Disabling write cache on eSATA enclosures

[FreeBSD List]

I've got an external eSATA enclosure as well which is using a Silicon 
Image Chipset and its connected to a Silicon Image SATA controller just 
like yours. So far, I haven't figured out how to turn off the write 
cache. I even tried playing with it on Windows (both XP & Vista) and so 
far, there is no way to disable it. This seems like a common problem 
with Silicon Image Chipset + Silicon Image SATA controller. There's a 
lot of complains on google about this but no fixes that work.

If anyone on the list has any first hand experience in resolving this, 
I'm all ears.

-- Jacques Manukyan


Dan wrote:
> Hi. atacontrol is reporting that the write cache on an eSATA enclosure I
> am using (Silicon Image chipset) with Silicon Image SATA controller has
> write cache enabled even though I want it disabled in loader.conf. My
> feeling is this has to be controlled by the enclosure, though such
> control doesn't exist. Is this it, or is the OS still responsible for
> turning off cache on external drives? What's your experience? Thanks.
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