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Are there any PCIe eSATA cards that run with OSX 10.6.2?

eemzah said:
My system:
2.66 Quad Nehalem (Early 2009)
OS 10.6.2

My HDD enclosure:
Vantec Nexstar HDD dock single bay
Vantec MX Dual Bay

Initially, the card wasn't working in Snow Leopard until Silicon Image release their beta drivers. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
So SIL's Beta drivers did work for someone with an '09 + 10.6.2. :confused: Weird.

Assuming they all follow the reference design, I'd need P/N's (all the numbers off the SIL3132) to see if there's differences in the actual parts used (different revisions perhaps).

This is getting messy. :(
 
nanofrog said:
So SIL's Beta drivers did work for someone with an '09 + 10.6.2. :confused: Weird.

Assuming they all follow the reference design, I'd need P/N's (all the numbers off the SIL3132) to see if there's differences in the actual parts used (different revisions perhaps).

This is getting messy. :(
Click to expand...
I had that problem when I first upgraded to Snow Leopard. I almost tossed my eSATA PCI-e card out of the window. Thanks to the beta drivers, its came back from the dead.

I will check the card's reference number tonight.

On another note: I tried a few other drivers before and some did work although with a few quirks. Kernel panic when you try to reconnect after unmounting the external drive or copy any file bigger than 4GB.
 
eemzah said:
I had that problem when I first upgraded to Snow Leopard. I almost tossed my eSATA PCI-e card out of the window. Thanks to the beta drivers, its came back from the dead.
Click to expand...
I know the cards didn't work initially with SL, and the Beta drivers were supposed to fix it (and recalled they did for someone, and I'm fairly sure it was your previous posts I'm thinking of). But it's not worked for everyone in this spot. In Transporteur's case, it took the Sonnet Tech drivers to get it to work.

eemzah said:
I will check the card's reference number tonight.
Click to expand...
The card make and number will help, but I'd like to get the information from the SIL3132 chip itself if you would, as the cards won't give an indication of different chip revisions. Only the part numbers on the actual device will.

eemzah said:
On another note: I tried a few other drivers before and some did work although with a few quirks. Kernel panic when you try to reconnect after unmounting the external drive or copy any file bigger than 4GB.
Click to expand...
I recall some of this, but can't recall the exact drivers used (let alone their revision #'s, as some may have been updated by now <different makers adjusting the SIL reference drivers for their cards>).
 
gglockner said:
Also works for me.
Click to expand...
Would you be willing to post both the information on the SIL3132, card maker and their P/N?

It would be appreciated. :) At least we might be able to find cards that are more apt to function, as there always seems to be someone in need of a simple eSATA card for their MP. ;)
 
nanofrog said:
Would you be willing to post both the information on the SIL3132, card maker and their P/N?

It would be appreciated. :) At least we might be able to find cards that are more apt to function, as there always seems to be someone in need of a simple eSATA card for their MP. ;)
Click to expand...
Here you go.
 
Bootcamp 3132 and 09 MP

Well I tried the Rocket 622. It does not work with PM cases. Supposedly it will in the future. It also will not allow booting into bootcamp while installed in a PCI slot.

I also tried the Rocket Raid 2314. With the latest drivers it worked fine with my PM case but hangs the system when you try to boot into Windows.

So I'm now RMAing the 2314 card.

My PM case is: http://bit.ly/5QkVlK
It turns out the card it ships with is a Sii3132. I installed the sonnet drivers from here: http://bit.ly/3A8jJK

With the Sonnet drivers it works as well as the RR 2314 with the PM case. (No RAID obviously) I've run a few MD5 checksums after a 16+GB transfer and so far so good. The 4 drives are connected in non RAID and formatted as concatenated via Disk Utility.

Again though I cannot boot into Windows (from my internal partition) if this card is installed.

Does anyone know of a card that will not crash if I try to boot into my internal bootcamp volume?
 
