Bare two-drive bay - wanted

[CarvedDuck]

I am looking for a low-cost NAS-like, USB connected box that is just the bare SATA guts with external power for two 2.5" drives in the one box. I bought two 1TB drives at a great price but they either need one of the two-USB to one cables or a powered enclosure.

Currently running them from a four-port powered USB hub, but the power share is unrelaiable as one or the other keeps dropping connection. With just one drive using two of the USB ports it runs fine, but after adding the second one, it gets flaky.

I found some powered SATA adapters but they are like 24-bucks apiece and I would need two. The cheap drives are not looking so good now.

Can anyone point me at something that will work?

 

[Itaregid]

Got an old XP computer laying around? That's what I did with my old XP box; I turned it into a NAS. I just made sure Internet access was blocked in my router.

If not, does your motherboard support eSATA? That works better, IMO, than USB.

You should use a powered enclosure (or self powered USB hub) so you do not attempt to draw too much power through your computer's USB port.

Will this be a permanent setup? I ask because I really like docking stations instead of enclosures. They make it simple to swap drives in and out (3.5" and 2.5") and being open, you don't have to worry about heat, or fan noise. Actual enclosures tend to be more expensive too with the exception of this one, as it accepts 2.5" drives only.

 

[CarvedDuck]

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for providing it includes the power supply, but the statement, "box contents may vary" is a caution.

Open Box: Rosewill Transclosure RX200R-APU3-25B External Hard Drive Enclosure - Dual Slots for 2 x 2.5" SATA SSDs / HDDs with RAID 0 / 1 & JBOD / 2 LUN, USB 3.0 Connection, 100% Screw-less, Aluminum Body - Newegg.com

 

[Itaregid]

Sorry, I did not notice it was an "open box" item. But still, the description says it includes an AC Adapter.

However, if me, I would take no chances. The same one that is not an "open box" item is here.

 

[CarvedDuck]

However, if me, I would take no chances. The same one that is not an "open box" item is here.

Thanks, I too would go for the new for the few extra bucks. BUT, I jumped too soon as after reading more it seems it may already be a SOC-NAS system since it can be set for RAID modes etc by holding down the reset button at start up. I need a basic USB drives as they are VeraCrypt drives managed from the PC. That's why I mentioned just the SATA guts.

I have an email into their Tech-Support and waiting on whether it can be used just as two bare drives. It may be one of the Reset-hold options as one reviewer **kinda** says he is using as bare drives.

 

[Itaregid]

Scroll down near the bottom of the Overview on that Newegg page. There you will see it supports 2LUN Function Mode. That means the drives will be seen separately, no spanning.

LUN = Logical unit number

So this device will treat the 2 drives as 2 logical drives, which is what you are looking for.

 

[CarvedDuck]

Thanks, but I had read all the reviews and there are several contentious issues between 2LUN JBOD, as well as a possible issue with the box needing to format the drives on install. I have 850Gb of stuff on the drives and do NOT want that wiped out at the press of a button.

 

[Itaregid]

Rosewill Dual Bay JBOD Enclosure.

JBOD = Just a bunch of disks.

There are several options if you just Google around and look at Newegg, Amazon and others. Or, as I said before, check out a docking station.

 

[ellise]

yes,check out a docking station.