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okachobi

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 30, 2007
30
0
com.SiliconImage.driver.Si3132(1.1.6)@0x5d399000->0x5d3acfff

I think the 1.1.9 driver may get you around that issue. And if you're not using one of the drives with an incompatible chipset, then you may have no other issues.

You can find the 1.1.9 driver at Silicon Image's Web Site under their SI3132 products page.
 

infernoblitz

macrumors newbie
Nov 30, 2007
1
0
I have the latest drivers installed, but my card won't work. Anyone have any ideas?

Nov 30 00:07:36 timothy-sohns-macbook-pro-15 kernel[0]: PCI configuration changed (bridge=0 device=1 yenta=0)
Nov 30 00:07:48 timothy-sohns-macbook-pro-15 kernel[0]: Si3132::setPowerState(0x3a5ec00, 0 -> 1) timed out after 10109 ms


This happens right after I plugin my card.
 

okachobi

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 30, 2007
30
0
Do you have the latest firmware? You may want to try upgrading the firmware with the newest available from Silicon Image. However, it can be very risky to try reference firmware on a branded card. Some makers do not follow the reference design. There is always the risk of 'bricking' the card when flashing a firmware.
 

tricil

macrumors member
Oct 30, 2007
63
39
i'm really sick of using this drive with USB for time machine / audio purposes.... come on, Sil!

you know it's a problem - fix it!
 

boggled

macrumors newbie
Nov 3, 2007
13
0
Sil's support

I've upgraded the firmware on my Sil3132 card and it still won't write files to my external hard drive. I suggest emailing Silicon Image's Field Applications Engineer Mikhail.Amchislavsky@siliconimage.com He responded to a few of my emails. Maybe, if he gets enough complaints Silicon Image will start doing something.
 

okachobi

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 30, 2007
30
0
I pinged the good folks at ONNTO who made the card I use again to ask if Silicon Image still intended to release a new driver this month and whether they were going to distribute it on their web site. They said that they've been in contact with SI and they are still planning to release a new driver.

I'm still waiting, and its obviously past early December...so initial estimates were off. I can't imagine this issue requiring more than a simple workaround, so I can only guess that they must be patching against a Work-in-progress codebase with changes other than this.
 

okachobi

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 30, 2007
30
0
I've upgraded the firmware on my Sil3132 card and it still won't write files to my external hard drive. I suggest emailing Silicon Image's Field Applications Engineer Mikhail.Amchislavsky@siliconimage.com He responded to a few of my emails. Maybe, if he gets enough complaints Silicon Image will start doing something.

I emailed him simply to ask if he could confirm that they were aware of the problem described here, and whether he could confirm that there was any planned release of a new driver to address it.

No response. Still waiting, but I'm ready to give up and try to find a different card. Maybe a single eSATA connector card. I think there might be one other company that makes a chipset for PCI Express/express card eSATA. But they can rest assured that if I must go buy a different card and can find a different chipset, I'll also spend a little time getting the word out on reviews of sii3132-based that the cards do not function with Leopard and the response from Silicon Image has been less than what I would consider supporting of Apple users with the affected drives, which happen to be the most common eSATA drives on the market. We're not talking about some obscure enclosure here...we're talking about seagate and western digital's premiere line of external drives...
 

boggled

macrumors newbie
Nov 3, 2007
13
0
okachobi,
He stops exchanging emails after 2 replies. If he gets bombarded with tons of emails, let's hope he and Silicon Image take the issue seriously and do something about it. He probably hasn't responded to your email because Silicon Image isn't working on developing a driver for Leopard right now.
 

xyzindy

macrumors newbie
Jan 3, 2008
5
0
Anybody has update on this?

I have tried Expresscards from different vendors. They all have the same issue since they have the 3132 inside. Does anybody have any update from SIIG? Or anybody found chips other than 3132? Thanks.
 

ruftytufty

macrumors member
Jan 4, 2005
96
1
Berkeley, CA
I have tried Expresscards from different vendors. They all have the same issue since they have the 3132 inside. Does anybody have any update from SIIG? Or anybody found chips other than 3132? Thanks.

Following card

http://www.meritline.com/1x-e-sata2-port-pcmcia-expresscard.html

uses the JMB360 chipset, which claims:

"JMB360 is supported by Generic AHCI driver of Mac OSX So you can download latest version of Mac OS (10.4.10 or 10.5-9A559) But 10.4.X doesn't support Hot plug feature."

I.e. JMB doesn't provide Mac OS drivers for their chipset.

I just ordered one (they're only $20 shipped), but I'm not running Leopard yet, and don't have the same external drives, so I won't be able to help with the problems mentioned here. But, someone else here might want to give it a try, if they can get by with a single eSATA port on their MBP.

P.S. following xlr8yourmac page has reader feedback on various esata ExpressCards:
http://xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/express34_card_reports.html
 

xyzindy

macrumors newbie
Jan 3, 2008
5
0
Following card

http://www.meritline.com/1x-e-sata2-port-pcmcia-expresscard.html

uses the JMB360 chipset, which claims:

"JMB360 is supported by Generic AHCI driver of Mac OSX So you can download latest version of Mac OS (10.4.10 or 10.5-9A559) But 10.4.X doesn't support Hot plug feature."

