SpinRite fails to boot when eSata drive connected

[jbravovideos23]

Acquired a "old" Toshiba laptop with eSata port and a eSATA enclosure just to run SpinRite 6.1. If I insert the USB with Spinrite and place a 2.5 hard drive in the laptop's bay all runs well. However when I connect the eSATA enclosure and try to boot again I get this strange error from Pasquale J. Villani:
Any suggestion????

 

[DanR]

What is the error???

 

[peterblaise]

eSATA is quirky, different in different system
boards.

Can you attach the drive to internal SATA,
and then boot via FreeDOS and SpinRite on
USB?

 

[ColbyBouma]

If you tried to attach an image, it failed. The hidden size limit on this forum is 500 kB, so you'll have to resize the image.

Have you verified that your USB drive is the first one in the BIOS's boot list? Adding drives can mess with that list.

 

[jbravovideos23]

What is the error???

My bad Dan, I tried pasting a screenshot but it was too big. Here is a smaller size version:

 

[jbravovideos23]

What is the error???

Still too large to fit. I split the photo in 3 parts here they are:

 

[jbravovideos23]

If you tried to attach an image, it failed. The hidden size limit on this forum is 500 kB, so you'll have to resize the image.

Have you verified that your USB drive is the first one in the BIOS's boot list? Adding drives can mess with that list.

Thanks ColbyBouma. Yes the USB is the first to load. Also if I hit F12 at boot time and manually select the USB the same thing happens

 

[peterblaise]

It's faster to simply write down and retype the
error message.

Actually, it may be faster to simply attach the
drive internally as SATA as the ONLY drive in
the system beside the boot USB drive.

 

[jbravovideos23]

eSATA is quirky, different in different system
boards.

Can you attach the drive to internal SATA,
and then boot via FreeDOS and SpinRite on
USB?

Yes ONLY when I place the drive to the "motherboard" it works. I am trying to get this to work on a 3.5 drive that wont fit inside the bay of the laptop, that is why I want to still boot from USB but work via eSATA. The booting process from the USB changes when the eSATA drive is connected. Before I tried attaching a screenshot but it was too large. Here I split the photo in 3 parts to make it fit

 

[peterblaise]

Try the original FreeDOS, as easily built by
Rufus, for example, because the GRC-modified
FreeDOS may be the stumbling point.

SpinRite 6.1 works on FreeDOS from FreeDOS
and the FreeDOS from GRC, so either will do,
the GRC just eliminated enumeration that is
unnecessary and perhaps competitive with
SpinRite's own enumeration.

Knowing of such an incompattibility between
GRC FreeDOS and one implementation of
eSATA would make a helpful addition to a
SpinRite FAQ.

- - - - -

Just out of curiosity, can you boot to the USB
drive when it is plugged into the eSATA
socket?

I ask because I have systems that share eSATA
and USB.

Hence suggesting bypassing eSATA altogether
because they are so inconsistent, non-standard,
and unreliable.

- - - - -

Alternatively, during testing, I have acquired
long SATA cables and extension cables for the
power so I can leave the drive under test
outside the computer cabinet, even with a
laptop computer.

I think you are confirming that the eSATA in
your system is custom and quirky enough to
be unpredictable and not a standard
compatible SATA for SpinRite's DOS drivers.

The eSATA may work under Windows, but
SpinRite is not using Windows drivers.

- - - - -

Again, simply retyping the message without a
picture is faster, but at this point,
inconsequential, considering that it's eSATA, a
non-standard that never matured once the
Intel juggernaut pushed USB everywhere for
external connections.

 

[DanR]

Still too large to fit. I split the photo in 3 parts here they are:

Those are not error messages. That is standard FreeDos verbiage that displays on every normal FreeDOS boot.

What happens next.? Or does not happen?

 

[peterblaise]

Try:

SPINRITE NORAMTEST SKIPVERIFY

or

SPINRITE NORAMTEST SKIPVERIFY FORCEBIOS

 

[peterblaise]

Try SpinRite 6.

"There no problem so great it can't be run from"
- Linus, from Peanuts

 

[jbravovideos]

Try the original FreeDOS, as easily built by
Rufus, for example, because the GRC-modified
FreeDOS may be the stumbling point.

SpinRite 6.1 works on FreeDOS from FreeDOS
and the FreeDOS from GRC, so either will do,
the GRC just eliminated enumeration that is
unnecessary and perhaps competitive with
SpinRite's own enumeration.

Knowing of such an incompattibility between
GRC FreeDOS and one implementation of
eSATA would make a helpful addition to a
SpinRite FAQ.

- - - - -

Just out of curiosity, can you boot to the USB
drive when it is plugged into the eSATA
socket?

I ask because I have systems that share eSATA
and USB.

Hence suggesting bypassing eSATA altogether
because they are so inconsistent, non-standard,
and unreliable.

- - - - -

Alternatively, during testing, I have acquired
long SATA cables and extension cables for the
power so I can leave the drive under test
outside the computer cabinet, even with a
laptop computer.

I think you are confirming that the eSATA in
your system is custom and quirky enough to
be unpredictable and not a standard
compatible SATA for SpinRite's DOS drivers.

The eSATA may work under Windows, but
SpinRite is not using Windows drivers.

- - - - -

Again, simply retyping the message without a
picture is faster, but at this point,
inconsequential, considering that it's eSATA, a
non-standard that never matured once the
Intel juggernaut pushed USB everywhere for
external connections.

 

[jbravovideos]

Hi Peter
If I boot the laptop with the eSATA connected I get that error. For me SpinRite only works if I insert a 2.5 drive directly into the machine and nothing else. I have heard Steve talk about even recovering USB drive so I thought it was more flexible.
Thanks for your reply and your time Peter

 

[peterblaise]

You may be able to play with BIOS settings, and try MS-DOS
and SpinRite 6, though SpinRite 6.1 will work under MS-DOS
if we first run @Paul F 's neat little SETOEMFD.COM that tells
SpinRite 6.1 that, yes, FreeDOS is loaded, even though we're
really running MS-DOS - MS-DOS my access the eSATA
without a problem and present it to SpinRite 6.1 OK.

Workarounds are a great troubleshooting tool.