Best USB2 to Ultra ATA 100 adapter card or external HDD?

[Knack]

I just set up what I thought was the mostly robustly constructed portable
3.5" HDD external enclosure for USB 2.0. The case has an extruded aluminum
shell with cooling ribs on two faces and vented openings on the ends for air
circulation. It also has an external power adapter for converting 120 VAC to
the required DC voltages. It is a KingWin KM-H31-U2-01 (sometimes called a
MAP-H31 by other brands).

Last night I used it for the first time and did a backup with it. But today
it won't spin up either of two brand new Ultra ATA HDDs that I've tried in
it.

Here are the voltages at the HDD's power connector:
black #1 +5.11 vdc
black #2 +5.11 vdc
yellow -6.91 vdc

Is the external power supply adapter bad, or is there something wrong with
the enclosure's circuit card?

BTW, the transfer rate last night was terrible: averaged only 3.17 MB/sec
over a period of 24 mins.

Does anyone know of the best make & model card for the external enclosure?

 

[Impmon]

Here are the voltages at the HDD's power connector:
black #1 +5.11 vdc
black #2 +5.11 vdc
yellow -6.91 vdc

Is the external power supply adapter bad, or is there something wrong with
the enclosure's circuit card?

You got the meter on wrong way. Red should be around +5v and yellow
at +12v. Black are ground (0v) and usually are tied together in the
power supply.

Adjusting for that, the reading does look OK to me so it could be the
IDE interface, loose cable, or something else. Did you unplug the USB
cable, shut the drive off, power it back up, and then plug the cable
back?

 

[Knack]

OK. Thanks. I've now remeasured the red black, yellow wires across ground
(instead of across red as before), and have got the same correct values that
you replied with.

The drive normally spins up as soon as I flip the enclosure's switch 'ON';
regardless of whether or not the USB2 cable is connected. That function
should have nothing to do with USB2.

Since posting, I momentarily got the drive to spin up. Now nothing again.
Looks like I definitely need a replacement card to go inside the enclosure,
because the card in there now must have some sort of bad switching component
(bad solid state relay chip?). Like to know who makes the best card, and
where to buy it.

 

[Arno Wagner]

OK. Thanks. I've now remeasured the red black, yellow wires across ground
(instead of across red as before), and have got the same correct values that
you replied with.

The drive normally spins up as soon as I flip the enclosure's switch 'ON';
regardless of whether or not the USB2 cable is connected. That function
should have nothing to do with USB2.

Since posting, I momentarily got the drive to spin up. Now nothing again.
Looks like I definitely need a replacement card to go inside the enclosure,
because the card in there now must have some sort of bad switching component
(bad solid state relay chip?).

Like to know who makes the best card, and where to buy it.

Sorry, but that is extremely hard to say and nobody here does
extensive electronics testing for this type of adapter.

However if the drives do not spin-up, it is very likely a power issue
and not an interface issue. Warranty replacement may be a solution,
there is variation in semiconductors and you might just have been
unlycky.

Arno

 

[mike]

I just set up what I thought was the mostly robustly constructed portable
3.5" HDD external enclosure for USB 2.0. The case has an extruded aluminum
shell with cooling ribs on two faces and vented openings on the ends for air
circulation. It also has an external power adapter for converting 120 VAC to
the required DC voltages. It is a KingWin KM-H31-U2-01 (sometimes called a
MAP-H31 by other brands).

Last night I used it for the first time and did a backup with it. But today
it won't spin up either of two brand new Ultra ATA HDDs that I've tried in
it.

Here are the voltages at the HDD's power connector:
black #1 +5.11 vdc
black #2 +5.11 vdc
yellow -6.91 vdc

Is the external power supply adapter bad, or is there something wrong with
the enclosure's circuit card?

BTW, the transfer rate last night was terrible: averaged only 3.17 MB/sec
over a period of 24 mins.

