External HDD enclosure problem

Hello,

I am using a 640GB 2.5" SAMSUNG HM641JI in the following HDD enclosure:

SHE072, made by SSK, Shenzhen, China http://www.ssk.cn/en/en/productshow.asp?id=409&proid=30

I used this enclosure with the same disk type before, but in only 3 months the disk became inaccessible and I had it replaced with a new one. I wouldn't like to have the same problem again with the new disk.

Questions:
1. Can an enclosure damage a hard disk and make it inaccessible over time or the problem was with the disk itself?
2. Most HDD enclosures are for 500GB disks. Is it a problem to use a 500G box with a 640GB disk, which is my case?
3. Now I am worried about the drive health, so can anyone suggest a trustworthy brand for a SATA to USB 2.0 enclosure.
4. Should I use the PCMCIA slot on my laptop to connect to the external 2.5" SATA disk?

Others people have similar problems. See http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/263081-32-external-inconsistency.

 

1) Not really. It's possible that a low quality enclosure could provide unclean power to the hard drive, but I've never heard of that as an identified cause of 2.5" external drive failure.
2) Nope.
3) Search the forum. There are a number of threads with recommendations.
4) Do you mean via e-SATA? If so, it's not a bad idea. Transfer rates will be through the roof compared to USB 2.0. However, the cards tend to not be flush, so you may need to remove it to pack up.

 

How are you using the external drive?

Are you letting it spin down completely before moving it?

Are you bumping/sliding it while it is in use?

Is the temperature excessive in the enclosure - what is the ambient temp of your work area?

Did you try the inaccessible HD in another computer/enclosure to see if the HD itself was to blame or was it just the enclosure at fault?

If you babied the enclosure/HD while it was in use, I would be more than a little wary of the enclosure - I certainly wouldn't trust it to a new HD - for the cost of a drink you can get a new (better?) enclosure.

Of course, the original HD itself may have been defective (if you really didn't damage it yourself) - but unless you tried it on another computer or in another enclosure, we don't know either way.

Good luck.

 

Thank you for your reply. I didn't really go into details describing my problem.
I am an old computer user and I protect my new 2.5" disks like an old 20MB IBM disk. I know it is an overkill, but I don't even allow knocks on the desk when I have disks in operation.

Excessive temperature is possible, since the box I have (which supposedly damaged one disk) has no ventilation at all.

Yes, before claiming the shop tried the disk with another enclosure an this was fatal - the disk, which has been gradually deteriorating the write speed now became completely inaccessible and died in the seller's hands.

I am confused by the opposing replies I get from different places. Some people think that an enclosure can damage the hard disk:

I'm going to order a new enclosure with a better ventilation. How about this connection: SATA disk -> Firewire -> PCMCIA card on laptop?

 

I too think a low quality enclosure can damage a HDD.

Since you baby your externals as much as I do mine, it does point to your enclosure as the culprit. (Unless, like I mentioned before, the HD was simply faulty on its own and would have died anyways - no matter what enclosure/connection was used).

It doesn't matter so much as to the connection your new enclosure uses. Except for speed. But for reliability, what matters is the quality of the enclosure you use.

I can recommend Vantec enclosures as good and reliable products with almost any combination of connections you want/need.

I would recommend an enclosure which has at least USB2 and one additional connection type (Firewire, eSata, or all three) so that you can connect to most any computer to.

See:
Welcome to Vantec ? Leading Brand of Storage, Thermal, and Mobile Accessories! - PRODUCTS


As to an enclosure with 'better ventilation' usually, all that is required is an enclosure that can 'stand up' to allow air to circulate to the larger surfaces (works better when the material used is metal instead of plastic). Also note that the same effect can be achieved by using stick-on 'feet' to lift the drive above the desk surface while in use to get some air flowing underneath.

Hope some of this helps?

Good luck.