eSATA not recognizing drive - dv7t

[theywill]

A friend of mine has a brand new 64-bit, Vista Home Premium, dv7t with the combo usb/eSATA port.  He purchased a Cavalry CADA002SA2 USB/eSATA external drive.  When I connect this drive via eSATA, the Computer "Explorer" just hangs.  I've left it for long periods and nothing happens.  It has to be shut down.  The drive is never recognized.  The event log doesn't contain any relevant information (that I've been able to find).  If I connect the drive via USB, it works right away, as expected.

I was hoping someone could suggest some troubleshooting steps.  Is there a way to toggle between USB/eSATA?  Is a new driver needed?

Thanks in advance for your help.

James

[jmikesteen]

I have the exact problem dv7-1232nr and Cavalry CADA002SA2. I spend 1 hour online with HP support last night and got told to update my BIOS to 30FC F.35 even though I told him it was that version and then to update my Video drivers with a file that was incompatable with my system. Decided to come here, Anyone have any ideas?

[NoNoBadDog]

Does the drive appear in the Disk Management Console (Control Panel > Admistrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management)? 

Id so, you may have to Initialize the drive, take ownership of the drive, or formant the drive, whichever case is appropriate for your drive. 

If this has been helpful, pleae return the favor by giving Kudos.

[jmikesteen]

If you try and open the console while it is plugged in you get a lockup but if you plug it in while disk management is open it shows up as disk 1 Basic 931.51 online with no name or drive letter. If you then try to do ANYthing it locks. I even tried to have the menu bar open on change drive letter or path when I plugged it in and it showed up I clicked, lockup again. Pretty much everything becomes un functional untill you unplug and it recovers in a few seconds. Thanks for trying any other ideas, by the way it shows up in the device drivers the same way. It's just there, you can't asign a letter or anything else without the system freezing.

[jmikesteen]

Just got mine fixed. HP email support hit it right on the head. deleting the root hubs did the trick, here is the email

Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.
From your E-Mail, I understand that the eSATA port on your HP Pavilion dv7-1232nr Notebook is not recognizing your eSATA external Cavalry CADA002SA2 1T HD.
I am glad that you have forwarded us your concerns. I assure you of my complete assistance in this regard.
The cause of the issue might be due to various reasons like corrupted USB drivers, chipset drivers or corrupted operating system files. However to resolve the issue, please perform the following troubleshooting steps:
== Uninstalling USB devices in device manager:
1. Click on Start
2. Type Device Manager in the Start Search box
3. Click on Device Manager
4. Double-click the Universal Serial Bus Controllers branch to expand it.
5. Right-click USB device listed one at a time, and then click Uninstall. In the "Confirm Device Uninstall" dialog box, click OK.
NOTE: Select all the USB Root Hubs individually and uninstall them.
6. Click Apply button and close the Window.
Restart the notebook and the USB device drivers will be reinstaled automatically.
For additional information on how to uninstall the driver from device manager, please refer the the below weblink:
http://www.vista4beginners.com/Uninstall-the-driver-of-a-hardware-component
NOTE:  The URL above will take you to a non HP Web site. 
       HP does not control and is not responsible for information outside of the HP Web site.
After you have uninstalled and reinstalled the USB driver, check if the eSATA drive is recognized, if not, install the below update to resolve reliability issues with some USB hardware devices and controllers from the link provided below:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A583E590-1204-4F94-8EE1-063071797427&displa...
NOTE:  The URL above will take you to a non HP Web site. 
       HP does not control and is not responsible for information outside of the HP Web site.
After you have installed this update, check again if the notebook is recognizing the eSATA drive. If still the notebook is not recognizing the drive, I request you to get back to me with your observations and results; I will be glad to assist you further.
Sincerely,
Clarissa
HP Total Care

[jmikesteen]

well it worked for 10 min. then stopped now they told me to reinstall system, still does not work. starting to get the best of me

[NoNoBadDog]

Make sure the eSATA cable is securely fastened on both ends.  Also, be sure you are using the proper power adapter for the drive...it almost sounds as if it is not getting enough current to operate properly. 

[NoNoBadDog]

Here is somethiong else to try:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19951042-eSATA-HD-randomly-disconnectsdisappears

[Crow28277]

Yeah I was having trouble with mine showing up and disappearing.  I realized that when I pushed the connector in really tight and held it there it was ok until I released it.  I ended up taking a utility knife and trimming the plastic back about 1/8" or less.  It allowed the connector to fully seat and has been working ever since.  I will say this though...I was expecting crazy speeds with my 1 TB external drive, but then the reality of a non-SSD hard drive sank in. 

[bugzz]

Hello, Experts! I've got some problems with my eSATA/USB external HDD too.

My Laptop: HP Pavilion DV7 1196eg

I have two OSs:

 - MS Windows Vista Home Premium 32 (OEM) - German

 - MS Windows 7 Professional 64 (MSDNAA) - German

Inside my External HDD is a SAMSUNG HD753LJ (750GB) drive

The main Problem is that the HotPlug "Ability" of eSATA DOESN'T WORK. So if Win 7 is already started and i'm trying to connect my external HDD through eSATA port...nothing happens. No noise, no reaction..nothing =(

But if I connect and power on the external hdd before Windows have started - everything is OK. I can see my drive and work with it as well =).

In windows VISTA I haven't any issues with my External Drive and eSATA.HotPlug works perfectly

P.S. Connection via USB wokrs flawless in both OS 

P.P.S. Sorry for my English

Message Edited by bugzz on 09-07-2009 08:30 AM