an adapter i can go from eSATA to firewire because the only way i can hook my camcorder to my laptop is firewire
March 25th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Hey Rick,
I’ve never seen one. In the comments above we talk about USB to Firewire. I don’t know what your trying to do though, if you have firewire on your laptop, and a camcorder that’s firewire, why do you need eSATA?
March 25th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
my camcorder will only hookup to firewire my laptop didnt come with firewire so i need to figure out add a firewire to my laptop
March 25th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
In that case you don’t need eSATA at all. Check out the device I mentioned in the January 10th, 2009 comment above. I use it with lots of success with the DV inputs, and it also has the 1394 connector.
I’ve seen some adapter cables, but the ones I’ve found are more expensive and don’t come with any video editing software.
March 27th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
I just got a new laptop that has esata. I have an external hard drive that I’ve been using with a USB adapter. However, because I am importing a lot of video that USB slows me down. If I use the esata how then do I power the drive?
March 27th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Hey Greg!
Any eSATA drive that you would buy would have it’s own power source. So you would have another power plug.
Let me know how it works out, and thanks for dropping by!
April 17th, 2009 at 12:23 am
My externel drive is WD Home Edition and it have eSata port, I dont know how to use it with my destop (maniboard dont have any eSata port), even dont have any cable for. Anyone can help me for an advice? Thanks
April 17th, 2009 at 9:48 am
You would have to buy a eSATA add on card in order to use the eSATA interface. If it has USB 2.0, then I probably wouldn’t sweat it unless you’re having performance issues.
May 4th, 2009 at 7:07 am
hi mike, i would like to ask about Esata cable, i bought one with 2 e-sata ends, but it seems when i connect my external hdd to my computer via e-sata cable, it always cuts off and sometimes just hangs. yet if i connect my computer and hdd via usb, it works fine…why is that? or is my cable the wrong one?
May 4th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Hi Donald!
Does the hard drive cut off immediately, or does it work fine for a little while and then hang? Also, is the drive hanging, or is it the computer that hangs?
Finally, are you plugging the eSATA drive in when the computer is already running?
Not all eSATA drives / hardware combinations are able to be plugged in / unplugged while the system is running. If you are trying to do this, you should try to turn the computer off, plug the drive in and power the drive up, then power up the PC.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:15 am
Hi scott, alright i guess i’ll give u a more detailed description for you to help me analyze =). i bought a new 1tb hdd with esata and usb ports, then when i connect with usb, it’s totally fine, just slow. I bought a new e-sata to e-sata cable, and connect the hard drive with my hp dv5 computer. my computer is always on, as i have to run and organize files to transfer. then i power on the hdd first, then after 10 seconds i connect both ends of the esata to the hdd and my comp. the intel matrix storage did popup saying if the storage is multiple whatever it’s set to 0..(???) then after that it says the storage is running healthy and connected. yet when i go to “my computer”, only C and D (recovery) is seen, the new drive cannot be detected.
sometimes if it happens randomly to be able to connect and displayed in my computer, while transferring files, about 1 min or so the drive will be stuck, halting the file transferring. this also leads to a temporary hang towards my computer as i have to force cancel and unplug the cables for the computer to regain control. another thing to take note is that i already installed the HP AHCI software for this computer. any suggestions? =P
May 5th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Thanks Donald!
I would try:
- shutting the machine down before I plug it in.
- Using a friends eSATA drive and cable to see if the problem continues Or loan this drive to a friend with eSATA and see if they have the same problem
- a different eSATA cable
If you don’t have access to a friends Drive, then another eSATA scable is pretty inexpensive.
To me, it would sound like faulty hardware, and I would contact the manufacturer or flat out return it if:
- you can’t get that drive working, with the new cable
- or if you are able to loan the drive to a friend and they have the same issue
- or if you have no issues with another device.
Good luck!
May 5th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
thanks for the suggestions! really appreciate it. just confirming, you said faulty hardware, defining that as in my computer or the external HDD? coz it seems impossible to return my computer for an exchange..by the way does my friend’s computer also need to install AHCI in order for the e-sata cable to work on his?
May 5th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I’m thinking it’s an issue with the drive, not with your computer.
As for the AHCI, it looks like that’s for supporting some eSATA features, such as hot swapping. If it’s not on or already installed, then your friend will more than likely have to install it.
