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**gampamu** · 10-25-2009, 02:24 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

Your motherboard should have shipped with an expansion slot mountable eSATA bracket. Here's the installation instructions found in the motherboard manual.

**C3D76** · 10-25-2009, 02:37 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

Hi,

The eSata port on your computer case (or bracket) usually just has an extension cable going into a regular SATA port on the mobo.
Your mobo should see the esata hdd just fine, and will detect it as being an internal HDD on SATA port #...

With windows 7, I would use the integrated complete PC backup solution.
It allows you to create an image of an entire partition or hdd on several DVD's or any other partition/drive connected to your PC (big enough to fit the image you are backing up.)

So once you get your esata drive, just backup the image in windows.
to Restore: Boot with Win7 DVD -> repair computer -> Restore using complete system image.... 10 minutes later, you're done.

p.s. I think this works with USB HDD's as well, and another way to go is to create a partition on your existing internal Hdd (around 20-25 gigs), and backup to that. Not great if your drive dies though....

**Psycho101** · 10-25-2009, 03:18 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

If your board didn't come with a bracket, they are available at scan.co.uk quite cheaply. As long as you're using an enclosure with its own power source, this one will work:

Akasa ESATA-45-EX Internal SATA to External ESATA PCI backplate adaptor - Scan.co.uk

You'll also need a SATA to ESATA cable:

1.5m Scan Blue SATA2 to eSATA External Cable RB-471 - Scan.co.uk Macrium Reflect FREE Edition - Information and download . Again, it does pretty much the same, but unlike Win 7's built in version, allows you to use compression.

**Bee_Dee_3_Dee** · 10-25-2009, 04:48 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

If you have and old IDE HDD that is at least 200GB, I know from the past four years that it will suffice. But you will need to replace any existing IDE DVD-R/RW drive(s) with a SATA DVD-R/RW drive, so that you don't have both an IDE HDD and an IDE DVD-R/RW drive on a single IDE channel. But a SATA DVD-R/RW drive, only costs $29.

Also Note:

With the enormousness size of Image backups with Vista and Win7, compared the itty bitty WinXP Image backups, you should absolutely take advantage of incremental backup Images. For example, if you make a 15 gig backup, and in two to three weeks an incremental backup, the incremental backup might be as small as 4 to 8 gigs.

And of course, partitioning drive(s) and separating basic applications and games, from your Operating System, is a must.

GL

**Chike** · 10-25-2009, 04:58 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

Originally posted by C3D76 View Post

The eSata port on your computer case (or bracket) usually just has an extension cable going into a regular SATA port on the mobo.
Your mobo should see the esata hdd just fine, and will detect it as being an internal HDD on SATA port #...

Wouldn't be so definitive about it, there are certain different voltage requirments for eSATA.
Serial ATA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Psycho101** · 10-25-2009, 05:21 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

Organising the drive into smaller manageable partitions by content is a good idea. Do note however that if you separate OS and programs, and restore an older OS partition image, from a time when you didn't have those programs installed, the restored OS will lack the programs registry settings and application data etc.

Some applications are pretty autonomous, ie will continue working without any registry settings (created by the apps installer), but others will fall over. The ones that fall over will need to be completely re-installed, unless you have a backup copy of a more recent registry.

What I would do, and it's only a suggestion, everyone has there own way they like to do stuff, is to create two images. The first should be just a plain old Windows and all up to date drivers and Windows Updates. This can be written to DVD and kept somewhere, maybe with your OS, along with the apropriate bootable disc to use to restore the image (if not using Windows built in tool. If you ever want to start from scratch and re-vamp your PC, this means you can do so in ~3-4 minutes rather than the ~30 minutes it takes to actually install Windows afresh

The second image should be of OS and programs (everything you need such as office apps, little things like Acrobat reader, DVD burning software, basically every program you use regularly on your machine) on one partition and data on another. This can be incrementally updated rather than having to create whole new images, but only if using a 3rd party app, not with the Win 7 utility.