Does anyone know of the best make & model card for the external enclosure?

If you dig around on the forums, you'll read many horror stories about
reliabiltiy of these devices.
First thing I'd do is replace the power supply. It may be fine with no
load, but folding up under load causing the drive to shut down.

I'd be interested to hear what data transfer rates people are really
getting with USB2. I'm only capable of about 3MB/S to a usb2 flash card
that's spec'd at 10MB/s write speed. I only get 6MB/S over a 100Mb
ethernet connection. My 100MB/S disk drive benchmarks at 1/3 that.

Bottom line is that each device is specified under ideal conditions.
A system of two such devices rarely achieves that rate.

mike
--
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Return address is VALID but some sites block emails
with links. Delete this sig when replying.
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Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
MAKE THE OBVIOUS CHANGES TO THE LINK
ht<removethis>tp://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/

 

[Knack]

Sorry, but that is extremely hard to say and nobody here does
extensive electronics testing for this type of adapter.

However if the drives do not spin-up, it is very likely a power issue
and not an interface issue. Warranty replacement may be a solution,
there is variation in semiconductors and you might just have been
unlycky.

The fact that 2 new unused identical HDDs mounted in the same enclosure are
experiencing the same problem points to a fault of the enclosure's circuit
card.

As with almost all cheap electronics from Asia, no replacement parts for the
enclosure are available. My web searches have turned up various such cards,
but they are not designed for mounting inside enclosures, but instead come
as part of a kit with USB2 cable and ATA 100 connector attached to them for
use as enclosureless benchtop work (marketed for technicians and hobbyists).
The replacement card that I need should have a very short ATA 100 cable
coming out of it with a connector for mouting to a HDD, and a USB2 device
connector, and should either have a small metal flange on it (for mounting
to an enclosure end) or be cabable of being fastened to such a flange.

 

[Healthnut]

I just set up what I thought was the mostly robustly constructed portable
3.5" HDD external enclosure for USB 2.0. The case has an extruded aluminum
shell with cooling ribs on two faces and vented openings on the ends for
air circulation. It also has an external power adapter for converting 120
VAC to the required DC voltages. It is a KingWin KM-H31-U2-01 (sometimes
called a MAP-H31 by other brands).

Last night I used it for the first time and did a backup with it. But
today it won't spin up either of two brand new Ultra ATA HDDs that I've
tried in it.

BTW, the transfer rate last night was terrible: averaged only 3.17 MB/sec
over a period of 24 mins.

Solved. I had the HDD jumpered incorrectly. Master is the correct jumpering
for this particular enclosure. Couple nights ago I did a successful backup
to that external HDD when it was
configured as Cable Select. I jumpered it that way because the HDD was
labeled with an instruction to do it that way if it is to be connected with
an Ultra ATA cable. Unfortunately since then I couldn't get reliable spin-up
of the HDD. I guess I was just lucky that night. I was beginning to think
the enclosure's adapter circuitry had somehow failed since then because the
HDD is very new, and I also tested another identicle HDD in the same
enclosure and it also was not spinning up. So since rejumpering the HDD as
Master I can now switch it off/on repeatedly and it spins up, and with OK
partition detection by the laptop's WinXP.

The low transfer rate must be due to the bottleneck of CardBus, because the
computer is a laptop with a CardBus-to-USB2 adapter card being used in the
data stream to the external HDD.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Solved. I had the HDD jumpered incorrectly.

That remains to be seen. It could also be the particular HDs in use.

Master is the correct jumpering for this particular enclosure.

Couple nights ago I did a successful backup

In your case.

to that external HDD when it was configured as Cable Select.

Which it shouldn't have if your conclusion is to be true.

I jumpered it that way because the HDD was labeled with an instruc-
tion to do it that way if it is to be connected with an Ultra ATA cable.

It is a preference, not a requirement.

Unfortunately since then I couldn't get reliable spin-up of the HDD.