May 5th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
thanks i’ll give it a try, might have to ask you for further aid if the problem still exists…
May 6th, 2009 at 6:30 am
That’s fine by me, I’ll help out if I can.
Good Luck!
May 9th, 2009 at 4:06 am
Hey it seems it’s my computer’s problem, my friend’s computer was able to detect it..oh well guess i have to ask hp for help with this issue…just another question regarding this, if i degrade my vista -> xp, will the esata and other drivers still work? i know supposedly vista is DirectX 10 and xp is 9, but will they still work as they are now?
May 9th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
That’s too bad Donald, sorry to hear that.
To be honest, I’ve never done a downgrade, but as far as I know, I think you’ll have to check if there’s a XP driver for each piece of hardware.
May 9th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
but if that’s the case, do you recommend a partition for xp/vista in 1 drive?
May 10th, 2009 at 8:31 am
It would really depend on why you’re downgrading. Personally, I live Vista, and don’t have any issues with it. If you hate Vista, then I would back up data and wipe the machine.
If you simply want to work with an application that doesn’t work in Vista, then I would use a virtual machine.
If you really want to run Vista and XP side by side in a dual boot configuration, that works. If it’s a desktop, you can always add a second hard drive for the other OS, but if you don’t want to install another hard drive, then 2 partitions (one for each OS) will work fine.
May 10th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I get it, thanks for the ideas and suggestions Mike! guess i heard too much rumours about vista being terrible and xp being stable and reliable. well i might as well give it a try.
May 10th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
No problem, glad I could help.
As for Vista, absolutely make your own decision.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Hey Mike, Donald here again..haha sorry to trouble you but i am having a really hard time not only dealing with e-sata, but also the vista OS. Do you have any links that might help in search of those scarce software drivers for HP-dv5-1157ca? apart from that i did a lot of homework and digging about using nlite and ways to back the files up, but do you know if other dv5 models share the same drivers as the one i am having? i saw hp releasing over 100s of different dv5 computers.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:19 am
Hey Donald!
Have you tried the HP Website? I just went there, chose “Support and Drivers”, entered HP-dv5-1157ca, chose Vista for the OS, and it gave me a whole page of drivers.
Also, you could try running Windows Update and it may find drivers there too.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Ooops my badd..i meant to ask for a DOWNGRADE to xp, i forgot to input this major issue in the paragraph above. now u should be experiencing what problems i’m having. I’m trying to downgrade my vista - xp and tryin to find the drivers required for each parts of the hardware.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Well that’s a different story.
If HP doesn’t provide them, and you can’t find drivers on the individual hardware component’s manufacturer’s web sites, then you’re probably SOL (Severely out of luck).
May 22nd, 2009 at 1:17 am
hhahaha okay, if even a professional like you said i’m out of luck, guess i’ll just have to stick with vista then..=(, just wondering if other dv5 computers that share the same hardware, will they provide the compatible xp drivers, assuming that there are some?
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:17 am
From what I’ve seen on HP’s site, they aren’t providing XP drivers.
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:23 am
Alright then..thanks Mike, guess i’m totally/absolutely SOL….=(
June 30th, 2009 at 7:17 am
How do I connect from ESATA to a digital TV. esata or hdmi - which one is better?
My TV has only hdmi.
July 1st, 2009 at 7:54 am
Sorry George, ESATA is a hard drive interface technology, and it sound like you’re looking for a video / audio interface.
July 26th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Hi Mike,
I went through many comments on this site and I was amazed at your patience in replying and helping people with your expertise in eSATA and other ports. I sincerely appreciate your efforts and congratulate you on having been able to solve many issues in eSATA ports and related stuff. Thank you on behalf all of us.
I am doing a survey to buy an external hard drive. I am inclined to buy a Seagate product primarily because I am looking for longevity and good performance. From what people tell me, Seagate products are trustworthy. With that assumption, I am comparing the two following drives - Seagate Freeagent Desk 1TB and Seagate Freeagent xtreme 1TB. According to my understanding the primary difference between xtreme and Desk is the availability of two additional high speed ports - eSATA and firewire 400 in xtreme. My question pertains to the utility of these additional interface.
1. Does most present day computers and the once sold in the future come with an external eSATA port which makes it straightforward to plug in the xtreme through this port and utilize the advantage of faster transfers?
