Brian, I'm afraid you've sort of worked yourself into a box by buying
incompatible stuff before waiting for the advice.
Before reading what's below understand that SATA (Serial ATA) is the
basic technology and was designed to be used in internal drives. eSATA
is the same basic technology but with a different cable connector. The
reason for the eSATA adapter card is to connect to an external drive
which also has an eSATA connector. Most probably such a drive would be
in some sort of case with an external eSATA connector but connected to a
normal SATA drive inside the case.
But the best backup drive arrangement I have found is what's called a
"docking station". There are many but I know this one to be good
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153071> and it
supports both USB 2 and eSATA. It's what I use myself along with the
Rosewill eSATA card. The advantage of the docking station is that bare
drives (either 3.5" or 2.5") simply plug into the top of the docking
station. No external case is required. I have multiple backup drives
and when not in use they're stored in plastic cases such as these
<http://www.ebay.com/itm/5x-3-5-Hard-Drive-Disk-HDD-SATA-IDE-Plastic-Storage-Container-Box-Case-/180851584287?pt=US_Drive_Enclosures_Docks&hash=item2a1b982d1f>
I long ago recommended the eSATA card because SATA is very fast.
However, the drive you bought is not SATA compatible... it has no eSATA
connector even though it probably is a SATA drive internally.
So, what do you do? I would recommend returning the WD Passport drive
because it only supports USB 2 and USB 3. To use that Rosewill eSATA
card you will require an eSATA external drive or (my preference) the
Thermaltake docking station. (caution: There are multiple Thermaltake
docking stations. Some only support USB 2, the best supports both USB 2
and eSATA. There is also a Thermaltake USB 3 docking station but I
cannot recommend using USB 3 on anything at this time. USB 3 is
supposedly much faster than even SATA however USB 3 setups seem to be
plagued by performance and reliability problems. If you check the
reviews of the Thermaltake USB 3 unit you will find 1/2 of the users
rate it highly while the other half rate it at the bottom of the barrel.
I don't know for sure but I believe that USB 3 was released before it
was ready and manufacturers rushed stuff to market before the
specifications were firm. Putting any two USB 3 devices together is a
crap shoot. It might work very well or fail miserably. My latest
computer (bought last October) is an HP running Win7. I love the
machine and it's very fast. However is has several USB 3.0 ports.
Rather than move the Rosewill eSATA card from the old to the new
computer I decided to try a USB 3.0 to eSATA adapter cable. What a
fiasco. Never did work. So I finally moved the Rosewill card over and
found a driver for it for Win 7.
Meanwhile we know SATA and eSATA are very fast (incidentally, there are
3 different speed levels SATA I, II and III). The Thermaltake docking
station will accept all three versions internally. The Rosewill adapter
may be speed limited to version II. Not to worry. They will work
together with no problem and any version of SATA will make mincemeat of
USB 2.0. If you try making clones of large drives you can count on it
probably running overnight even using SATA. If you use USB 2.0 you may
have to go away for the weekend while it runs. (no joke)
Send the USB drive back and buy the Thermaltake USB2+eSATA above.
If you want to keep the WD Passport you can use it (very slowly)
attached to a USB 2.0 port. If you want it to run at high speed you'll
have to buy a USB 3.0 adapter card to replace the Rosewill eSATA card.
But if you do that you could be lucky but do not be surprised that it's
either terribly slow or makes all sorts of errors or both. The track
record is not good.
Chuck Norcutt
On 5/23/2013 8:14 AM, Jez Cunningham wrote:
> Quick starter answer - SATA and USB3 are different. One end of the USB3
> connection looks similar but the other end looks like regular USB (and is
> backwards compatible with USB1/2 but it has more pins used). You won't
> need the Rosewill card if you're using a USB3-connected external drive.
> And now over to the experts...
> jez
>
>
> On 23 May 2013 11:27, Brian Swale <bj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Thanks for all the advice. 4 hours ago I bought a WD "My Passport" 750 GB
>> portable sata hard drive for just under $100NZ, and I found features I was
>> not ready for.
>>
>> Communication with the computer is via USB 2 and/or USB 3 to provide
>> power and data transfer.
>>
>> I have downloaded all 155MB of the latest Acronis True Image
>> Acronis True Image WD Edition Software version 14192
>>
>> Doesn't seem to have a price attached to it. I'm not sure if it will do
>> backups
>> on demand or even concurrent backups.
>>
>> The "My Passport" drive info says it has
>> "Automatic, continuous backup WD SmartWare automatic backup
>> software works quietly in the background to help protect your data using
>> minimal PC resources. Whenever you add or change a file, it´s instantly
>> backed up. "
>>
>> I don't remember now why I bought the Rosewill RC-221 PCI Low Profile
>> Ready SATA Controller Card with 2 sata ports.
>>
>> Maybe that was the best option and I'd need a separate power supply.
>> Perhaps it's redundant for me now.
>>
>> I'd never seen a USB 3 terminal before, but it looks about as wide as the
>> Sata ports - which I'd never seen before either - to take special notice
>> of,
>> that is.
>>
>> Can somebody please advise it the sata ports are different from USB 3
>> ports, and maybe confirm / deny that the Rosewill card is not needed for
>> the
>> present setup.
>>
>> As it is now, it looks as though I should use
>> Acronis True Image WD Edition Software version 14192 to do the initial
>> backup, then use WD SmartWare automatic backup software for all future
>> backups 'on-the-fly'.
>>
>> Comment direct to me at
>> bj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> as well as the Group, will be appreciated. I'm on Digest and getting info
>> direct will put ne 12 hours ahead.
>>
>> Much appreciated.
>>
>> Brian Swale
>>
>> ------- Forwarded message follows -------
>> A call for advice please.
>>
>> I have noticed slightly increasing noise from my PC hard-drive lately,
>> and
>> have decided to get a stand-alone hard-drive for back-up. Also
>> sometimes
>> the PC baulks at starting as it should.
>>
>> I haven't done this until now due to money considerations, but I think
>> the
>> time has come to take the next step.
>>
>> I have installed a Newegg SATA controller card, obtained through the
>> help
>> of Chuck ( Newegg will not sell to New Zealand), so that part is
>> ready. I'm
>> running Windows XP. Dick Smith, an electronics retailer is just 7 km
>> distant.
>>
>> Please advise what back-up / restore programs are recommended,
>> preferably which will do periodic additions to backup.
>>
>> Many thanks.
>>
>> Brian Swale
>> ------- End of forwarded message -------
>>
>> Brian Swale. Daytime phone +64 03 449 2277
>> http://homepages.caverock.net.nz/~bj/
>> http://www.brianswale.com
>> Mobile 021 145 4249
>> 73 Fache Street, Clyde 9330, New Zealand
>>
>> --
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>>
>>
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