You can also create a separate partition for any games you play if you wish, rather than install them with your programs. I recommend personally against backing this partition up in its entirety, as the games you play may vary depending on when you finish them/get bored with them. I do a fair bit of shuffling games around, eg moving to my mechanical drive after I complete them.

To make sure your game saves are preserved, you can add the folders to the incremental backup of your OS and data partitions. Some saves are stored on C:\, and if playing a Games For Windows Live title via an offline profile, the "xlive" folder also needs backing up. I recommend backing up "xlive" any way. C:\Documents and settings\<User Name>\My Documents\ is usually where the saves are located in most games sold in the last few years. For some stupid reason, although Vista/Win 7 has a Saved Games folder at C:\Documents and settings\<User Name>\ virtually no retail video game uses the file (I've never seen one put its saves there!). Older games will sometimes store saves in the actual installation directory.

**Psycho101** · 10-25-2009, 05:31 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

Originally posted by Chike View Post

Wouldn't be so definitive about it, there are certain different voltage requirments for eSATA.
Serial ATA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If using a "Power over SATA enabled device, then sure. However, the SATA brackets discussed here are not power enabled. The bracket in the picture has a molex pass through. The one I posted assumes that the HDD enclosure has its own power supply.

Using a normal Desktop HDD in a caddy, as the OP wants to do, means that there doesn't need to be any thought given to ESATA power specs. Either the drive is being powered by the enclosure it's in, or by a molex to SATA power cord connected to the PC's PSU. All that the OP will really be doing is using extension leads to enable plugging a normal SATA drive in, without having to open the case. The ame result ofc is achieved by opening the case and plugging the drive in, then unplugging and closing the case afterward. At no point does one need to consider power supply requirements.

If you are referring to transmit/receive potential, this has been altered to help cut interferance, as the ESATA cable is more exposed to other devices than the SATA cables internally.

The information you posted would IMO only really apply if using native ESATA ports hard wired to a motherboard. For this application, as said, the OP is merely extending internal SATA ports.

**Jessica** · 10-25-2009, 05:41 PM

**Bee_Dee_3_Dee** · 10-25-2009, 06:18 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

Originally posted by Jessica View Post

The following, sorted in the order of 'Most Reviews', is how I like to find a product sometimes:

Here are hdd enclosure 3 5 sata on NewEgg Dot Com.

Note: Sometimes, and this time, read the reviews in reverse order (first, second, third etc.). That way you get a better understanding of the product's features and the good and bad things.

The first one looks like a winner!!!

And dirt cheap too.

GL

**Psycho101** · 10-25-2009, 06:22 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

Icy Box enclosures are always good quality. Icy Box IB-361STUS-B-BL 3.5" Black EasySwap Aluminium SATA HDD enclosure with USB2.0 & eSata Host - Scan.co.uk is the cheapest one that supports SATA 2 (3Gb/s).

If you're OK with just SATA 1 data rates then Icy Box IB-390StUS-B 3.5" Aluminium Black Case for Sata II HDD with USB & eSATA Host interface - Scan.co.uk will do.

**Jessica** · 10-25-2009, 06:58 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

Thanks guys, I'm checking them out now. All of them look good. I'm in the UK so the ones from Scan are easier for me to get hold of.

Cheers.

**gampamu** · 10-25-2009, 08:44 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

In case it was missed, the eSATA enclosure is not a requirement when using the Gigabyte eSATA bracket. The bracket comes with the cables to connect "internal" type SATA devices externally.

**Conners** · 10-25-2009, 10:58 PM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

Listen to your grampamu he nailel it on the 1st post.

**Chike** · 10-26-2009, 03:25 AM

Re: Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

Originally posted by Psycho101 View Post

If you are referring to transmit/receive potential, this has been altered to help cut interferance, as the ESATA cable is more exposed to other devices than the SATA cables internally.

The information you posted would IMO only really apply if using native ESATA ports hard wired to a motherboard. For this application, as said, the OP is merely extending internal SATA ports.

Yes, only those. After all external SATA is "just extending" internal ports.
If it was a removable SATA drive tray that uses the standard cable, I'd say there is no problem, extending the cable length may present a problem.

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Can I use eSATA drives with my motherboard?

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