This was posted on xlr8yourmac.com today. Driverless and $60 bucks... I just ordered.
$59.99 NewerTech Mac PCIe eSATA 6Gb/sec (driverless) Controller card -

From their press release today:

"NewerTech Introduces Driverless MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card As Easiest Solution Available For Adding eSATA Ports To Mac Pros
$59.99 card features two 6Gb/s eSATA ports for use with any eSATA equipped storage solution or device and driverless "install it and forget it" ease of use

Driverless Install With No Updating Needed:
High performance doesn't mean a thing if its highly complicated to use, install, or a hassle to keep maintained. Because the NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card is fully compliant with the industry standard Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI), there are no drivers to install and no future driver downloading/updating required. Additionally, the card uses the same connecting cables utilized by earlier SATA 1.5Gb/s and 3Gb/s devices for straight from the box, "install it and forget it" highest levels of convenience and performance.
"This is the easiest, Plug and Play solution on the market today for adding eSATA ports to a Mac Pro," said Larry O'Connor, President, NewerTech. "Unlike other cards, our MAXPower card eliminates the hassle of drivers during initial card installation as well any future driver maintenance and uncertainty of compatibility. It truly is one of the most affordable 'install it and forget it' performance upgrades for Mac Pros and PCs."

Adds Faster Than Factory Interface To Mac Pros
From faster backups and file transfers to high-end Audio/Video editing, connecting an eSATA interface equipped device to the NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card can take data transfer performance to an entirely new level. Optimally compatible with Mac Pro models and PCs with an available PCIe 2.0 slot, the NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card works with ANY eSATA interfaced equipped external hard drive or optical drive to deliver significantly faster data transfer rates over the fastest factory equipped Mac Pro interface of FireWire 800.

Future Ready Yet Fully Backward Compatible
The NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card is like a "performance assurance policy" as conventional hard disk drives and SSDs migrate to the SATA 6Gb/s standard. Installing the card now offers immediate speeds gains while making a Mac Pro or PC future ready for even greater speed gains. Like all good upgrades, the card doesn't leave the past behind. The NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card is fully backward compatible with PCIe 1.0 slots as well as previous generations of SATA 1.5Gb/s and 3Gb/s drives.

The NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card is available immediately for $59.99 MSRP from NewerTech's exclusive distributor, Other World Computing (OWC(r)), as well as through the retail channel. It offers out-of-the-box ready driverless install for Mac OS X 10.5 & 10.6, Windows Vista & Windows 7, and any Linux version with built-in AHCI support. For more information, visit: http://www.newertech.com/products/pcieesata.php
# NewerTech has also partnered with OWC to offer several performance package deals based on the NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card: Buy any OWC or NewerTech brand preconfigured storage solution featuring an eSATA interface and get an instant $10 rebate on the NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card when purchased at the same time.
# To get maximum data transfer speeds, an eSATA "pass thru" interface designed storage solution is a must. Get a complete package with an OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro eSATA RAID Ready Solution and NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card bundle starting at $187.99.

For more details on either of these special NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Controller Card promotional offers, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/search/esata+6g."
Click to expand...
 
mvasilakis said:
Does anyone know of a card that will not crash if I try to boot into my internal bootcamp volume?
Click to expand...
Are you trying to place the BC partition on the array?
Or is it a separate drive, and how is it connected (logic board or card)?
 
nanofrog said:
Are you trying to place the BC partition on the array?
Or is it a separate drive, and how is it connected (logic board or card)?
Click to expand...

The BC partition is on my internal boot volume. 750gb volume :650 Mac OS 10.6.2 / 100GB Win7Home
connected in first Mac Pro bay to whatever internal Apple sata port they have.

BC works without issue until I install a PCI eSata card. I boot holding the option key, select the windows partition, screen goes black and sits there.
 
mvasilakis said:
The BC partition is on my internal boot volume. 750gb volume :650 Mac OS 10.6.2 / 100GB Win7Home
connected in first Mac Pro bay to whatever internal Apple sata port they have.