2. Do most laptops also come with an eSATA external port?
3. Can I load an operating system on my external hard drive, connect it via a eSATA port and boot into this OS?
4. Are cables used to connect the xtreme to the external eSATA port easily available (I guess the xtreme does not come with one) and inexpensive?
I would appreciate if you could provide quick answers to my questions, since I am leaving the US for a long trip soon and I would like to place an order as soon as possible. You can also mail your reply to arunpr [at] umich.edu .
Once again thanks on behalf of me and everyone else who have received help from you.
Regards,
Arun
July 26th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Hi Arun!
I’m just glad to see people finding this article useful. I started it because I was wondering what the heck eSata was in the first place.
1. I haven’t seen any desktops with eSATA ports yet, but they are really easy to add with a expansion slot filler. Most desktops have spare SATA ports on the motherboard, and it’s just a cable from it to the expansion slot filler.
2. I’ve seen many laptops with the port, but not all laptops are coming with them. You’ll want to check before you buy a laptop.
Either with Laptops or Desktops, SATA and eSATA are the current technology, and they probably will be around as long as ATA was.
3. Yes, if your operating system supports the SATA Controller, and if your computer allows booting from it. As far as the operating system is concerned, the eSATA drive is plugged directly into the hard drive controller, which is probably the one controlling your internal hard drive.
Just like RAID or SCSI controllers of the past, you may have to provide the driver during install, or through some other method, to get your computer to boot using an older OS. For newer OSs, it should be a simple matter of choosing which boot device to use.
4. Believe it or not, eSATA is the same connecter as SATA, so the cables are pretty cheap. Right now NewEgg has a 1 meter cable for $8, and a 6 foot cable for $10. (Just search on newegg.com for esata cable).
While you’re on NewEgg, you may want to take a look at the external enclosures for hard drives, and the hard drives themselves. If you know a bit about what your doing, you could probly assemble a external drive for much less that a retail offering.
Also, I happen to agree with your choice of a Seagate Drive, although others may argue the point, I’ve always had better luck with them.
Good luck!
Also, I’m part of a tech podcast over at http://twoguystech.com , and we’re always looking for questions and feedback. You should check us out.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Hi Mike,
Your reply was very useful. I thought about the idea of buying an internal hard drive and an external enclosure. And now I strongly opine that this is better idea than buying an external hard drive. Firstly, I have the option of ripping the enclosure and using the same hard disk as an internal hard drive (my desktop cabinet usually remains open!!!) and this gives me in some remote desktop. I can use the hard drive with the external casing to boot from which ever comp I am using and then come back and use the same hard drive as an internal hard disk. By being able to boot from the esata port, lets me use my os with my settings and preferences. Secondly, all my data is on one hard drive and i dont need to keep moving data from an internal hard drive to the external for portability. Since, I will be buying a computer in the future (I usually buy and assemble the parts), I can use this hard disk there.
I would like to know what are the disadvantages of this approach as against to buying a external hard drive like seagate freeagent xtreme? Please let me know.
With your experience, what are the trustable brands for external enclosures and what should I be looking for during my selection of an external enclosure?
I am intending to buy a seagate barracuda 1tb st3100033as with a 5 year warranty. The warranty is not the manufacturer’s warranty. Do you strongly prefer to buy a product with manufacturer’s warranty? Please write to me your opinion.
Thanks,
Regards,
Arun
July 28th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Minor correction on my earlier reply, the cable for eSATA is not the same as SATA, but the prices I quoted above still apply. Sorry about that.
I’m glad the comment helped Arun!
One disadvantage of booting the same drive on different computers is that unless you’re hardware is exactly the same, you’ll have issues with boot up. Another is that if you’re using a retail copy of Windows, you’re going to have activation issues, since you’re essentially changing all of the hardware each time you boot. I would also be willing to bet that you would have to change your boot up config each time you moved it from internal to external on the same computer, if you wanted to boot from it.
Now, if you’re planning on using the drive solely for backing up files, the disadvantage of building your own external drive is that you’ll have to figure out your own backup solution. This isn’t much of a concern for me, I just use NTBackup or Syncback, or any of a dozen other applications. The retail drives usually come with something.
As for enclosures, I’ve had a few and haven’t had any problems. I mostly buy Rosewill, but feel free to look at the user reviews yourself. The main things that you want to look for is the interface (eSATA if that’s what you’re using, but eSATA + USB wouldn’t hurt either) and that the hard drive is the correct physical size, IE 3.5″ vs 2.5″.
