[Denisejm]

Hi,

I bought a SATA HUB 5-Port Multiplier using Sil 3176 Chip. On start-up, my computer shows that I have SiI 3124 SATARaid BIOS ver 6.3.18. The SATA hub doesn't work. I bought new cables and connected SATA I and SATA II ext hdds to it and switched things around but these things haven't helped. I'm wondering if the problem lies in the fact that the hub is SiI 3176 and my computer has SiI 3124. Does anyone know if that could be the problem?

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These things are designed to plug into an eSATA port slot on the back of the computer.
Do you have eSATA on your computer? They're basically standard SATA ports but are accessible from the outside of the case. You don't plug these into the onboard SATA ports on the motherboard.

[Neil Jones]

These things are designed to plug into an eSATA port slot on the back of the computer.
Do you have eSATA on your computer? They're basically standard SATA ports but are accessible from the outside of the case. You don't plug these into the onboard SATA ports on the motherboard.

[Denisejm]

Yes, I know . . . this one's a hub, not a card. The hub works for a few minutes and then it stops. I don't plug the hub into the adapter card that I'm having a problem with. I'm plugging it into a 2-port SATA adapter that I also installed.

Nothing having to do with SATA works on my pc right now. This is my 2nd mobo. The first one, a Biostar, had the same problem. I bought the ASUS mobo a few of months ago but I'm having the same problem and I'm trying to find the reason.

Would the problem lay in the fact that the hub is SiI 3176 and my computer has SiI 3124?

Edited by Denisejm, 05 June 2008 - 03:51 PM.

[Neil Jones]

The SiL numbers are basically irrelevant as far as the problem goes.
Does your board not have its own onboard eSATA ports for you to use? Some hubs don't like talking to separate PCI cards and will only work using an eSATA board that's either on the backing plate or is directly wired to the board via a mounting bracket.

[Denisejm]

This is the hub that I purchased.

http://www.cooldrive...hub5muussi.html


This is the controller card that I bought

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16816133002


This is the 2 Port Serial ATA and 1 Port ATA/133 IDE PCI Card that I bought.

http://www.startech....E-PCI-Card.aspx


By the pictures, you can tell how they're connected.


None of them work. They didn't work on my other mobo either. It was less than a year old. My new one is only a few months old.

Edited by Denisejm, 05 June 2008 - 08:48 PM.

[Denisejm]

My SATA controller card is working now. It's the little things that are overlooked that cause the most problems. I didn't install the SATA driver for the card when I formatted my computer a few weeks ago. I didn't get an installation disk with the card so I didn't think it needed any software. In another thread here, SRX660 worked with me and we found the driver that it needed. Most of my SATA drives are recognized by My Computer now when I connect them. I don't know why a few don't (I have a total of 17 ext hdds).

The SATA hub doesn't work either so I believe that the hub is defective. The red led light comes on, which shows that power is getting to it, but none of the green led lights turn on when I connect a SATA ext hdd to it and they're not recognized by My Computer.

Does your board not have its own onboard eSATA ports for you to use? Some hubs don't like talking to separate PCI cards and will only work using an eSATA board that's either on the backing plate or is directly wired to the board via a mounting bracket

No, it doesn't. I only have the controller card and a 2-port adapter. The adapter is connected to a SATA port on the mobo. The info given at the site doesn't mention that it won't work when connected to controller or adapter cards though. It does say:

OS Support

Depends on the Upstream Host Controller. It is transparent from the Operating Systems.

I found this statement vague in that it doesn't give the type of Upstream Host Controller that it needs. "It is transparent from the Operating System" might mean that it won't show up in My Computer, but it could mean something completely different.

http://www.cooldrive...hub5muussi.html

I've written an email to the company that sells them and I received a response requesting more information regarding my computer components. Today is Saturday so I'll have to wait until Monday to receive another response from them. I'm hoping that they'll replace the hub because it was expensive and it never worked right from the beginning. I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks for your help