Anybody know if I can use this USB3 ExpressCard?

[antibolo]

So I foolishly bought an ExpressCard USB3 controller thinking that USB is a standard so any card should work out of the box on macOS, right? Well, apparently not.

The exact model of the card in question is a StarTech ECUSB3S11.

My MBP is a 2008 model (5,1) running High Sierra (using dosdude1's High Sierra Patcher).

When I insert the card it's reported in the PCI section of System Information but connecting any device to its USB port does nothing. And if I mess with the card too much it eventually hard locks my MBP.

I'm probably gonna have to just return it but before that I'd like to make sure there's no way I can use it. If anyone has had luck with this card please let me know!

 

[treekram]

In looking at Amazon, on the Q&A section, there are two questions where the answer states that it doesn't work on a Mac. On the StarTech website, it doesn't list MacOS in the "OS Compatibility" section. What made you think it would work on a Mac?

To be fair, I've made the same mistake of not checking for Mac compatibility on a USB3 disk docking station - although with later OS versions, it works under certain circumstances.

 

[antibolo]

In looking at Amazon, on the Q&A section, there are two questions where the answer states that it doesn't work on a Mac. On the StarTech website, it doesn't list MacOS in the "OS Compatibility" section. What made you think it would work on a Mac?

As I said, I just assumed all USB 3 controllers were the same and used the same common driver?

 

[CWallace]

As I said, I just assumed all USB 3 controllers were the same and used the same common driver?

There are different manufactures of USB controllers and they all likely have their own custom device driver software per OS.

macOS itself likely only has Intel controller support as I would expect that the USB ports are handled by the Intel chipsets.

 

[AnonMac50]

Check the vendor ID and device ID in System Information. I was given a USB 3 Card that didn't work on OS X, so I looked up the details in Google. Found other generic brands that used the same hardware and eventually found a driver. Worked for my under OS X since. Hopefully this helps!

 

[killawat]

On macOS you would be best served using a controller that is Fresco Logic 1100 with native support. Ideally, the Ex card would also have power as well.

 

[treekram]

On macOS you would be best served using a controller that is Fresco Logic 1100 with native support. Ideally, the Ex card would also have power as well.

It appears MacOS supports the Fresco chip natively (which is what I think you're saying) because it was used in the 2008 (and later?) classic Mac Pro's. The StarTech uses the Renesas/NEC chip, which would require a driver.

So you can use something like:
https://www.sonnetstore.com/products/tempoduo-expresscard34
which does explicitly state support for the MBP (as long as it has the ExpressCard/34 slot) and the appropriate OS (10.8.5-10.13).

Getting a driver for a Renesas/NEC for the StarTech may be possible - take a look at:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...iginal-mac-drivers-caldigit-lacie-oyen.77864/
This is a site for hackintosh users. There's a list of manufacturers that have products which have the Renesas/NEC chip and can be used on a Mac. It would be nice if somebody has experience doing this for the StarTech card, but typically if you don't get a response by now from somebody who's gotten it to work, you probably won't get a response before your return window closes. (At least this post will bump it so maybe someone who has done this with the StarTech will respond.)

It appears that the max speed (ExpressCard port) for is about 200MB/sec., which is less than half of the typical max speed you get out of a native USB3 port.