Although I’ll have to admit that when it comes to warranty service, it’s usually easier dealing with the store or vendor you bought something through. Still, as a general rule I don’t usually buy extended warranties, but that’s my personal opinion. The drive should come with a manufacturer’s warranty, although it’s probably shorter than 5 years.
Good luck!
July 28th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Hi Mike,
I am thankful to you particularly for your quick replies. It is great to get your inputs.
I understand the trouble of booting the same OS through different computers hosting different hardware. Thanks for pointing that out since it had slipped my mind. I plan to use ubuntu or some other linux flavour almost exclusively and the problems maybe not that much. In fact, with ubuntu or linux, I may just not be able to use sound or modem etc on the other computers I connect, but I should be able to use the basic hardware without too much trouble where ever I connect.
I do not possess a laptop or desktop and use the computers at my university (I am a grad student at UMICH). Therefore, for the most part, my hard disk will be used to store my data - important, unimportant, personal etc etc. I guess I will not be able to boot through this hard disk on most university computers, precisely for the reason that I will not to change the boot configuration to do so and most students would not have access to do it on university computers.
Given this, you may wonder why I am not going for a seagate freeagent xtreme. In a few years, I am planning to buy the components and assemble a desktop. Then, the investment of having bought an internal hard disk will be useful. I can use the same hard disk that I would have been using over the last few years with all the data. And henceforth, the task of sharing data becomes easy in the sense that I can take out my own hard disk enclose it in the case and carry it over to the place I wish to share the data. This makes it really simple and seemless. This is really what I am looking for in the long run.
The ability to boot my hard disk from other computers is really an additinal advantage. If I do get to use computers at certain locations for extended periods of time (like i go for an intership for a few months to a firm or visit a university for a few months), I can try and get to boot from my hard disk and confugure my os to the particular hardware configurations of the host computer and change the boot sequence on that computer. If the hardware supprts, we will never be restricted by software - that is a philosophy I believe in.
Is there any other key drawbacks of buying an internal drive and an external enclosure as compared to a seagate freeagent xtreme.
Looking for your comments and thanks once again.
Regards,
Arun
July 28th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Hello Mike,
I have read this entire discourse from November 2007 to the last one and must impose on you to please advise me concerning a question which was not exactly answered in all the previous questions: I have an external HD used for backup with both USB and eSATA ports. My Desktop has USB and Firewire connections. Only cords which I presently own are USB to USB. Question: Is there any advantage in speed of transfer in purchasing and using a cord with a eSATA connection on one end for the external HD and a Firewire connection on the other end for the Desktop? If so, does such a cord exist. I thank you in advance for taking the time to provide the answer to this question.
July 28th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Hi Mike,
I had a quick question. Is there a difference between SATA and SATA I/II ports? I am intending to buy http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182180 which claims to support SATA I/II to enclose a ST31000333AS seagate internal 3.5 hard drive which has a SATA (SATA-300) port. I note that there are separate external enlosures for SATA ports and SATA I/II ports. What is the difference if any? As I understand the difference is only in the speed of transfer. SATA II enables transfer at 300 Mbitpersecond wehere as SATA I enables 150MBitPerSecond. Does SATA or SATA-300 mean same as SATA-II? Please advice.
Regards,
Arun
July 28th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Hi Mike,
I have been reading reviews about external enclosures ad I note that most customers complain that the enclosures get quite hot. Following are my questions.
1. What has been your experience been about this?
2. Would you consider this as a disadvantage compared to buying a manufactured external hard drive such as seagate freeagent xtreme? If yes, how serious is this disadvantage?
3. Would you always recommend to go for a external enclosure with a fan?
4. I was seriously considering buying the Rosewill RX35-AT-SC BLK external encluse available at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182179 . However, after reading the customer reviews about how hot it gets, I have second thoughts not only about buying this product but the whole idea of external enclosures. Please advise.
Regards,
Arun
July 29th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Arun,
Since you don’t really have control over what computers you’re using, I would try and get something with USB and eSATA, this way you’re covered no matter what you’re using. To be honest though, depending on how much data you have, it may be easier and more convenient just to get a big flash drive. With a flash drive, you can stick it in your pocket, and you won’t need external power.
