ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 - 90W 4338, T420 and e-SATA [ Edited ]

[greghad]

I am using a T420 in this dock, and want to use an e-SATA HDD to back up my data. Is the e-SATA port functional on this unit, and if it is, is it powered (e-SATAP)? If not, are there any other docks that wil support this port when my T420 is docked?

Thanks in advance,

Greg

[greghad]

So results from my experiment with the eSATA on the Minidock Plus Series 3 and T420:

The Minidock eSATA port is not powered, and I'm not sure if it works.

The T420 ESATA/USB port is powered, and that port does work with a a Seagate GoFlex 1.5 TB drive with 3.0 USB capability.

[greghad]

Update- I ordered a StarTech SATA + USB cable to ESATA male end, then had to get the female to female ESATA adaptor to fit the GoFlex ESATA male. Didn't work, and StarTech tech support supposed that it was the adaptor.

They suggested to look for a firmware work-around to power the SATA plug on the minidock 3- I'm not sure this is going to happen, and am kind of bummed that Lenovo hasn't made move towards USB 3.0, ESATA, or even firewire on the MiniDocks, let alone the T420.

Greg

[PanEuropean]

Hi Greg:

I kinda-sorta think that any kind of data connection that is on the MiniDock itself (rather than on the notebook) will get seriously slowed down because of the nature of the connection between the MiniDock and the notebook.

I first noticed this problem with a full-size docking station that I used with my old W500.  It had an Ultrabay slot in it.  If I put a hard drive in the UltraBay slot of the notebook, the drive worked very quickly.  If I put the same drive in the UltraBay slot in the MiniDock, it worked very slowly (almost as slowly as a USB connection).

Concerning the eSATA connector - I now have a W520, and I back it up to an external drive via the eSATA connection on the notebook itself.  This works very well, it is a very fast connection.  My external drive has its own power supply (plugs into the wall, not the computer).

Michael