[miller890]

Can I make a backup of the original S3 internal drive minus recordings without divorcing the eSATA?

 

[spike2k5]

Can I make a backup of the original S3 internal drive minus recordings without divorcing the eSATA?

Yes,
try mfstools or WinMFS.

With mfstools, you have to attach both Internal and eSATA drvie to a computer.

With WinMFS, you just need the internal and do backup.