See here a graphic of the eSATA cable and the port. Please note that the cable's connector and the port look similar to that of a normal Serial ATA connector and port, but they are not intercompatible due to small physical differences. Serial ATA is the most common connection for internal drives in modern PCs and Macs. There can be multiple SATA ports on any one motherboard or controller card. One cable connects one hard drive to one port on the motherboard (as opposed to Parallel ATA).

If a PC doesn’t have an external SATA connection port, you can use a SATA to eSATA adapter cable to make the connection work. Over to You In this guide, we’re going to take you through the different types of SATA cables that are out there, making it easier for you to understand how they operate. The cable also supports connections to optical drives (ODD), enabling you to connect a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive to your laptop. On many notebook computers only a limited amount of power at 5V is available, and none at all at 12V. Devices requiring more power than is available via the Expresscard, or an additional 12V supply as required by most 3.5" or 5.25" drives, can be driven if an additional power supply is used. [4] Cables are available to both connect and power a SATA device from an eSATAp port (including 12 V power if available). Stands for "External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment." eSATA is a variation of the SATA interface that supports external storage devices. It was standardized in 2004 and uses the same pins and same protocols as internal SATA. However, it provides a slightly different, more rugged connector. The eSATA standard also supports a cable length of two meters compared to the one meter cable length supported by SATA.The SATA M.2 standard was a small form factor implementation of the SATA express interface using an internal USB 3.0 port.

Step 4: Use a SATA cable with 3 connection plugs. One plug will have 4 large connection pins and the other 2 will be thinner. Certain Seagate and Maxtor-brand drives are powered only by USB, so they do not have a separate power cord. They usually draw enough power from one USB connection, though sometimes plugging both of the cables in will be necessary, or plugging the one cable into a powered USB hub. These drives are named and linked here, with a picture of their cables. FireWire is a similar connection to USB, in that it is plug-and-play. Simply connect your device to the computer and it will usually be ready to be used within 30 seconds. FireWire is much more common in Mac computers than in Windows computers. eSATA, Power over eSATA, Power eSATA, eSATA/USB Combo, eSATA USB Hybrid Port (EUHP) External Serial ATA (SATA)/Universal Serial Bus (USB) with PowerAn ATA hard drive that is connected to the same cable as a CD or DVD drive must be connected to the master position, with the CD or DVD drive in the slave position. The 1-meter cable lets you set up anywhere, enabling you to perform any one of these tasks in a lab, at someone’s desk or out in the field. With plug-and-play installation, it’s easy to connect on any operating system, without any extra software to install. There are only two versions of this port. Most laptop computers do not have 12 V power available, and have an eSATAp port which provides only 5 V. Desktop computers, with 12 V available, have a port with two additional pads, placed against the plug's "horns", which provide 12 V. [5] Some manufacturers refer to these ports as eSATApd, where d stands for "dual voltage". Some devices, such as 2.5-inch drives, can operate off the 5 V supplied by laptop eSATAp ports. Others, such as 3.5-inch drives, also require 12 V; they can be powered from a desktop eSATAp port, but require an external 12 V power supply if used with a laptop computer. This can lead to confusion if users are not aware of the distinction. Three different pins on the connector can work hand-in-hand in parallel to conduct power with varying voltages.

There is a newer port design eSATAp which not only supplies power, but is also able to be used as a USB port if necessary.

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eSATAp combines the functionality of an eSATA and a USB port, and a source of power in a single connector. eSATAp can supply power at 5V and 12V. On the Exit screen, press the key to highlight Save/Exit and press the key to restart the system with eSATA enabled.