220-1101 Question 267
Single answereSATAA technician is helping a video editor who needs to transfer large media files from an external drive as quickly as possible. The workstation has an eSATA port on the back, and the editor has an external enclosure with both USB 2.0 and eSATA connections. After connecting the enclosure with eSATA, the drive is not detected, but it works immediately over USB. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason?
- A
The eSATA connection does not provide power to the external drive enclosure
- B
eSATA requires the drive to be formatted with GPT instead of MBR
- C
The workstation must disable AHCI mode before eSATA devices can be recognized
- D
eSATA only supports optical drives, not hard drives or SSDs
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
This question tests practical understanding of eSATA in a real support scenario. On A+ Core 1, candidates should know that eSATA is used for external storage and can offer performance advantages over older USB standards such as USB 2.0 because it extends the SATA bus externally. However, a key limitation of standard eSATA is that it typically does not provide bus power. As a result, many eSATA external enclosures require a separate AC adapter or other power source. This is a common troubleshooting point in the field. By contrast, USB often provides both power and data over the same cable, which is why the same enclosure may appear to work immediately over USB. This aligns with common vendor documentation for external storage enclosures and standard PC hardware best practices: verify both data connectivity and power requirements when troubleshooting externally attached drives.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Standard eSATA provides data connectivity only and does not supply power like USB can. Many external enclosures need separate external power when connected over eSATA. If the enclosure works over USB but is not detected over eSATA, a missing power source is a very likely cause.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. eSATA is an interface standard and does not require a specific partition style such as GPT or MBR in order for the drive to be detected. Partition style affects how storage is organized and recognized by the operating system after the hardware is already connected and powered.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. AHCI is commonly associated with SATA features such as hot swapping, and disabling AHCI would not be a normal requirement for eSATA detection. In many cases, AHCI support actually helps with proper SATA and eSATA functionality.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. eSATA is designed for external SATA storage devices, including hard drives and SSDs. It is not limited to optical drives. This option reflects a misunderstanding of the purpose of the interface.