Empty USB to SATA enclosures have a tiny adapter containing a controller and firmware. The firmware must implement the USB storage protocol on one side, and the SATA protocol on the other.
It is one of those product areas where the barrier to entry is very low, the margins low, and this can lead to a wide variation in quality. Yes, I've found they vary in terms of performance, reliability, and compatibility. Many of them don't support SMART, so you'd need to query a drive using smartctl on a system with a native SATA port in order to prove whether smartctl will work through the adapter. Relying on other people's reports is a start. I recently purchased one to re-use a SATA drive, and tested it with OLPC OS and Open Firmware. It works fine, but I have not tested SMART. Manufacturer: Welland Industrial Co., Ltd. Model: ME-746E. Brand: speed master. USB Vendor/Product: 174C:5106. USB Vendor string: ASMedia. USB Device string: AS2105. USB hard drive enclosures on the other hand allow the manufacturer to eliminate an area of doubt; because they choose both the controller and the hard drive they can assure compatibility, and test at the USB storage protocol level. For important systems, I think a USB hard drive will be a better choice than an empty enclosure. They are also often cheaper than a new empty enclosure and a new hard drive. -- James Cameron http://quozl.linux.org.au/ _______________________________________________ Devel mailing list Devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel