Q Only a single drive appears when using eSATA.
o This means that the eSATA port that the MB561US-4S-1 is connected to does not support port multiplication. Therefore, only the drive in the top bay can be seen by the system. There is a port multiplier built into the MB561 which encodes the 4 SATA connections to a single signal, however another port multiplier is required on the system to decode that signal back to 4 individual SATA connections.
Q The drive in bay “n” is not accessible.
o First, put the drive in another slot that is working to make sure that the drive is ok and functioning properly. Second, if connected via eSATA, check to see that the same results are seen when connected via USB. Third, if connected via eSATA, make sure the driver for the eSATA card is up to date and functioning properly. Fourth, replace the eSATA or USB cable to make sure the issue is not due to a faulty connection. Lastly, make sure the drives function when directly connected to a motherboard or when used in another known good enclosure.
o If the issue still persists, please contact us for repair.
Q The unit is making a lot of noise.
o There are two possible sources from the noise: the drives or fan
o Remove the drives one at a time to see if the noise stops. If it stops after drive “n”, please run diagnostic tools on the drive to verify its health and use a repair tool if necessary. If the noise persists, please contact the drive manufacturer for a replacement. A noisy drive can be a warning that it will fail soon.
o If the drives are the not the issue, next remove the fan. If the noise stops, please contact us.
Q RAID configuration.
o The MB561US-4S-1 does not have RAID features built in. To set up the MB561 in a RAID array, the unit can be connected to an eSATA card which supports port multiplication and RAID modes such as RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6 or RAID 10.
Q Drive “n” has read and write functionality, but the LED does not illuminate.
o Some newer and larger drives may have decreased signal voltage, especially drives advertised as low power or green. The signal voltage is what supplies the power to illuminate the LED to notify the user of drive power, activity, and failure. If the signal voltage is below what our enclosure can handle, the LED will not display correctly. In recent years, some drive manufacturers have decreased the signal voltage on hard drives to keep them low power. The decrease is often unannounced and unknown to the public until it has reached the end user.
o If the drive is moved to another slot and the LED works, please contact us for repair.
Q How do the drives show up on the system?
o When using USB, all 4 drives will appear individually. It will be similar to connection 1, 2, 3, or 4 single bay external enclosures to a system. Each one functions independently of each other.
o When using eSATA, all 4 drives will also appear individually. To use eSATA, a port multiplier eSATA connection is required. If a port multiplier eSATA connection is not used, only the top drive in the enclosure will appear.
Q What fan speed setting should be used?
Auto is the most convenient setting. The speed will vary according to the cooling needs of the drives, much like a CPU fan varies according to the load on the CPU. If the enclosure will always be in light use, the “Low” setting can be used. If the enclosure will be under an intense load for an extended period of time such as video editing or moving an old server database to a new system, then the “High” setting would be optimal.
Q What type of PMP (FIS/CBS) does my device support?
o This device supports FIS based command switching. Most modern PCI eSATA cards supports this type and can be checked on each card's product specifications.
Q What happens when both USB and eSATA connections are plugged into my computer(s)?
o Unfortunately, both connections cannot be used at the same time. When both are plugged in, the eSATA connection will take priority and USB will not be active. |