I.e. JMB doesn't provide Mac OS drivers for their chipset.

I just ordered one (they're only $20 shipped), but I'm not running Leopard yet, and don't have the same external drives, so I won't be able to help with the problems mentioned here. But, someone else here might want to give it a try, if they can get by with a single eSATA port on their MBP.

P.S. following xlr8yourmac page has reader feedback on various esata ExpressCards:
http://xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/express34_card_reports.html

Thanks. I found this card http://www.CalDigit.com/FASTA-1ex.asp, but didn't find any review on it. Just wonder if also uses the SIIG 3132. Anybody has any experience with it? I downloaded the driver from their website. It also says 1.1.9, making me suspicious that it also uses SIIG.
 

n0d3

macrumors regular
Oct 12, 2006
163
0
Am I the only one who doesn't have a problem with my eSATA card? I'm using one by Apiotek using the same 3132 Sil chip + drivers from the site.
 

okachobi

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 30, 2007
30
0
The "Best Connectivity" JMB-based card is not compatible with Mac.

The CalDigit card is also based on the Sii3132 chipset.

Does anyone know of any other cards? I'm done waiting for Silicon Image. If you do a search now it appears that they're getting a very bad rep on various blogs for this issue that remains unresolved months after Leopard was released. I guess they just don't know their customer base, otherwise they would have pre-qualified their hardware.

This is one of those incidents that will make me avoid Silicon Image based products for the remainder of my days. Its kind of like the old Cyrix CPU's. I tried one, had the CPU burn up on me in under a year, and never went back. Now the brand no longer exists. Now I only buy Intel CPU's. Its a shame intel doesn't make a expresscard eSATA interface for Mac's.
 

okachobi

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 30, 2007
30
0
By the way, apparently this isn't the first chipset Silicon Image has released that is buggy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Image The 3112A apparently will work just fine until the point that you put it under a heavy load and it corrupts your data.

My understanding of things now is that Silicon Image believes this 3132 issue to be an issue with the enclosure chipset (Oxford Semiconductor) and is in no hurry to fix it. How they reconcile that stance with the fact that Windows and OS X 10.4.x work fine with the enclosures is beyond me.

What I do know is that if you Google Silicon Image 3132 or even add Leopard or OS X to that, you'll find a lot of people who are having this problem and are pissed off. They apparently do not know who their customers are and failed to keep current with the QA on OS X OS releases and common external all-in-one hard disks that are on the market. And this has caused a lot of bad press for them. I would say its a disaster for all the OEM's who resell a reference implentation and trust the Sii3132 drivers. Anyone buying one of those cards will now undoubtedly google the chipset and discover the problems others are having and avoid them.

Yes, this may very well be some weird compliance issue with the Oxford chipset, but the fact that it works under Windows & OS X 10.4.x doesn't help Silicon Images' position that its not their problem. It is their problem, and given that they supply the chipset for the only Mac-compatible eSATA ExpressCard/34, they must be unaware of the damage that is being done to their reputation by their refusal to address and fix the issue in a timely fashion. They must be unaware that a large number of vocal professionals use their cards during the generation of personal revenue. And they must be ignoring the emails from both vendors and end-users complaining about this problem.

Now I'm looking for another solution other than eSATA. I'm not going to waste money buying another drive enclosure that may or may not be compatible or may or may not get corrupted by their chipset. I think iSCSI over gigabit ethernet may be a workable alternative to eSATA for MacBook Pro's, but I need to find the best iSCSI initiator for mac and give it a try with a linux target.
 

xyzindy

macrumors newbie
Jan 3, 2008
5
0
By the way, apparently this isn't the first chipset Silicon Image has released that is buggy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Image The 3112A apparently will work just fine until the point that you put it under a heavy load and it corrupts your data.

My understanding of things now is that Silicon Image believes this 3132 issue to be an issue with the enclosure chipset (Oxford Semiconductor) and is in no hurry to fix it. How they reconcile that stance with the fact that Windows and OS X 10.4.x work fine with the enclosures is beyond me.

What I do know is that if you Google Silicon Image 3132 or even add Leopard or OS X to that, you'll find a lot of people who are having this problem and are pissed off. They apparently do not know who their customers are and failed to keep current with the QA on OS X OS releases and common external all-in-one hard disks that are on the market. And this has caused a lot of bad press for them. I would say its a disaster for all the OEM's who resell a reference implentation and trust the Sii3132 drivers. Anyone buying one of those cards will now undoubtedly google the chipset and discover the problems others are having and avoid them.

Yes, this may very well be some weird compliance issue with the Oxford chipset, but the fact that it works under Windows & OS X 10.4.x doesn't help Silicon Images' position that its not their problem. It is their problem, and given that they supply the chipset for the only Mac-compatible eSATA ExpressCard/34, they must be unaware of the damage that is being done to their reputation by their refusal to address and fix the issue in a timely fashion. They must be unaware that a large number of vocal professionals use their cards during the generation of personal revenue. And they must be ignoring the emails from both vendors and end-users complaining about this problem.

Now I'm looking for another solution other than eSATA. I'm not going to waste money buying another drive enclosure that may or may not be compatible or may or may not get corrupted by their chipset. I think iSCSI over gigabit ethernet may be a workable alternative to eSATA for MacBook Pro's, but I need to find the best iSCSI initiator for mac and give it a try with a linux target.

Thanks for your analysis. Keep me posted on your iSCSI findings.
 

mcsenerd

macrumors regular
Apr 28, 2005
121
1
Irving, TX
Count me in too...

I'm still running 10.4.11, but I'm also struggling with a Sil3132 product. Two of 'em in fact! I first tried a Kouwell 5652E expresscard on my 2nd Gen MacBook Pro (15", 2.33Ghz, 4GB RAM, 250GB HD) with a Coolmax HD-211-eSATA. The enclosure works fine in Bootcamp...but the drive will only intermittently mount in OS X. Thinking that it might be a bunk expresscard...I bought a Griffin eSATA adapter from the local Apple Store. Big shock though...same result. I wish I had other drive enclosures to test with...but I don't. I hope this gets resolved soon...
 

phraktyl

macrumors newbie
Dec 7, 2005
3
0
Anaheim, CA
What choices?

So, if my eSATA card with the SIL 3132 chipset doesn't work, and it doesn't look like they are trying very hard to update their drivers, does anyone have any recommendations for a good card that works with Leopard?
 

tricil

macrumors member
Oct 30, 2007
63
39
Silicon Image Speaks.....

and it's not good:

from http://www.siliconimage.com/support/supportsearchresults.aspx?pid=32&cid=3&ctid=2&osid=3&:


* SiI 3132 32-bit universal Mac OS X 10.4.x BASE Driver
1.1.9 12/26/2006
154 KB

Use this universal driver with Mac OS X 10.4.9, 10.4.10, & 10.5.1 on PowerMac G5, PowerBook G4, and MacBook Pro. Please contact the external enclosure or hard disk drive manufacturer for problems specific to the device that may have surfaced under Mac OS X Leopard but, not previously present under Tiger.
 

palexandridis

macrumors newbie
Nov 2, 2007
10
0
Portland, OR
Sheesh

Way to pass the buck, SI. Now that they've taken this stance, they probably think they don't have to ever touch the chipset again. As if the HDD companies will lift a finger - it's clearly not their problem. My Seagate is working quite fine on USB, at 1/6th the speed. This isn't ignorance - they are lying to us.
 

gyza

macrumors newbie
Oct 31, 2007
2
0
Looks good (for now)

Just updated to Leopard 10.5.2 and thought I'd try out my eSata connection on my WD MyBook drive... So far, so good. I have done a few read/writes of small files and large (700MB video) files and have not had any errors... With any luck Apple have addressed the problem, probably inadvertently, but updating to 10.5.2 may be the answer! Please post your findings...
 

okachobi

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 30, 2007
30
0
I just read that note on the Silicon Image website about contacting your drive vendor if there are problems after upgrading. Definitely the last Silicon Image chipset I buy for anything. I hope the OEM's follow suit.

If 10.5.2 indeed solves the problem, that means that Silicon Image hasn't really been in touch with Apple regarding the issue. Otherwise they would be aware that apple was going to make a change to accommodate the issue and wouldn't have added the disclaimer to the web site. They also would have tested it with 10.5.2. Doesn't that just seem odd that a chipset vendor isn't communicating with a computer manufacturer they claim to support??? Could you find a better example of lack of customer focus?

It begs the question- given Silicon Image's track record on bugs in past chipsets and their obvious lack of participation in Apple developer and hardware certification programs, should you trust the integrity of your data with this card at all, even if it appears to be working? This should be a red flag to potential stock buyers as well...but apparently they are getting the message since the stock price hasn't been this low since 2003. Maybe a change of CEO and a refocus on quality and the end consumers, those actually using their products, would help.
 

onebelow0

macrumors newbie
Feb 12, 2008
2
0
10.5.2

At least someone decided to fix the problem. Mine is working flawlessly after the update to 10.5.2. In fact I have copied 40gb back and forth today.

yeah apple!

And damn those silicon image dueschbags...

I am using a 2 port esata addonics with sil3132 chipset with the sil3132 raid 5 driver. The normal 1.19 driver operated much slower than the raid 5 driver I don't know why that is, but that is how it worked for me. My hard drive is a Seagate Free Agent pro 750GB. It all works nicely now. I never had my mbp crash, I only got the -50 error copying files.
 

xyzindy

macrumors newbie
Jan 3, 2008
5
0
10.5.2 - it works now

Got a new eSata card yesterday after upgrading to 10.5.2. No error messages or kernel panic so far.
 

tricil

macrumors member
Oct 30, 2007
63
39
there is also a "leopard compatible" seagate free agent pro download... but it's not linked on the site (i've emailed support.)
 
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