The big external enclosures thread

[mciahel]

Hi,

Originally Posted by strestus

I would like to buy an external enclosure for my Lite on SHM-165P6S drive.

I have good experiences with that drive and Cypress AT2 or Genesys Logic GL811E chipsets. The Cypress chipset is also used by Liteon for their retail external units.

But according to reports of several users here, there are some crappy revisions of the Cypress (I suspect a firmware issue) on the market. In case you want a Cypress based enclosure, make sure you can return it if it doesn't work properly.

I do not recommend any brand as they might change the hardware without notice.

Michael

[strestus]

Originally Posted by mciahel

Hi,I have good experiences with that drive and Cypress AT2 or Genesys Logic GL811E chipsets. The Cypress chipset is also used by Liteon for their retail external units.

But according to reports of several users here, there are some crappy revisions of the Cypress (I suspect a firmware issue) on the market. In case you want a Cypress based enclosure, make sure you can return it if it doesn't work properly.

I do not recommend any brand as they might change the hardware without notice.

Michael

Good suggestion and now comes another question is AT2+ much better that AT2 or it is just firmware upgrade ?
Actualy I was hopping to buy USB and firewire combo and build-in PSU.
Want combo just to make sure that will hit the desired 16X if not with USB than with Firewire
Also heard that Prolific 3507 is good choice for USB and firewire with Lite-on drive
Did you manage to hit 16X with Cypress at2 on USB ?

Would you guys prefer Cypress at2 (at2+) or Prolific 3507 for Lite-on (with light scribe)?

[MacClipper]

JM20337,
http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=143880

[mciahel]

Hi,

Originally Posted by strestus

Good suggestion and now comes another question is AT2+ much better that AT2 or it is just firmware upgrade ?

AT2+ is a different chipset.

Did you manage to hit 16X with Cypress at2 on USB ?

Yes. Did fine with my Liteon drive. But some revisions seem to be crappy and reach only 7 MB/sec. In that case, "return to vendor" is the only solution yet.

Michael

[zoinbergs]

Does anyone happen to have (or know where I can find) the original Oxford 911+ v1.01 firmware?

Version 1.02 is treating my BenQ DW1655 very badly.

[DrageMester]

Originally Posted by zoinbergs

Version 1.02 is treating my BenQ DW1655 very badly.

Was this disc burned on your LH-20A1H drive?

The BenQ scan looks somewhat like scans of YUDEN000 T03 burned at 20x in my LH-20A1P and scanned in my internally mounted BenQ DW1655.

If this is indeed a disc burned at high speed in your LH-20A1H, then I don't think the enclosure is to blame for the iffy scan.

[watchman101]

ClintB
I need some help.
I flashed my Oxford 911+ and now it is pretty slow.
Uploader can't detect my drive. The only thing that can be accessed is Add Flash Device. Everything in there is empty. I found the Oxford in the first pull down menu but that's about it. I don't know what to put on the sector options.

I am using lite-on as my drive.
Please help..

Eddy

[zoinbergs]

Originally Posted by DrageMester

Was this disc burned on your LH-20A1H drive?

The BenQ scan looks somewhat like scans of YUDEN000 T03 burned at 20x in my LH-20A1P and scanned in my internally mounted BenQ DW1655.

If this is indeed a disc burned at high speed in your LH-20A1H, then I don't think the enclosure is to blame for the iffy scan.

Whoops! I had introduced too many variables regarding the phenomenon in my last post.

You're totally right DM.. it was my first time burning MCC004 @ 16X on my LH-20A1H. It happen to have also been my first time scanning with the new Oxford 911+ chipset firmware though! I shouldn't have overlooked that piece of the puzzle.

Say, you don't happen to know anything more about this little quirk, do you? Is it serious, or something I shouldn't worry about? Any cures?

Thanks for confirming that it's not my enclosure. The new firmware (after scanning a few other discs) is fantastic BTW.

[DrageMester]

Originally Posted by zoinbergs

Say, you don't happen to know anything more about this little quirk, do you? Is it serious, or something I shouldn't worry about? Any cures?

I'm afraid I haven't tested my LH-20A1P thoroughly in this respect yet, so I don't have any more information at this point except what I wrote above.

[zoinbergs]

Originally Posted by DrageMester

I'm afraid I haven't tested my LH-20A1P thoroughly in this respect yet, so I don't have any more information at this point except what I wrote above.

Ahh, that's okay. Thanks anyway!

The way I see it, this quirk is just one more reason why people should take home PIE/PIF tests with a grain of salt.

[watchman101]

Originally Posted by watchman101

ClintB
I need some help.
I flashed my Oxford 911+ and now it is pretty slow.
Uploader can't detect my drive. The only thing that can be accessed is Add Flash Device. Everything in there is empty. I found the Oxford in the first pull down menu but that's about it. I don't know what to put on the sector options.

I am using lite-on as my drive.
Please help..

Eddy

I really need some help. please someone. DrageMester, can you help me as well?

