StarTech 1U Rackmount 4-Bay 3.5" SATA External Hard Drive Enclosure

2023-01-03T19:00:00

If anyone at StarTech has some of these lying around collecting dust, I could make use of several more.

PriceK

Originally posted at

2022-08-01T20:00:00

After trying a pair of the S251BMU313 and also a pair of the S251BPU313 but both of these models having driver issues on Windows and Linux so not working then being returned, I tired a pair of this one... These are both as if they're dead-on-arrival and don't provoke any response from any of my Windows computers (7 / 8.1 / 10 or my Linux OS-based NAS, and not even a flash from the LEDs of the enclosures (with or without an SSD fitted)... Absolutely useless. They are also specified to have the ASMedia 1053 chip but actually have the ASMedia ASM1153E chip.

Cookie589

Originally posted at

2022-01-10T19:00:00

I have had the drive disconnect several times and had to use a data recovery program to recover my photos. The program cost more than the drive case. I now have no trust in the device as it is unreliable.

ianc

Originally posted at

2021-12-30T19:00:00

Constantly connects then disconnects with any drive I use. Drives work fine when I don?t sue this enclosure. Only tested with SSDs so far.

Evan A.

Originally posted at

2021-08-15T08:45:06

Works extremely well! Easy to open. Took maybe 30 seconds to install the drive in the enclosure and plug it in to use it. Feels solid.

CHRISTOPHER M.

2021-06-05T11:14:17

put Samsung 970 EVO plus in, doesn't work sees it as F drive but says no disk. Any ideas I'll lil mad.

William M.

2021-04-23T20:00:00

I bought this enclosure (SM2NGFFMBU33) two months ago to transfer files from a PC with a dead motherboard. The enclosure worked fine and did exactly what I needed. I did check and double-check the M.2 SSD connector BEFORE I ordered it to make sure it would fit properly. My SSD was pulled from an older PC and I did see enclosures on the market where it would not fit the connector. Apparently all M.2 connectors are not the same or have changed slightly over time despite an assumed standard. Pros: Aluminum construction for durability, good build quality - solid and everything fits together the way it was designed, no external power required, all parts were included in my kit, file transfer speeds were fast Cons: the screws are tiny and really hard to work with, the SSD mounting screw causes a slight bend in the SSD board, and the SSD mounting screw comes loose and requires retightening periodically Subject to the cons described above I would both recommend this product and purchase it again.

Darren

Originally posted at

2021-04-22T20:00:00

I've used these for several years. It is unfortunate that they are out of production.

kprice

Originally posted at

2021-04-20T20:00:00

Opened up box and missing the SSD mounting screw and standoff as well as the end plate. Very disappointing as it is not functional with missing parts :(

taraL

Originally posted at

2020-09-22T20:00:00

Please be aware, that if you connect this device permanently, the disc inside never spins down on it's own, when there's no activity on the USB bus. If you spin it down manually (e.g. by using Linux' hdparm) the status LED is flashing permanently until you spin it up again. Besides that, it's a great product, but the lack if the spin down feature is a big issue for me.

XVIII

Originally posted at

2020-08-31T10:15:42

Another great product

Luis F.

2020-08-12T20:00:00

Old computer motherboard died and removed hard drive and enclosed in this. 500GB successfully saved. But blue light is always blinking even with everything closed and attempt to eject results in "Problem Ejecting USB Attached SCSI USB Mass Storage Device. Device is currently in use." But I see nothing using it.

richardL

Originally posted at

2020-08-02T20:00:00

The first one worked without a hitch, housing a Seagate IronWolf 16 TB NAS (i.e. 24x7x365 drive), and it has been running for days without problems. Added a heat sink externally, this lowers the surface temperature somewhat. Performance is really good, typically 250MB/s disk-to-disk in Windows 10 using USB 3.1 interface over a good PCIe USB 3.1 two-port card.

Ar41

Originally posted at

2020-06-25T20:00:00

My SSD boots, but when I try to look at the content with this adapter, my computer calls the adapter a removable disk adapter with no disk.

br13

Originally posted at

2020-06-19T20:00:00

I ordered this through Best Buy. There was no "drive cushion" packed in the box. My Seagate hard drive was barely too wide to fit into the case. Very disappointed because I need to recover several files.

tkw59

Originally posted at

2020-03-24T20:00:00

I bought this two years ago. Worked great. Somehow the microUSB slot got messed up. Called support, connected immediately and they provided great information. Very knowledgeable. Filled out RMA and received the replacement product. I have bought quite a few of their products. Great quality. Long lasting. Great service. I would never hesitate to buy their product.

MikeInHouston

Originally posted at

2019-09-19T20:00:00

There is no support for Linux users although the description states "3510SMU33 supports all of the leading operating systems, including: Windows, OSX, Linux and Google Chrome". The manual also complete dismisses Linux...

unhappyLinuxUser

Originally posted at

2019-05-16T20:00:00

Backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and 3.0. Super rugged brushed black aluminum. Nice little spacer included for secure fit SSD installations. Better than any fixed external drive. When you fill your drive up, just pop open the case and install another. I'm using this with 2TB Samsung SSD. Super fast transfer. This is a real quality product. Thanks StarTech...Bob

Bob C.

