I have a Dell Inspiron XPS 15 (L502X) laptop, with an eSATAp port. I also have a Western Digital 1TB 3"5 SATA drive, that I'd like to use with the laptop.
I bought a eSATAp <-> SATA 22-pin cable (from Delock).
When I use this cable my 3"5 HDD does NOT power up, no spin up.
I thought that it's just this HDD taking too much power from the motherboard. However, I tested too with my 2"5 SATA HDD and it works successfully.
Now the weird thing is that this 2"5 HDD takes 1.1A at 5V, and that the 3"5 HDD takes 0.7A at 5V. I don't understand why it can't work.
Is there anything I could do for it to work ? What is really the problem ?
Thanks for your help,
Hugo
Best Answer
There exist two versions of this port. The first one, usually built in laptops, provides only +5 V through the USB connection. The other one has additional two pads, placed against the plug's "horns", which provide +12 V. The second one is needed if a 3.5" HDD or 5.25" optical drive is plugged into an eSATAp port. Cables are built with or without +12 V support. This leads to user confusion as they are usually unaware of the details of +12 V power delivery. So look for these on your laptop. Or buy an adapter