As for the heat question, I haven’t had any issues with it myself. The case does get warm, but nothing I’ve noticed. I generally get a aluminum case and place it on top of the computer or my desk so that it can get good air flow. A enclosure with a fan wouldn’t hurt though.
I’ve only had 2 retail enclosures, and thinking about it now, I’m willing to bet they have fans built into them. If heat is a concern, then I would just get an enclosure with a fan. To be honest, I don’t know if it will be an issue for you, since you won’t really be leaving it on all the time.
July 29th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Hi Arun,
I forgot to answer the SATA revision question.
It’s my understanding that SATA I/II are unofficial standards, but are all compatible. You can read this article to get a little more information on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA
July 29th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Hi Jerry!
There’s no firewire to eSATA connector that I saw, although I did see some hubs that support it. If you’re just backing up to the drive, I would think USB would be fast enough.
eSATA is faster than Firewire, but even if you had a cord or converter that went eSATA to Firewire, you would still be limited to the speed of the firewire. The only way to get eSATA speeds on your desktop would be to buy a eSATA add on card. However, like I said, I would think that USB would be plenty fast for backing up. If you were accessing files on the external drive heavily then it may be advantageous to get an add on card.
July 29th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Hi Mike,
I thank you for your practical advice.
Jerry
August 18th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I plug my external HD with an esata wire to the esata receptor at the back of my desktop. The receptor is connected to one of the six esata ports. I have 3 internal hard drives and two CD-ROM drives occupying the other 5 ports. When I click MY COMPUTER all internal drives and CD-ROM drives were showing but the external HD was nowhere to be found even though it is power up. Do I need to activate the external esata port? If so how?
August 18th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Maybe, but that depends on the controller. I have a Rosewill that has a whole slew of ports on it, but you can only have a fixed number of them active at a time. This way you could you use it for all external, or all internal, but not all of both.
August 18th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Thank you.
How do I find out how many active esata port is supported on my PC without unplugging one of the other HD or CD-ROM?
August 18th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Another question: My primary hard disk (C-drive) became defective and I had to replace it and reinstall Windows Vista Home Premium. I used MS restore to restore all my saved files including program files to a newly installed D hard disk. The program files were originally on the C-drive. How do I reactivate the installed and restored programs such as MS Office?
August 18th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Man Phillip! Give me something easy to answer.
As for the eSATA, if the ports are built into the motherboard, check the BIOS. You may just need to activate a port or two. Otherwise, check with the motherboard manufacturer / vendor, and they should have a manual.
The restore is pretty tricky, I haven’t actually used it. I don’t think you’ll be able to just copy them over and make them work, if anything you may have to restore them to your c: drive, even then, I don’t know if they will work. It may just be easier to re-install them on c:. If you have to have them on d:, then you could also try re-installing them, and choosing a custom install location of D:.
August 19th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Here is an eSATA and power bracket for desktops for $12.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994055
What do you think of it?
August 19th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Thank you Jim & Mike,
Somehow after giggling the connectors to my external hard drive it shows up on MY COMPUTER. Apparently the connectors were loose. I notice esata connectors do not snap into place tightly.
August 19th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Jim, looks good to me. It’ll let you put one port outside of the machine, so long as your motherboard has one open.
Phillip, yup, loose connectors can get you every time. I haven’t had any issues with eSATA in particular, but it could just be a matter of time.
August 27th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Hi,
I m having problem with my eSATA port on the motherboard.
some how i used the eSATA port from my motherboard to my extrnal HD and my PC wont recognize the HD. can some one tell me why? and i try to turn that port from my bio but there is no such as SATA port 5.
thanks
August 27th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Jenny,
The same thing happened to me. The eSATA port was nowhere to be found at the BIOS. Did you plug your external HD directly into the motherboard’s eSATA port with eSATA wire or do you have a bracket at the back of your PC. I have a bracket in mine.
Did you turn on your external HD before power up the PC?
I solved my puzzle by giggling the eSATA receptors on both ends of the HD and the bracket a few times and the external HD shows up.
August 31st, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Hi Mike, very interesting discussion, but quite confusing at times. I have an external SATA drive connected via USB. If I buy a new PC with an eSATA port what type of cable do I need to connect it? I understand that I would still need an external power supply, so that’s not an issue. Could I still use the same type of cable that you would use to connect an internal SATA drive to a connector on the motherboard?
Cheers,
Andy.
August 31st, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Hi Andy!
The easiest way would be to connect it with USB. Otherwise you’ll have to connect it inside the new computer with a SATA connector, or buy a new eSATA enclosure.
Good Luck
September 11th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Read the esata comments with interest.
I have a gigabyte mother board with 4 sata and 2 external esata
It requires a driver be installed during windows install to use sata.
The bios has been updated and set to recognize sata drives.
I can plug a bare sata hard drive into computer by using the sata internal cables.
It requires the power cable to be extended out side computer and plugged into drive.
or I can use a mother board provided sata connector on back of computer which provides both power and 2 esata connectors.
I can plug the back of computer connector to the esata plug on mother board or the sata plug on mother board. Both work.
Either way the bare drive is recognized on power up as an internal sata drive.
I place the bare drive inside a container to prevent shorting drive.
Looking at the Rosewill rx -358-s esata enclosure.
It supports Hot-Swap function but states make sure mother board supports hot-swap.
I would like to be able to connect the external sata hard drive on by just turning it on (or off) with all cables connected. This is how my external USB hard drive basically works now.
Would I be correct in assuming the Hot-Swap function is the ability to turn esata hard drive on (or off) and the running computer automatically adjust to a connect or disconnect?
How would I determine if bios or motherboard supports HOT SWAP.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:02 am
You are correct, the hot swap is the ability to turn the drives on or off without turning the computer on or off. I’m not exactly sure why the motherboard would have to support it if the drive controller does support it.
To determine if your motherboard supports hot swap, you could look in the manual or contact the manufacturer. That’s the safest bet.
December 16th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Hi Mike,
Man!!! u r awesome in replying to all kinds of questons regarding esata.
Here comes mine.
I recently bought Lenovo Y450 which has an eSATA port.
I have a Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500 GB Hard Drive.
I bought a SATA to eSATA connectivity cable and tried to connect the HD to my laptop through the eSATA port using this cable. My laptop is not recognizing the HD. Does it require any kind of POWER cable to make it work? if so, where shld i connect that power cable? also please let me know about the BIOS changes and how it should be done (procedure).
Thanks in advance.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Thanks Sandeep, I try to help out where I can.
It does require a power cable, your best bet would be to get a eSATA enclosure, which would provide you with power and the data cable. Then you would put your hard drive in there, and plug the enclosure into your laptop.
After doing that, you shouldn’t have to make any BIOS changes, just plug the enclosure in and go. Here’s a list of enclosures
You’ll probably want a enclosure for a 3.5″ drive, if that’s the size of your hard disk, and you can choose either USB or eSATA.
Good luck!
December 17th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Thank you very much Mike for ur suggestion.
Sorry to bother u again.
Currently my new laptop is loaded with Win 7 (64Bit)
The HD already had Win2003 in it…after connecting it can I switch between these 2 OS as we do with the computers with two different operating systems in it(like the screen appears to select an operating system among two)?
Thanks again.
January 10th, 2010 at 9:35 am
i want plug my USB mouse/USB Modem/USB Flash Disk to eSATA port…do i need connector? and what is connector name? because of eSATA port aren’t same with USB port..thanks
January 10th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Doni,
Sorry, you can’t do that. eSATA is only for drives and drive type devices.
January 15th, 2010 at 2:35 am
Im using Toshiba L500 series laptop..This lap have 2 USB port & 1 eSATA port,but i think these 2USB ports are not enough for my usage,so im trying to get use from the eSATA port also..so plz guide me how can i use this port (whether can i use this eSATA port 2 use my 3G externalmodem )
January 15th, 2010 at 5:31 am
Sorry Patrick, but I haven’t seen any eSATA devices that aren’t hard drives. If you’re short USB ports, maybe a small USB hub would be a good solution for you.
January 15th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Mike
Thanx……..but plz giv me a brief answer..bcoz i couldnt understand your answer..
January 16th, 2010 at 7:21 am
If you don’t have enough USB ports on the laptop, get a USB hub. A USB hub has several USB ports.
January 28th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Hi Mike,
I just wanted to tell you I also have a HP Laptop with a combo eSATA USB2 port It’s on my dv6t series Pavilion, I just purchased a external HP 1TB drive too but didn’t know what the eSATA was for…Oh well, live and learn….
I do thank you for the info,
Art,
January 29th, 2010 at 5:32 am
No problem Art. When I first heard about eSATA, I had no idea what it was either, which is one of the reasons I did the research for this article.