Originally posted at

2019-04-30T20:00:00

I bought two of these today from Memory Express in Calgary. They will be back there tomorrow! My wife has a HP Pavilion (I know.... not even mediocre!) with a M2N68-LA "Pegatron" Mother Board. In the caddy (adapter Enclosure!) the PC won't start and tells me there is a problem and I need to repair my system... I connect the SSD directly i.e. no longer in the caddy... and all is well ... boots up as normal. I tried the other Adapter Enclosure that I bought... same thing! Neither works with HP or this particular board. I just hope I get my money back from Memory Express!

Cherokee

Originally posted at

2019-02-25T19:00:00

I bought one of these two years ago, I use it every single day, and I have put thousands of terabytes through it, and it's still going strong. Please release a Type-C version of this and a Type-C version of the NVMe adapter, especially. An NVMe drive could use that extra 5Gb/s of throughput.

jeremiah

Originally posted at

2019-02-19T19:00:00

This is the second one I've bought, I love these enclosures, super fast and so far very reliable. My only issues is that the power supply is not working, I verified that it works using the power supply from the first enclosure I bought. Also did not come with the stand.

Pitman77

Originally posted at

2019-01-29T19:00:00

I wanted one of these to work with a WD green M.2 drive I picked up on special to see if i could 'make' a large capacity USB drive. This worked better than I expected. Not only did I get a large capacity drive in a portable enclosure, the cable means a large USB stick isn't sitting in my USB port daring me to bump it and ruin the port. Transfer speeds are very good with large files and the enclosure is very good at dissipating heat. Overall I am very impressed!

Andrew11

Originally posted at

2019-01-18T19:00:00

I bought it and few month ago not connecting to the PC, but HD is still good.

lucrol

Originally posted at

2019-01-13T19:00:00

Hi, i have the SM2NGFFMBU33 i added a crucial P1 M.2 2280, after connecting the unit to the computer, it fails to recognize the SSD -. Windows can see the Disk 2 Removable but states no Media. the SSD is connected and if i put it in a laptop it works fine. advice? Thanks

Winston

Originally posted at

2019-01-11T19:00:00

This is a good quality enclosure as far as function and overall build. The instructions are poor and what should be a mindless install had me stumped for a bit. The instructions talk of a standoff installed...Mine was in the bag and I thought it was to screw the m.2 down. I was missing the screws for the end of the enclosure as none were provided. This should be a fast install but wow for some reason I had to read and figure this out. Then I looked at other reviews and found out that this is common. The screw is too short....no its the right length you need to screw down the stand off with the nut and then the other screw ...screws in the standoff. The enclosure works well but I still found it frustrating that what should take zero instructions took me time to figure out...and the poor instructions made thing even more difficult to understand. On top of that missing screws ...well thats an incomplete product. Good and bad with this but function is what really matters and for that it is ok I reviewed this product in exchange for an unbiased review.

macphoto1970_012

Originally posted at

2019-01-03T19:00:00

I was looking for a rack mountable HDD enclosure for 4 drives to use as the media streaming RAID array in my recording studio. I am using this enclosure with an LSI/Broadcom MegaRAID SAS 9266-4i. The DAW workstation is running Windows 10 Pro. A few questions I had and the answers I discovered: Q: For use in a recording studio control room, how loud are the 3 fans on the rear of the unit? A: Almost silent! Mounted in the rack under my console, they are nearly inaudible. Q: Is this a RAID enclosure? A: No! You must have a RAID card to use with this enclosure. Q: How does the enclosure connect to my computer? A: The connector described as Mini SAS is an SFF 8088. Your RAID card probably has an SFF 8087. No problem, as you'll need an 8088 to 8087 pass through bracket anyway. Q: What drives does it support? A: It doesn't really "support" drives, as it just passes them to your RAID card. I'm using four WD 2TB Golds in Raid 10. So far, so good! The enclosure seems very well engineered. It's made of metal and feels very solid. The power supply support bracket is a nice touch, All drives have activity lights, and drive hot swap is easy, Other reviews I've seen pointed out that this enclosure doesn't auto power on in case of a power failure. In my application, this is not an issue. You should have it on a UPS anyway! Nice job Startech!

zendrum

Originally posted at

2018-12-13T19:00:00

I bought this to use with a Crucial 480GB mSATA drive. I found that when I used it fairly intensively it will randomly disconnect from the host computer resulting in data corruption and loss. It seems to behave better after updating the firmware and reformatting to GPT/NTFS But it's a bit late: I have lost confidence in using it... as the last thing you need is unreliable storage. Also I wish that this came with both USB C and USB B cables. USB B was the only cable supplied.

AndyK

Originally posted at

2018-12-05T19:00:00

Not all parts were in package, i am missing the end plate so i can't really use it since the whole drive just slips out of the "enclosure".

trillal

Originally posted at

2018-11-14T19:00:00

It is very heavy and big, needs 2 cables to connect to a computer (one power cable and one data cable)

Aeschylus

Originally posted at

2018-11-11T19:00:00

Supported TRIM perfectly BUT only after a search for the correct ASM 1153E firmware file - 140509_A1_82_40.bin then update with a third party MPtool application. This was done at my own risk - I do not recommend other users do this as they may render the unit non-functional. Perhaps I had an unit with older firmware. Suggestion - maybe provide the ASM1153E firmware which supports TRIM directly on the startech website rather than have to search at least an hour to fix it. TRIM is important for optimal SSD function. Build quality etc is good but only 3 star for this reason.

NS123

Originally posted at