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External enclosure power issue
nlawalker
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hi all,
I have a Vantec NexStar 3 (NST-360SU-BL) external enclosure I use with my work laptop. I really like having an external like this because I can get the speed, size and price of an internal 3.5" hard drive for running my virtual machines.
Recently, I've noticed that the connection from the power supply to the unit itself is loose. Sometimes the drive will lose power for a fraction of a second - long enough for VMWare workstation to to detect a read/write error that retrying usually fixes. I've also had the power just cut off totally until I jiggle things around. This typically happens if I move the enclosure or touch anything near where the cables in the back are.
I'm not sure if it's the connector or the connection between the connector and the PCB, but I think it's the latter, because if I jiggle the USB2.0 cable (and thus, the PCB) it can sometimes cause the power to cut out.
I did a Google search for "external enclosure loose power" or something similar and found customer reviews on Newegg and elsewhere (yeah, I know, not the most reliable sources, but I think you can trust a review that looks well thought out and mentions specific issues) that point to a number of external enclosures across a number of different brands that sound like they have the exact same problem. One review mentioned specifically that the problem started occurring about 6 months after he bought it, and I can't help but think that it's because you have to ram the stupid power connector into the unit at full force to get it in, weakening the solder connections and flexing the PCB over time.
Has anyone else experienced a problem like this before, or heard of it? Is it really common? Any neato way to fix it?
I have a Vantec NexStar 3 (NST-360SU-BL) external enclosure I use with my work laptop. I really like having an external like this because I can get the speed, size and price of an internal 3.5" hard drive for running my virtual machines.
Recently, I've noticed that the connection from the power supply to the unit itself is loose. Sometimes the drive will lose power for a fraction of a second - long enough for VMWare workstation to to detect a read/write error that retrying usually fixes. I've also had the power just cut off totally until I jiggle things around. This typically happens if I move the enclosure or touch anything near where the cables in the back are.
I'm not sure if it's the connector or the connection between the connector and the PCB, but I think it's the latter, because if I jiggle the USB2.0 cable (and thus, the PCB) it can sometimes cause the power to cut out.
I did a Google search for "external enclosure loose power" or something similar and found customer reviews on Newegg and elsewhere (yeah, I know, not the most reliable sources, but I think you can trust a review that looks well thought out and mentions specific issues) that point to a number of external enclosures across a number of different brands that sound like they have the exact same problem. One review mentioned specifically that the problem started occurring about 6 months after he bought it, and I can't help but think that it's because you have to ram the stupid power connector into the unit at full force to get it in, weakening the solder connections and flexing the PCB over time.
Has anyone else experienced a problem like this before, or heard of it? Is it really common? Any neato way to fix it?
nlawalker on
0
Posts
Sometimes, it happens if the cable has weight on it and is always pulling down. Solder doesn't just give out over time - something had to have happened to make it loosen.