GA-MA790X-UDP4

[sbi]

Hello,

I have an external 3.5" drive with both eSATA and USB connection. It is a plug-&-play, has an on-off button.

When I turn it on while the computer is on the device is not recognized. If I keep it on and reboot the computer it is recognized without a problem as another SATA drive. It is recognized as P&P if I use the USB interface without a problem.

Any idea why the computer won't recognize it as plug-&-play via eSATA?

Thank you.

[R_N_B]

What OS are you using?

[sbi]

XP Pro.

I found out that I have to run Add Hardware in order to "start" the external P&P drive....I don't think that's the purpose of a P&P.

[R_N_B]

Yeah, I understand what you are saying.  XP is a very old operating system in PC terms. Maybe it is time to look at trying Win7 for a month or two (trail version, is exactly the same as the retail version) and then decide which of the two is best for your needs. You should not have any plug and play issues with Win7 I can assure you.

[sbi]

Win 7 doesn't work either, drive is not recognized when I turn it on. I have Win 7 and Win XP (Dual Boot). I don't get it.

[R_N_B]

Just a thought - do you have plug and plag enabled in your BIOS?

[sbi]

Just a thought - do you have plug and plag enabled in your BIOS?

There is no such option in the BIOS. Besides, how come it works when I connect to USB?

[oggmonster]

Everytime ive used an Esata port regardless of motherboard make, the drive has always had to be switched on and plugged in before you switched the computer on.

I'm at work atm, so I can confirm that for you..will report back in 5mins 

[oggmonster]

Yeah this is the case for me, tried on a Gigabyte, msi and asus board on both XP and Win7. Looks like you have nothing to worry about. Don't think SATA is true PnP like USB

[R_N_B]

I seem to recall that this motherboard has a separate header that is then plugged into a SATA port. And does not have actual native eSATA I  wonder if that has anything to do with why you need to have the HDD switched on when booting into OS.  

As to why it is recognized  when using USB and not otherwise. I guess simply because that is what is meant to happen with a USB port. But of course that is not really what you are asking. I suspect it is because the SATA connection is not plug and play and the USB is.  

Lets wait and see what the Ogg comes up with.

[oggmonster]

Lets wait and see what the Ogg comes up with.

As above, found the answer (i think) but is probably not the answer he wants to hear! The case was exactly the same when plugging a HDD directly into the SATA 1 port (SATA0 being used by Primary HDD)

[sbi]

So are you saying that there is eSATA and then there is (fake) eSATA, and this mobo does not have a real eSATA?! What's the point then of having a "eSATA bracket" and include this in the mobo's spechs? I just don't get it.
Anyone has a reference for that, something that shows somewhere what a 'real' eSATA is?

Thanks for all your response.

[oggmonster]

eSATA is not hot swappable unless the SATA controller is set to either AHCI or RAID mode.

Hence why you were required to restart your PC to have it be detected as the SATA controller was most likely in IDE mode.

From http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1077409.html might be worth a go. Though there may be a chance it won't load your operating system if you change from IDE -> AHCI, though Windows7 should be able to deal with that.

[sbi]

OK, I tried that, set up AHCI in the BIOS, got BSOD when I boot up.

[oggmonster]

Thought as much, its quite a major change and the OS can't cope with it. You would probably have to reinstall windows. It all depends how desperate you want hotpluggable sata!