External Hard Drives - Page 5

lostkat · 09-01-2009, 10:16

Received my hdd and caddy this morning and just have a quick question. The caddy came with an eSATA connection. Will this be faster than USB2? I'm assuming that if the system all goes tits up I can still use the drive on USB2 on another computer?

leowyatt · 09-01-2009, 10:25

i would think so, but don't quote me on that

Mark · 09-01-2009, 11:20

Yes, and yes.

eSATA is like plugging the hard drive in to your motherboard. USB2 is way (around 5 times) slower by comparison. If you've got eSATA ports, definitely use them.

You'll also be pleased to know that whichever port you use (USB1/2/3, Firewire400/800, eSATA) makes no difference to how the data is stored, so feel free to swap and change as you choose. Just don't connect more than one port on the caddy at the same time.

lostkat · 09-01-2009, 12:47

Cheers

It's come with an eSATA port too, so I'll fit it and connect it all up. Installed SyncToy the other day.

lostkat · 09-01-2009, 14:46

Right, problem time. When connected via the eSATA cable, the system doesn't acknowledge the hdd. When connected via USB, it recognises and says it's installed, but I can't see it when I go into my computer.

I've had a look on the Samsung webby and there's something about some motherboards not supporting 3GB/s and having to download a patch which converts the hdd to 1.5GB/s. However, I've absolutely no idea whether this applied to my motherboard or not. I am pretty sure my old SATA hdd had a jumper on it which limited it to 1.5GB/s, but I think that was just on it when it arrived.

My motherboard is a MSI MS-7309 (K9N6SGM-V). Can't find anything on whether it supports 1.5GB/s or 3GB/s. I'm completely lost

Please help?!???!?!???

lostkat · 09-01-2009, 14:50

Had a look on the MSI site and it says "Transfer rate is up to 300MB/s" - does that mean that it should support 3MB/s??? I really am confused.

There's also something here on the Samsung site relating to my hdd (the HD502IJ) and it tells you to make a boot CD etc., but as it's not my primary master then I'm not sure whether I should be downloading this patch. Don't want to screw up my bios.

Mark · 09-01-2009, 16:09

The 1.5GB/s or 3GB/s thing they're suggesting sounds like nonsense in this instance - unless Samsung haven't followed the standards. All drives should be capable of operating at the slower speed out of the box. I suppose they might be referring to forcing the drive to operate at 1.5GB/s only, in which case fair enough.

I had a similar problem with my Akasa Integral caddy and Samsung HD501LJ, and it came down to a bad power cable which I had to RMA. Check all the internal cables are firmly in place and the drive actually spins up.

Aboobie · 09-01-2009, 16:21

I had to initialise and format my hard drive before Windows would recognise it.

In Vista:

Click on the Start Button and right click on Computer and select Manage.
Expand the Storage section and select Disk Management.

LeperousDust · 09-01-2009, 16:42

Yeah just sounds like you might not have formatted it to be fair?

Wossi · 09-01-2009, 17:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aboobie

I had to initialise and format my hard drive before Windows would recognise it.

In Vista:

Click on the Start Button and right click on Computer and select Manage.
Expand the Storage section and select Disk Management.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeperousDust

Yeah just sounds like you might not have formatted it to be fair?

Ditto the above, just received my new hdd and enclosures and had to initialize then format it before I use it. Forgot how long it takes to format a 1TB disk

09-01-2009, 10:16	#41
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	Received my hdd and caddy this morning and just have a quick question. The caddy came with an eSATA connection. Will this be faster than USB2? I'm assuming that if the system all goes tits up I can still use the drive on USB2 on another computer? __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

09-01-2009, 10:25	#42
leowyatt Chef extraordinaire Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Infinite Loop Posts: 11,143	i would think so, but don't quote me on that __________________ "Dr Sheldon Cooper FTW!"

09-01-2009, 12:47	#44
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	Cheers It's come with an eSATA port too, so I'll fit it and connect it all up. Installed SyncToy the other day. __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

09-01-2009, 14:46	#45
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	Right, problem time. When connected via the eSATA cable, the system doesn't acknowledge the hdd. When connected via USB, it recognises and says it's installed, but I can't see it when I go into my computer. I've had a look on the Samsung webby and there's something about some motherboards not supporting 3GB/s and having to download a patch which converts the hdd to 1.5GB/s. However, I've absolutely no idea whether this applied to my motherboard or not. I am pretty sure my old SATA hdd had a jumper on it which limited it to 1.5GB/s, but I think that was just on it when it arrived. My motherboard is a MSI MS-7309 (K9N6SGM-V). Can't find anything on whether it supports 1.5GB/s or 3GB/s. I'm completely lost Please help?!???!?!??? __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

09-01-2009, 14:50	#46
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	Had a look on the MSI site and it says "Transfer rate is up to 300MB/s" - does that mean that it should support 3MB/s??? I really am confused. There's also something here on the Samsung site relating to my hdd (the HD502IJ) and it tells you to make a boot CD etc., but as it's not my primary master then I'm not sure whether I should be downloading this patch. Don't want to screw up my bios. __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

09-01-2009, 11:20	#43
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Yes, and yes. eSATA is like plugging the hard drive in to your motherboard. USB2 is way (around 5 times) slower by comparison. If you've got eSATA ports, definitely use them. You'll also be pleased to know that whichever port you use (USB1/2/3, Firewire400/800, eSATA) makes no difference to how the data is stored, so feel free to swap and change as you choose. Just don't connect more than one port on the caddy at the same time.

09-01-2009, 16:09	#47
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	The 1.5GB/s or 3GB/s thing they're suggesting sounds like nonsense in this instance - unless Samsung haven't followed the standards. All drives should be capable of operating at the slower speed out of the box. I suppose they might be referring to forcing the drive to operate at 1.5GB/s only, in which case fair enough. I had a similar problem with my Akasa Integral caddy and Samsung HD501LJ, and it came down to a bad power cable which I had to RMA. Check all the internal cables are firmly in place and the drive actually spins up.

09-01-2009, 16:21	#48
Aboobie Vodka Martini Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Beverley Posts: 749	I had to initialise and format my hard drive before Windows would recognise it. In Vista: Click on the Start Button and right click on Computer and select Manage. Expand the Storage section and select Disk Management. __________________

09-01-2009, 16:42	#49
LeperousDust Bananaman Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Liverpool/Edinburgh Posts: 4,817	Yeah just sounds like you might not have formatted it to be fair? __________________

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode