Product ID: PEXSAT32
The PEXSAT32 2-Port PCI Express SATA 6 Gbps (SATA 3.0) Controller Card offers simple connectivity between a host computer and SATA 3.0 devices - a cost-effective solution for connecting high-speed storage, such as High RPM Hard Drives and Solid State Drives (SSD), which in turn allows for easier data backups and archiving.
With full support for SATA 3.0 hard drives and data transfer speeds of up to 6 Gbps, the adapter card features a native PCI Express single chipset that provides enhanced compatibility, reliability and performance for external SATA 600 MB/s storage needs.
The controller card is backward compatible with SATA 2.0 devices, providing the versatility to use older storage, and features support for RAID 0 and 1 modes as well as port multiplier capability with command-based and FIS-based switching for connecting multiple external hard drives to a host PC through a single SATA connection.
A dual profile solution, the SATA 3.0 controller card includes a low profile/half-height bracket for installation in slimline or small form factor computer cases.
| Warranty Information | Warranty | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|
| Connector(s) | 1 - Connector Type(s) | PCI Express x1 |
| 2 - Internal Ports | SATA (7 pin, Data) | |
| Environmental | Operating Temperature | 5°C to 50°C (41°F to 122°F) |
| Storage Temperature | -25°C to 70°C (-13°F to 158°F) | |
| Humidity | 15~90% RH | |
| Hardware | Ports | 2 |
| Interface | SATA | |
| Bus Type | PCI Express | |
| Card Type | Standard Profile (LP bracket incl.) | |
| Chipset ID | Marvell - 88SE9128 | |
| Packaging Information | Package Height | 3,2 cm [1,3 in] |
| Package Length | 17,5 cm [6,9 in] | |
| Shipping (Package) Weight | 126,0 g [4,4 oz] | |
| Package Width | 14,5 cm [5,7 in] | |
| Performance | Maximum Data Transfer Rate | 6 Gbps |
| Type and Rate | SATA III (6 Gbps) | |
| Port Multiplier | Yes | |
| Number of Ports That Support Port Multiplier | 2 (can only use 1 PM at a time) | |
| Number of Drives Supported Through Port Multiplier | 1 to 5 | |
| Bootable | Yes | |
| Hardware Raid Supported | Yes | |
| Supported RAID Modes | RAID 1 (Mirrored Disks) | |
| RAID 0 (Striped Disks) | ||
| JBOD - (Just a Bunch of Disks) | ||
| ATAPI Support | Yes | |
| Physical Characteristics | Weight of Product | 33,0 g [1,2 oz] |
| Material | Steel | |
| Product Length | 6,8 cm [2,7 in] | |
| Product Width | 6,4 cm [2,5 in] | |
| Product Height | 2,1 cm [0,8 in] | |
| Software | OS Compatibility | Windows® XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 11 Windows Server® 2003, 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019 Mac OS® 10.6 to 10.14 Linux 3.5.x to 4.11.x LTS Versions only Note: Connected drives cannot be used as System / Primary drive in Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019 |
| Microsoft WHQL Certified | Yes | |
| Special Notes / Requirements | Note | The maximum throughput of this card is limited by the bus interface. If used with PCI Express Gen 1.0 enabled computers, the max throughput is 2.5 Gbps. If used with PCI Express Gen 2.0 enabled computers, the max throughput is 5 Gbps.
Only one port can use the Port Multiplier feature at a time. |
| Port Multiplier not supported in Mac OS®️ | ||
| Alarm function is not supported in MSU software. | ||
| The Marvell Storage Utility application requires macOS 10.9 to 10.14. | ||
| What's in the Box | 1 - Included in Package | SATA 6Gbps PCI Express Card |
| Low Profile Bracket | ||
| Driver CD | ||
| Instruction Manual |
Latching SATA connectors, for securely fastened hard drive installations.
SATA hard drive cable, with latching SATA connectors, for securely fastened hard drive installations.
This high quality SATA cable is designed for connecting SATA drives even in tight spaces.
This high quality SATA cable is designed for connecting SATA drives even in tight spaces.
Connect and position SATA drives easily - designed for larger cases
We are always ready to assist you with any questions you may have.
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Live Chat (opens in new window)When Windows asks, “Where do you want to install Windows?” choose “Load Driver.” Then connect a USB drive (or insert a CD) with the controller’s RAID driver and load the correct one for the OS you will be installing.
Before you install the device, make sure that your operating system is current (for example, the most recent service pack is installed).
Note: Windows usually saves the files to the Downloads folder that is associated with your user account (for example, C:\Users\your_name\Downloads).
Note: If the Run as Administrator option is not available, you might be attempting to run the installer from within the zipped file. Extract the files using the instructions in step 2.
Your computer will automatically complete the driver installation and your device should be ready to use.
Before you install the device, make sure that your operating system is current (for example, the most recent service pack is installed).
Note: Windows usually saves the files to the Downloads folder that is associated with your user account (for example, C:\Documents and Settings\your_name\My Documents\Downloads).
Your computer will automatically complete the driver installation and your device should be ready to use.
Try updating the Motherboard BIOS and use the card in another PCI Express slot. If that does not help experiment with disabling any onboard RAID controllers or other SATA controllers.
When you troubleshoot issues with a hard drive controller card, there are some quick tests that you can complete to rule out potential problems. You can test to make sure that the following components are working correctly and are not the source of the issue:
IDE, SATA, and eSATA cables
Hard drives
Hard drive controller card
To test your setup components, try the following:
Use the IDE, SATA, or eSATA cable, hard drive, and hard drive controller card in another setup to see if the problem is with the components or the setup.
Use a different IDE, SATA, or eSATA cable, hard drive, and hard drive controller card in your setup to see if the problem persists. Ideally, you should test a component that you know works in another setup.
When you test your cables, it is recommended that you do the following:
Test each cable individually.
Use short cables when you are testing.
When you test the hard drive and hard drive controller card, it is recommended that you do the following:
To open the Device Manager, press the Windows key + R, type devmgmt.msc, and press Enter. Check the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers (for IDE) section, or the Storage controllers (for SATA) section.
Do one of the following:
If you do not see the hard drive controller card in Device Manager, refer to the following FAQ: https://www.startech.com/support/faqs/technical-support?topic=expansion-cards#pci-pcie-cannot-boot-os-or-detect-windows.
If the device is listed with an error, reinstall the drivers by completing the instructions on the website.
If the hard drive is listed with unallocated space, the hard drive needs to be formatted. Right-click unallocated and click New Simple Volume. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the reformatting.
Note: Formatting a hard drive erases all of the data on it. Make sure that you back up all of your data before you reformat the hard drive.
To check Disk Management, press the Windows key + R, type diskmgmt.msc, and press Enter. Check to see if your hard drive is listed.
If the hard drive is listed as healthy but does not have a drive letter, for example, C:, right-click healthy and click Change Drive Letter and Paths. Click Add, assign a drive letter, and click OK.
Note: A formatted hard drive does not show up in Computer or My Computer until it has a drive letter assigned to it.
In order to rebuild a RAID array, you need to replace a physical drive with an identical drive on the same RAID controller. Although standard RAID levels are generally agreed upon throughout the industry, the implementation varies between manufacturers. RAID arrays are typically not accessible when they are moved to another controller, and data may be unrecoverable if the drives are out of order or have been formatted or accessed by another RAID controller.
If a RAID controller has failed, you should get the exact same model of RAID controller.
Note: If a drive or drives were damaged, it is possible that the RAID array may be permanently unrecoverable.
RAID should not be considered a replacement for backing up your data. If critical data is going onto a RAID array, you should back up the data on another physical drive or logical set of drives.
With the following RAID modes, recovery is possible using the same StarTech.com product. Refer to the following table for the appropriate method to use to recover your RAID array.
| RAID mode | Max # of failed drives | Procedure |
| RAID 1 | Only one drive is needed for recovery. |
The array will rebuild and is accessible during the rebuilding process. |
| RAID 3 | Single drive failure will rebuild. |
Note: Do not change the order of the drives.
|
| RAID 5 | Single drive failure will rebuild. |
Note: Do not change the order of the drives.
|
| RAID 10 | Only one drive in a mirrored set can fail. |
Note: Do not change the order of the drives.
|
You should not upgrade your device's firmware if you do not have any issues with the functionality of your device. The only time you should consider an upgrade is if you are experiencing a problem with the device, and you have confirmed that the firmware addresses this problem. You can confirm this is the case by reviewing the documentation included with the firmware or by consulting with our Technical Support team. Incorrectly upgrading firmware can result in diminished performance so it is best to contact StarTech.com if you would like to perform this operation.
If you boot into the operating system and load the Marvell Storage Utility, the RAID rebuild will not complete. The RAID can only be rebuilt in the controller’s BIOS. To learn how to access your cards BIOS, please see the product information included with your card.
To confirm that Windows detects your expansion card, complete the following:
Your expansion card is listed according to the name of the chipset. To determine the name of the chipset of your expansion card, navigate to www.StarTech.com and look on the Technical Specifications tab for your product.
To confirm that the Mac OS detects your expansion card, complete the following:
Your expansion card is listed according to the name of the chipset. To determine the name of the chipset of your expansion card, navigate to www.StarTech.com and look on the Technical Specifications tab for your product.
In order to use a hard drive plugged into a hard drive controller card as your operating system, you need to install the operating system onto the hard drive while it is plugged into the expansion card. To do this, complete the following:
Note: Not all hard drive controller cards have drivers that allow you to install the operating system onto the hard drive. All of the hard drive controllers that display this FAQ include this capability.
Before you begin, consult the documentation that came with the motherboard to make sure that the motherboard or BIOS supports booting from an expansion card.
Although you can adapt a Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) drive to connect to a standard SATA controller card, the card must support SAS commands in order to communicate with SAS drives. SAS drives have a different command set that is not present on SATA controllers.
This SATA controller card only supports standard SATA drives.
This device supports the ATA Packet Interface (ATAPI) protocol. ATAPI is required for optical drives, including CD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM drives, and Blu-ray players. Because this device supports ATAPI, optical drives are also supported.
Note: Not all StarTech.com devices support each of the RAID modes described below. For more information on the RAID modes that your device supports, refer to the manual or the StarTech.com product page.
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) is a virtual disk technology that combines multiple physical drives into one unit. RAID can create redundancy, improve performance, or do both.
RAID should not be considered a replacement for backing up your data. If critical data is going onto a RAID array, it should be backed up to another physical drive or logical set of drives.
The following are terms that are normally used in connection with RAID:
Different RAID levels exist for different application requirements.
Refer to the following table for the list of RAID modes offered by some StarTech.com products:
| RAID mode | Description | Operation | Advantages | Disadvantages | Recovery |
| RAID 0 | Striped disks | Data is split evenly between two or more disks. | Large size and the fastest speed. | No redundancy. | If one or more drives fails, this results in array failure. |
| RAID 1 | Mirrored disks | Two or more drives have identical data on them. | A single drive failure will not result in data loss. | Speed and size is limited by the slowest and smallest disk. | Only one drive is needed for recovery. |
| RAID 3 | Striped set with dedicated parity | Data is split evenly between two or more disks, plus a dedicated drive for parity storage. | High speeds for sequential read/write operations. | Poor performance for multiple simultaneous instructions. | A single drive failure will rebuild. |
| RAID 5 | Striped disks with distributed parity | Data is split evenly between three or more disks. Parity is split between disks. | Large size, fast speed, and redundancy. | The total array size is reduced by parity. | A single drive failure will rebuild. |
| RAID 10 | 1+0; Striped set of Mirrored Subset | Four or more drives are made into two mirrors that are striped. | Larger size and higher speed than RAID-1, and more redundancy than RAID-0. | No parity. | Only one drive in a mirrored set can fail. |
| JBOD | Just a Bunch Of Disks | Any number of drives are accessed independently by the operating system. | Software RAID modes can be used. | Hardware RAID may have better performance. | N/A |
| Big | Spanning or Concatenation | Data is written on one drive until it is full, and then the next drive(s) until it or they are full. | Creates a very large and simple array. |
No redundancy. |
N/A |
| Clone | RAID 1 + Spare |
Two drives have identical data, plus one drive is used for rebuilding in case of a primary array failure. |
Seamless operation when one drive fails in a RAID-1 array. | Spare drive is not accessible to the user. | Only one drive is needed for recovery. |
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