BC works without issue until I install a PCI eSata card. I boot holding the option key, select the windows partition, screen goes black and sits there.
Click to expand...
I've seen something similar to this, but with RAID (gugucom). He got around it, because the card was able to run EFI (ran the OS X RAID set off the card, rather than the logic board).

It's the OS X RAID that's causing you the issue, as the drives are attached to the logic board. They must come off of it, which means a RAID card that can boot EFI.

The least expensive is the ARC-1210. Once flashed to EFI, and the array built, (that would work for sure).

BTW, the array would have to be created on that card, which means you must backup any data first, move the drives to the card (install them in the empty optical bay), initialize them under the card (wipes the data, as OS X's partition scheme won't transfer & just work), then install the OS, and restore the data files that were previously backed up. So it's not as simple as just connecting the drives to the RAID card, and it's not super cheap either (~$300USD).

Once all the above is done, the SIL3132 card would work.

You could also take a look at the Highpoint eSATA card for Mac. It's a little cheaper ($229 from OWC), but it doesn't indicate it will work with Windows (has EFI compatible <EBC> firmware, which will work in both 32 and 64bit EFI systems). Might be worth calling/emailing Highpoint about it first, as they may be creating Windows drivers for it (BIOS emulation should allow Windows to use it, just like the EFI based graphics cards that come with the system, but it would need drivers).

Another option, is to wait for the Mac drivers for the Highpoint 622 you have, and see what happens.

Sorry it's not quick and easy, or cheap, but there is a solution.
 
Any card confirmed to work in a MP 1,1 running SL.2? I'm looking to spend under $100 (simple 2 port card, no RAID required). Would be willing to spend a little more if the card allowed for booting OSX/Win7 from an external drive.
 
akadmon said:
Any card confirmed to work in a MP 1,1 running SL.2? I'm looking to spend under $100 (simple 2 port card, no RAID required). Would be willing to spend a little more if the card allowed for booting OSX/Win7 from an external drive.
Click to expand...
You can use a SIL3132 based card, and get it to work (example). You can boot Windows from it, and have it operational in OS X via drivers (here). It's cheap too.

Worst case, you may have to use drivers from another vendor, such as Sans Digital.
 
nanofrog said:
You can use a SIL3132 based card, and get it to work (example). You can boot Windows from it, and have it operational in OS X via drivers (here). It's cheap too.

Worst case, you may have to use drivers from another vendor, such as Sans Digital.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Just as you were typing, I was ordering this NewerTech card from OWC:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/MXPCIE6GS2/

It's supposed to work with MP 1,1, and it's driverless! A big selling point for non-techies like me :)


UPDATE:

Got the card. Had some trouble with the cable I had (that came originally with my Thermaltake BlacX). Bought a new cable and everything is working great.
 
akadmon said:
Thanks. Just as you were typing, I was ordering this NewerTech card from OWC:

=https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/MXPCIE6GS2/

It's supposed to work with MP 1,1, and it's driverless! I big selling point for non-techies like me :)
Click to expand...
It seems to be a good card, but it's more expensive than what I linked. So I didn't mention it. :eek: :p

Also, keep in mind that card does NOT support Port Multiplier enclosures. The SIL3132 cards actually do. The SL drivers don't have RAID functions in them, but you can use Disk Utility (i.e. JBOD drives in a PM enclosure for use as backup, which is particularly usefull when running RAID internally in the system).
 
This one is really cheap
eSATA SIL 2132 card .

I can recommend the company - they offer great service. Call Jonathan and he will help you.

(As others have mentioned, you may need the SIL drivers)
 
Just for the record, the SIL3132 cards work great with 10.6.2.

I use Sonnet drivers for the card and the update from 10.6.1 to .2 worked without any issues.
 
foonon said:
Yes, I just tried this this weekend with XP Pro and the card is recognized and seems to work just fine.

~f
Click to expand...

Thanks for your response. I appreciate it. I'm going to order one and see if it works.
(I have a sii3132 based card and it wont boot into XP, ubuntu, or W7 if the card is attached to the system.)
 
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