I have a new computer with a motherboard that supports eSATA. One care would not recognize the NTFS formatted 1 TB hard drive I have connected via an eSATA cable. The drive performs flawlessly with VISTA otherwise. I checked this forum first and could not find any information that pertained to my issue so I contacted email support to see if I can get this resolved. Within the allotted 24 hours I get a response to download a program...
http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/4/f/74f8bf9b-a19e-4f14-b3e7-0a3fe389224d/CaclsDeleteDB.exe
and then follow a long series of procedures that came from the support email, all of which I did.
Then all hell broke loose. Unrecognized programs, programs essentially disappearing including, ironically, One Care. I get error message after error messages on boot up. My DVD disk drive doesn't work, all the icons disappeared from my desktop... the list goes on and on. It worked like a virus. If you needed to screw somebody over with One Care running on their computer use some social engineering to get them to install this baby.
So I get this email from support this morning that says wait-that email was meant for another customer please disregard the previous email. Microsoft One care by design does not support eSATA. Get an external hard drive that hooks up via USB. This message came too late. I can't begin to tell how much time I have spent getting this new machine up to speed to accommodate my workflow. What a disaster. I feel compelled to share with you the message from support.
"I would like to apologize for the previous email which was intended for a different customer. Please disregard the email and let's continue our troubleshooting. I am deeply sorry for any inconvenience or confusion this has caused." and "please understand that Windows Live OneCare cannot select ESATA connected external hard drive as the backup device. It is by design. I suggest switching back to the USB cable to continue to work for the backup. Your understanding is highly appreciated.
I know stuff happens. I'm a National Park Service Park Ranger in Olympic National Park in Washington state and help Microsoft employees from the Seattle area on a daily basis to enjoy their time off. I hope I can get some credit for some telephone support. It is at that point I will pesonally accept the apology.
Meanwhile a simple but important message Microsoft One Care does not support eSATA. I have not seen that anywhere on this forum.
Rain Forest Guru
