Hi. I have numerous portable hd's for storage, and backup purposes. Some of them have a connection for E-sata. I don't have a dedicated E-sata port on my MB, but I was supplied with an adapter plate, that I can attach to a spare sata port, to convert it. So I connected the adapter plate, and connect the drive to it. I know the port has to be activated in the BIOS. When it is, when I turn the computer on, and the device isn't turned on, I get a message saying there is no device attached to the port, but it does give me the option to continue. So it seems the only way the harddrive is recognized, is if I power the unit on, let it do it's thing, then turn my computer on, and it's recognized. My question is, is there another way to have the drive recognized, while the computer is still on or am I stuck with rebooting the computer? Thanks.