Using eSATA on HP Compaq dc7900 Business PCs

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Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Benefits of eSATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

BIOS / Software / Hardware Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

BIOS Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Software Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Summary of content (10 pages)

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Using eSATA on HP Compaq dc7900 Business PCs Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Benefits of eSATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 BIOS / Software / Hardware Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 BIOS Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Introduction HP introduced SATA technology for internal mass storage devices in HP Compaq Business PCs in 2003. SATA replaced the old PATA (Parallel ATA) interface as the industry standard interface between a computer system and a mass storage device. This high performance interface has proven to be reliable and is well accepted. The next logical step in SATA technology is to apply it to external mass storage devices, leading to eSATA (External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) technology.
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BIOS / Software / Hardware Considerations BIOS Interface The system BIOS enumerates eSATA devices as removable storage devices. There is no F1 notification with the insertion or removal of an eSATA device. The Removable Media Boot option in F10 Setup applies to eSATA devices and can be set at Storage > Storage Options > Removable Media Boot. Default is Enabled. Maximum eSATA Speed The maximum eSATA transfer speed of 1.5Gbps or 3.0Gbps can be set in F10 Setup at Storage > Storage Options > Max eSATA Speed.
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Figure 3 Maximum eSATA speed warning SATA Emulation Mode The SATA emulation mode can be set in F10 Setup at Storage > Storage Options > SATA Emulation. Default is AHCI. The SATA emulation mode is set to AHCI by default. This differs from previous HP Compaq dc7xxx Business PCs, which had a default SATA emulation mode of IDE (legacy). While the eSATA port works in IDE mode, hot-plug functionality is not available. The SATA emulation mode must be set to AHCI or RAID for hot-plug support.
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eSATA Port Availability The eSATA port can be hidden in F10 Setup at Security > Device Security > eSATA. Default is Available. Figure 4 eSATA device security Software Drivers The eSATA port does not require a driver to function. However, eSATA hot-plug support does require an AHCI driver with hot-plug support to be loaded in the operating system. In addition, the system must be set to SATA emulation mode of AHCI or RAID in BIOS (See “BIOS Interface” on page 3).
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2. New operating system installation. A fresh installation of Windows XP or Vista, while in AHCI mode, is the most straightforward way to install the AHCI driver. Windows XP requires addition of the Intel AHCI driver with the F6 option during installation. Windows Vista has native AHCI support so either the native AHCI driver is used or the Intel AHCI driver can be added. 3. Enhancing existing Windows XP images from IDE mode.
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6. Enhancing existing Windows Vista images from IDE mode. Corporate IT may be able to update an existing Windows Vista image that was created in IDE mode to use the Intel AHCI driver. The process requires the Intel AHCI drivers to be inserted into the image in a pre-installation environment. Required software to insert Intel AHCI driver is as follows: • Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) CD • Windows OPK (OEM Preinstallation Kit) CD - PKGMGR.
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c. Reboot the system. d. Enter F10 Setup and change SATA Emulation mode to AHCI. e. Reboot the system into Windows Vista. 6. Updating existing Windows Vista images from Native AHCI to Intel AHCI. An existing Windows Vista image using the native AHCI driver can be updated to use the Intel AHCI driver (iastor.sys) locally. The Intel AHCI driver can be downloaded from www.hp.com. Note: Be careful when moving an image to a system with a different chipset.
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Figure 5 Internal eSATA cable and bracket Figure 6 eSATA connector and bracket on an HP Compaq dc7900 SFF 9
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Figure 7 eSATA hard drive connecting to the eSATA bracket port Limitations eSATA hot-plugging is available only with BIOS and operating system support. eSATA hot-plugging is not possible in an operating system without an AHCI driver that supports hot-plugging such as DOS, Windows 9x, Windows NT4.0, and older versions of Linux. The system BIOS cannot determine if an eSATA device is SATA or eSATA if it is plugged into the wrong port on the system board.