Need help finding a hot swap internal eSata card

[kittmaster]

I'm looking for someone who can recommend an internal eSata card that is known to have hot swap capabilities.

I own a DJ company and I use an external hard drive to keep as a master repository. I have two desktops, a chassis system, and laptop that I need to sync up and the fastest way is via eSata. My laptop is using an expresscard and that hot swaps, but my 3 other systems all use ASRock MB with media readers that have the eSata port that plugs into the MB main sata ports. Those boards are not hot swappable but are fully functional with I boot the drive connected at reboot, I also read in manual it isn't hot swappable.

So I've been looking at the egg at Rosewill and other various cards, but non seem to clearly state if they are hot swappable or not. I need to buy 3 at once so I need someone with first hand experience to have an "internal" connector for the media readers and be hot swappable for the external drive.

Can anyone make a proper recommendation from first hand experience and maybe a link to the egg?

Thanks!
Chris

 

[Old Hippie]

Any card can be considered "Hot Swappable" if it enabled in the card's BIOS/drivers.

Most, if not all, PCIe SATA add-on cards are considered hot-swappable but you could check the specs to make sure.

I own a DJ company and I use an external hard drive to keep as a master repository. I have two desktops, a chassis system, and laptop that I need to sync up and the fastest way is via eSata. My laptop is using an expresscard and that hot swaps, but my 3 other systems all use ASRock MB with media readers that have the eSata port that plugs into the MB main sata ports. Those boards are not hot swappable but are fully functional with I boot the drive connected at reboot, I also read in manual it isn't hot swappable.

To be "hot-swappable" the computers must be AHCI compatable/installed/and the correct ports being used.

It's not just the card being compatable but the rest of your stuff has to be compatable also.

 

[drescherjm]

Any card can be considered "Hot Swappable" if it enabled in the card's BIOS/drivers.

Agreed. Plain SATA is hot swappable. I have been hot swapping drives (internal or external) in linux since at least 2003.

The major difficulty in windows is that the OS needs to be told that it is swappable so that the filesystem can be cleanly unmounted and then the drive disconnected. I believe even if it is not told there are some software that can force the unmounting of filesystems and removal of the drive from the control of the OS.

In a quick search I found the following utility that claims to allow this:

http://mt-naka.com/hotswap/index_enu.htm

 

[Old Hippie]

The major difficulty in windows is that the OS needs to be told that it is swappable so that the filesystem can be cleanly unmounted and then the drive disconnected. I believe even if it is not told there are some software that can force the unmounting of filesystems and removal of the drive from the control of the OS.

To be "hot-swappable" the computers must be AHCI compatable/installed/and the correct ports being used.
It's not just the card being compatable but the rest of your stuff has to be compatable also.

Yep.

I thought my post covered all your points but it doesn't mean that everyone understood what I wrote.

I've used the Hotswap program and it does a good job but on some chipsets it will let you disconnect every drive including "C" drive.

OP....do what you want but you would probably be OK and it wouldn't cost you anything if you could find someone computer litterate to setup AHCI on all your computers.

AHCI is what you need to hotswap.

 

[kittmaster]

I'll double check to ensure that AHCI is enabled and not IDE. The fact that is specifically said it in the manual is what made me believe otherwise. The laptop card let me plug it in and out without any reboot and it acted just like a thumb drive, the other systems all required reboot when I plugged in. I'm 98% sure that they are all AHCI set when I installed the OS's but I'll double check.

I just want the same type of laptop response, since they weren't doing that, is why I thought maybe there was hot swap vs non hot swap versions.

I'll look and see.

Thanks