Can a pci esata card be both internal and external simultaneously?

[yoda313]

So I have a PNY sata raid 2 ch card (model p-dsa150-pci-rf).

I have a bluray bdrom connected to the pci card internally. I have a western digital 320gb external drive that has usb, firewire, and esata connections. I finally picked up an esata cable the other day but I'm not having any luck getting it to work with the external drive.

Here is a shot of the PNY manual regarding jumper settings for internal and external port settings:



Now I understand it says you can only have two active sata connections at once. What it does not say is whether or not they can be internal and external at the same time.

Is this possible with this card?

I have two internal sata harddrives that are using sata ports in the inside. I also have the original dvd drive that came with the computer and the bdrom drive using sata ports. One option I could do is disconnect my stock lightscribe drive and swap that with my bdrom drive and then I would not need the pci sata card for internal connections. Then I would be able to set the jumpers to all external slots and know it would work for sure.

However I like having two dvd drives active as it increases flexibility and allows on the fly copying should I need it (though I don't do that very often).

Is this possible? Or are there other pci sata cards that allow both esata and internal sata connections simultaneously?

Thanks.

picture"

[lordsmurf]

Test it?

[yoda313]

Well it does work with the internal bdrom drive. So I know it is at least set by default for internal access.

I'd like to have both internal and external setup. I also don't want to mess around with the jumpers too much and have it not work right.

I have checked the western digital drive on both external ports and neither were recognized.

[aedipuss]

no - from the manual -
<<Connect a maximum of 2 SATA hard drives to any of the 4 connectors (Either 2 internal or 2 external) via jumpers to your desktop computer>>

that card is really pretty old for sata use. it's an old type I and when they say e-sata they probably meant external sata, as in a drive outside the case, not esata as in the newer type drives.

[yoda313]

that card is really pretty old for sata use. it's an old type I and when they say e-sata they probably meant external sata, as in a drive outside the case, not esata as in the newer type drives.

But the esata cable fits perfectly? Shouldn't that mean its fully esata capable?

So that 2 internal or 2 external should be taken literally as "EITHER OR" not both then?

If this isn't possible what would be a recommended sata card for internal and external use?

[redwudz]

I would try one of the internal MB SATA connections to verify that your cable and external drive are working. It looks like that card can either use the two external sockets or the two internal sockets, but probably not a combination. It's also a SATA 150 card, although there's not much difference in speed to a SATA 300 card.

I think I would shop for a new card. Or just get a eSATA PCI slot adapter and plug it into the PCI card internal socket.



I think that is a SATA adapter pictured, but the eSATA adapters are commonly available. Most any case has a unused PCI slot cover.

[aedipuss]

yes either 2 in or 2 out. not a mix.

there's a lot of wiggle room in manufacturer's implementation of esata. some are real e-sata and some are more like sata-e. some drives work and some don't.

pci or pci-e?

[yoda313]

@ redwudz - thanks. Actually I still need the card for the internal connections.

Would a sata 300 card allow for dual internal and external use?

@aedipuss - we posted at the same time - it is a PCI card (I am using the pci-e card for my ati all-in-wonder hd card ).

[aedipuss]

there is one that does one external esata and one (internal or external) sata for a total of 2 drives fairly cheap at newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815263004

[yoda313]

Thanks for the link aedipuss.

However this user review didn't sound too encouraging:

One of the external SATA ports and the internal SATA port are tied, so you can only use one or the other. Not a big deal though.

I think what I'll end up doing is what redwudz suggested. I did finally notice my case does have an extra port that I can utilize. Its a small one on the side of the pci slots. I think what I would do is get one of those single module sata to esata adapters and feed it to the extra port.

I should actually be able plug it into the other sata port on the card I already have installed. Assuming that works I should be all set.

I just got back from office depot but they don't have much in store, it seems to be online only. I should be able to get them at another store when I get a chance.

thanks for all the advice everyone.