Which sounds like an intermittend hardware problem.

I guess I was just lucky that night.

Lucky, it that a hardware term?

I was beginning to think the enclosure's adapter circuitry had somehow
failed since then because the HDD is very new, and I also tested another
identicle HDD in the same enclosure and it also was not spinning up. So
since rejumpering the HDD as Master I can now switch it off/on repeated-
ly and it spins up, and with OK partition detection by the laptop's WinXP.

The low transfer rate must be due to the bottleneck of CardBus,

Which is 30MB/s or so.

because the computer is a laptop with a CardBus-to-USB2 adapter card
being used in the data stream to the external HDD.

Your conclusions are obviously your own and that's what they should stay.

 

[jameshanley39]

I just set up what I thought was the mostly robustly constructed portable
3.5" HDD external enclosure for USB 2.0. The case has an extruded aluminum
shell with cooling ribs on two faces and vented openings on the ends for air
circulation. It also has an external power adapter for converting 120 VAC to
the required DC voltages. It is a KingWin KM-H31-U2-01 (sometimes called a
MAP-H31 by other brands).

Last night I used it for the first time and did a backup with it. But today
it won't spin up either of two brand new Ultra ATA HDDs that I've tried in
it.

Here are the voltages at the HDD's power connector:
black #1 +5.11 vdc
black #2 +5.11 vdc
yellow -6.91 vdc

Is the external power supply adapter bad, or is there something wrong with
the enclosure's circuit card?

BTW, the transfer rate last night was terrible: averaged only 3.17 MB/sec
over a period of 24 mins.

Does anyone know of the best make & model card for the external enclosure?

not an enclosure just get a plain adaptor. This one infact...

in thread "IDE -> USB cable (w/o) enclosure" alt.comp.hardware

I posted

http://www.xpcgear.com/usbideadapter.html <--- right tool, bad flimsy model

graet tool, but

avoid that make/model pictured there. I bought one like that once. It
worked in my maxtor but not my seagate. The adaptor doesn't fit
securely into the seagate. i guess seagate is less deep.


This one is far better. I always iuse it. I bought 2.. 'cos i'm afraid
of losing it!
(ok, i admit, i bought 4 )
http://www.mc3llc.com/prodimages/USB2-IDE_LR.jpg


available here
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?...



and cheap, less than $20

 

[jameshanley39]

If you dig around on the forums, you'll read many horror stories about
reliabiltiy of these devices.
First thing I'd do is replace the power supply. It may be fine with no
load, but folding up under load causing the drive to shut down.

I'd be interested to hear what data transfer rates people are really
getting with USB2. I'm only capable of about 3MB/S to a usb2 flash card
that's spec'd at 10MB/s write speed. I only get 6MB/S over a 100Mb
ethernet connection. My 100MB/S disk drive benchmarks at 1/3 that.

Bottom line is that each device is specified under ideal conditions.
A system of two such devices rarely achieves that rate.

mike
--

what do you use to measure those transfer speeds?

 

[jameshanley39]

Solved. I had the HDD jumpered incorrectly. Master is the correct jumpering
for this particular enclosure. Couple nights ago I did a successful backup
to that external HDD when it was
configured as Cable Select. I jumpered it that way because the HDD was
labeled with an instruction to do it that way if it is to be connected with
an Ultra ATA cable. Unfortunately since then I couldn't get reliable spin-up
of the HDD. I guess I was just lucky that night. I was beginning to think
the enclosure's adapter circuitry had somehow failed since then because the
HDD is very new, and I also tested another identicle HDD in the same
enclosure and it also was not spinning up. So since rejumpering the HDD as
Master I can now switch it off/on repeatedly and it spins up, and with OK
partition detection by the laptop's WinXP.

<snip>

That's weird. My experience has been that any jumper position works.
And others too have found that. Maybe you have a slightly funny HDD or
funny adaptor.
Try other HDDs as an experiment.