January 29th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Thanks for all the time you have dedicated to answering questions! Mine may be a little eccentric. I am thinking about putting together a home server. At first I was just going to build it myself, then, I saw HP has one with windows home server installed. My problem is it only comes with three expansion bays, and the only other way I can add more hard drives is thru the esata port. Is it possible to use the esata port to connect to say, a box that has 3 or 4 more hard drive to kinda daisy chain them, or am I limited to just one drive per esata port. There are no pci interfaces to add an expansion card on these machines, and i would like to have around 12tb. (I have alot of media) Thanks!
January 29th, 2010 at 8:09 am
Hi Tim!
eSata is 1 drive per connector. Although you could buy a RAID enclosure that holds several drives, and you connect to it using only 1 eSATA port.
Here’s one example on NewEgg, although I’m not specifically recommending or not recommending this one/
January 29th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Thanks Mike!!! That helps alot.!!!!!!
February 8th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Hi Mike,
I have just received a replacement PC from DELL (Studio XPS 43ST) in place of my DELL (XPS 700). Problem is the new PC came with Vista and I was using XP PRO. I have an ESata port on the Vista machine and I think I may be able to take my XP hard drive, buy an enclosure and be able to copy my info from the old Drive.
Any comment about if this will work ?
February 8th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Hey Jerry,
That sure should work like a charm, so long as you have a port on both machines that will connect to it.
February 20th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
I just purchased a brand new 21.5″ iMac to do video editing from my high-def camcorder. Since the video file sizes are large it takes some time to download the information to my computer. I recently became aware of the eSata transfer speeds and assumed that my iMac would have this port. It doesn’t! The best it has is Firewire 800. Is there any way that I can create an eSata port on my iMac even though it has a non-serviceable enclosure.
February 20th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
Hi John!
I don’t know a whole lot about macs, so I can’t really answer that. If anyone else knows, feel free to chime in.
Good luck!
March 1st, 2010 at 2:55 am
Hi Mike
I bought a terabyte sata harddrive with external manhattan enclosure. It has both usb2.0 and esata external connections, as well as the power connector.
My pc has usb connectors but no esata connector at the back nor front.
I used the usb connection to connect to the pc, but it does not pick the external drive up at all? what can I do?
March 1st, 2010 at 10:00 am
Hi Amanda!
Take a look in computer management, Disk management, and see if it has assigned it a drive letter.
To get there, right click on my computer, choose manage. In the list, open “Storage” and then click on “Disk management”.
If you see a big disk without a drive letter on it, right click and choose “Change Drive Letter and Paths”, then add.
Make sure you don’t change the drive letter of your c: drive, or any other drives that you already have.
Good Luck.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:51 am
Hi Mike, long time no see. got some problems unrelated to E-Sata, but since this is the most active thread, i might as well post it here. My vista has been doing somewhat bad, maybe too much programs or whatnot, once every 10-15 min it freezes for 2-3 min before able to work again. Ram is sufficient, not like my cores are overloading, yet it just freezes, and the hard drive light aint’ flashing fast (it’s just on standby, but that’s when the comp hangs). So i’ve decided to upgrade to win7 if i were to do a reformat, but that’s where i have a problem for you. Do you know this hardware : Realtek RTL8168C(P)/8111C(P) Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.0)? It said there were no information on it for the compatibility test, and last time when i did an upgrade, my internet was as slow as a 28k, thus i had to reformat back to vista. Any clues from you?
March 8th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Hi Donald!
I would check the manufacturer’s web site, or possible even use a search engine to search for something like “realtek rtl8168c driver windows 7″
Good Luck!
March 11th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Thanks Mike, but which one shd I get? the 8168C or the 8111C? i think i found 2 different driver systems for them.
March 11th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
I would probably bet on the 8168C, but it wouldn’t hurt to download them both just in case.
March 13th, 2010 at 4:00 am
Yea you’re right, the 8168C works, well internet issue fixed..yet i expect you’ve heard from others, that the layout for WMP or MSN sucks…oh well at least it’s overall better than vista!
March 13th, 2010 at 8:01 am
Donald, No, I actually haven’t heard that about windows media player. Then again, I don’t think many use it. As for MSN, I’ve never liked the overly flashy home pages.
Glad you’re all fixed up.