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Peter Tsai
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272 Posts
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3871201
May 20th, 2012 08:00
XPS 8500 PCIe eSATA support
Just got my new XPS 8500, which is really nice (quiet, great performance) - but I have an issue getting my PCIe eSATA card to function correctly.
The EC2 eSATA PCIe device is definitely functional, I was using it in an XPS 420 and verified it still works - but now when I insert it into any of the 3 PCIe 1x16 slots in the XPS 8500 , it's not recognized by either the XPS 8500 BIOS during post or in the Operating System (Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit).
Previously, the eSATA device would allow me to press Ctrl+S during post to run diagnostics on the XPS 420 but not so on the XPS 8500. When I go into the XPS 8500 setup screen (using F2) I don't see any options that might help me.
Does anyone know what might be causing this behavior? Is this a known issue that might this be addressed in a future BIOS update?
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Posted May 20th, 2012 12:00
Did you install any drivers and software that came with the card? Check the windows 7 compatibility web site to see if the card is compatible-- www.microsoft.com/.../Default.aspx
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Posted May 20th, 2012 22:00
@Mary - Hi thanks for your response. I have all of the drivers for the card but I can't install them.... instructions tell me to look for yellow bangs in Device Manager and then select update drivers, the problem is that the device never shows up in the device manager.
The problem is occurring before the OS phase, most likely in the BIOS... because the BIOS doesn't detect / talk to the eSATA card, the OS never sees it either.
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Posted May 26th, 2012 12:00
I have a similar issue using a PCI-E SATA card. It's an ASMEDIA based 1061 2-port SATA card. it works fine in all of my other computers. However, when I plug it into the XPS 8500, the machine doesn't POST. It turns on but nothing happens. After I remove the card, the computer works normally.
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Posted May 26th, 2012 13:00
Yes. A05 was the BIOS my XPS 8500 shipped with.
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Posted May 26th, 2012 18:00
I pinged my Dell contacts to see if they have any suggestions about getting eSATA cards working in the XPS 8500. May take a few days for them to respond because it's a holiday weekend.
NOTE: I'm only a forum volunteer, not a Dell employee, so I can't promise they'll say or do anything. :emotion-5:
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Posted May 26th, 2012 18:00
One more thing.... You can try this while waiting for Dell to respond:
Reboot and press F2 before Windows starts to load
When BIOS Setup opens, copy down all the current BIOS settings
Exit setup and let it boot normally
Then shut down normally and unplug
Press/hold power button for ~15 sec
Open case and remove motherboard battery
Press/hold power button again for ~30 sec to reset BIOS to factory defaults
Reinstall the battery (right-side-up!)
Reboot and press F2 before Windows starts to load
When BIOS setup opens, confirm all the settings match what you wrote down
Save any changes before exiting BIOS Setup
See if the eSATA card is recognized after it reboots
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Posted May 26th, 2012 18:00
yes I had A05 as well, then I downgraded to A03 just to see what would happen. The PCIe card doesn't work either way.
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Posted May 30th, 2012 08:00
@RoHe thanks for your help up to this point.
Unfortunately I can't remove the CMOS battery due to a new cover that's on the XPS 8500 that blocks the release lever that you typically use to take out a battery (see attached photo). Not wanting to void my warranty, I'm going to pass on that step.
resetting the default settings BIOS has no effect either - looks like I'll just wait for a response from your contacts.
dbluesenator
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Posted September 26th, 2012 07:00
Ditto to most of the above post.
Although I was originally in no hurry to update and even suggested if one didn't really need it, to just let it be, I decided to take the plunge after reading all the fixes and updates that went with this BIOS update. It went flawlessly, took less than 10 min from start to finish. No problems whatsoever and I didn't remove or unplug anything.
Info on what it fixes etc.
www.dell.com/.../xps-8500