Eddy

[DrageMester]

Originally Posted by watchman101

I really need some help. please someone. DrageMester, can you help me as well?

I don't have any experience with Oxford chipset based enclosures, so I'm afraid I can't help you with this problem.

[chas0039]

Originally Posted by watchman101

I really need some help. please someone. DrageMester, can you help me as well?

Eddy

Someone a couple of winters ago had a lot of info on hacks and uses with the 911+. It was too long ago to find but I would suggest that you post a new thread and most likely he will find you. Make sure and mention 911+ in the title. Good luck.

[clintb]

Originally Posted by watchman101

ClintB
I need some help.
I flashed my Oxford 911+ and now it is pretty slow.
Uploader can't detect my drive. The only thing that can be accessed is Add Flash Device. Everything in there is empty. I found the Oxford in the first pull down menu but that's about it. I don't know what to put on the sector options.

I am using lite-on as my drive.
Please help..

Eddy

Did you follow the directions posted exactly? Please say you got a screen shot of the first screen and there's something under "Currently Selected Device". If so, that's the flash type you need to set. If the firmware is borked, as I did on a 924 chip set, you may need to try programming from another pc. I had no luck at all doing so on my laptop, but got lucky on a machine at work using a Siig 1394b card.

[watchman101]

when I go in to the uploader, it sait that it is not detecting anything at all. Then I click on USB and it still says the same. however that drive can still detect cd/dvd. I was able to burn a cd on a very low speed like 2x.
I think I need to reflash the Oxford 911+, but how when it is not been detected by the flash software.

thanks

[clintb]

Originally Posted by watchman101

when I go in to the uploader, it sait that it is not detecting anything at all. Then I click on USB and it still says the same. however that drive can still detect cd/dvd. I was able to burn a cd on a very low speed like 2x.
I think I need to reflash the Oxford 911+, but how when it is not been detected by the flash software.

thanks

Not all host chipsets will be able to detect the flash. My laptop (generic 1394) and docking station (TI 1394) work very differently. The generic chipset can flash an Oxford and it's capable of the best burns. Seems counterintuitive, I know, because the TI is supposed to be the better of the two.

[Smoks]

I am looking for an external enclosure with the Oxford 924 chipset for my Pioneer 112. Any suggestions?

[clintb]

Originally Posted by Smoks

I am looking for an external enclosure with the Oxford 924 chipset for my Pioneer 112. Any suggestions?

I've only seen the 924 used in 3.5" enclosures. I have a 3.5" case from cooldrives.com...performs very, very good.

[Hex7d0]

Hi there, are Manhattan enclosures any good? I saw one in a store and the desc on the box sounded good (dont't they all!). 5.25, 3.5, 2.5" drives, USB2, and an aluminium casing. I searched for it and this thread came up but I couldn't (dont know how to) search the thread itself for that post!

Are the Manhattan enclosures any good for DVD burners / HDD?

[IdontexistM8]

A handful of Qs I hope someone can answer (or at least have an opinion on)..

Is it worth stick a block of foam padding under an external enclosure to reduce vibrations on a desktop?

Will it in any possible way improve burn quality?

Finally, is a powerful enclosure fan or a less powerful but lower vibration fan preferable?

Cheers..

[DrageMester]

Originally Posted by IdontexistM8

Is it worth stick a block of foam padding under an external enclosure to reduce vibrations on a desktop?

It might be - try it and find out for yourself. I have rubber feet under all my enclosures.

Will it in any possible way improve burn quality?

In theory it might. It depends on how bad the vibrations are.

Finally, is a powerful enclosure fan or a less powerful but lower vibration fan preferable?

I have actually disconnected the fans in all my enclosures, most of which are made of aluminium (aluminum) which provide passive cooling, because I'd rather risk the drive dying prematurely than having to live with the constant noise. I take care not to use the drives in enclosures for too long at a time to prevent them from overheating.

The trade-off is up to you.

[chas0039]

Originally Posted by Hex7d0

Hi there, are Manhattan enclosures any good? I saw one in a store and the desc on the box sounded good (dont't they all!). 5.25, 3.5, 2.5" drives, USB2, and an aluminium casing. I searched for it and this thread came up but I couldn't (dont know how to) search the thread itself for that post!

Are the Manhattan enclosures any good for DVD burners / HDD?

Could be, but it depends on the chipset. As you have access to one locally, you could ask the store to look at the chipset and report back.

[apexDE]

I am searching for a Oxford 911plus Firewire Enclosure, it seems hard to get here in Germany. Does anyone have a hint for me which one to buy?

[uSerKey]

@Hex7d0,

Are the Manhattan enclosures any good for DVD burners / HDD?

FWIW, I have a Manhattam PCI-IDE card and the bios are NOT flashable.
You may want to ask about this or check into this on the Manhattan enclosure.
You may never have a problem requiring to flash bios, but it's a nice feature to have.

[C0deKing]

Please use the new External Enclosures forum for any questions and discussion about external enclosures.