The ToughArmor series have proven themselves to be an excellent 2.5” mobile rack solution, and now we are proud to present the external version of the ToughArmor family, the MB991U3-1SB. The MB991U3-1SB is a rugged full metal 2.5” SATA III to USB 3.0 external HDD/SSD enclosure that is built with enterprise-grade quality and has the ability to hot-swap drives. With the removable EZ-Slide Mini tray, users can quickly swap 2.5” SATA hard drives or SSDs without shutting down their system or devices, saving valuable time. The EZ-Slide Mini tray accepts most of the 2.5” SATA HDD / SSD on the market ranging from 5mm to 15mm drive height. The drive tray slot is designed to complement a variety ToughArmor drive trays, allowing users to easily access their hard drives or SSD used in internal ToughArmor units externally, anytime and anywhere. The USB 3.0 interface allows for blazing fast transfer speeds and is backward compatible with USB 2.0 interface to insure compatibility with many systems. The ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB combined with the benefits of portable enclosure and enterprise-class features. It is an ideal enclosure for enterprise storage application such as SMB data backup, data recovery, video production data archiving, data transportation and IT Pros.
Data Made to Go
The MB991U3-1SB is an enterprise-grade portable enclosure that allows users to quickly access their 2.5” SATA hard drives and SSDs through a single USB connection. The removable EZ-Slide Mini tray supports hot-swap and makes drive interchangeability completely hassle free. With the EZ-Slide Mini tray, users can swap multiple drives between trays, makes it an ideal enclosure for data backup, content archiving and data replication. For example, a video production company can use it for data archiving and then transport the SSD between locations. Small businesses can use it for critical data backup and store the drive in different location for offsite backup.
The drive tray slot of MB991U3-1SB is compatible with a variety of ToughArmor drive trays including the ToughArmor MB991, MB992, MB994, MB996 and MB998 series. This allows existing ToughArmor users to access their internal drive externally without opening up the case. It is a great tool for an individual drive diagnostic test. If you need to do a safe data erase or just simply expending system storage capacity, just remove the tray from the internal ToughArmor unit and insert it in the MB991U3-1SB to perform individual tasks externally.
The EZ-Slide Mini tray is designed to accommodate 5 to 15mm height 2.5” hard drive and SSD, provide maximum drive compatibility. Best of all, the MB991U3-1SB uses USB bus-powered and it does not require a power adapter to operate. Simply connect the USB cable to the system and you are ready to go. The ability to access any drive through any system makes it a perfect portable storage device for IT Pros and SMB users.
Blazing Fast USB 3.0 Performance
MB991U3-1SB is built with a USB 3.0 interface featuring UASP support*. With UASP, it can deliver blazing high transfer speeds up to 5Gbps to the supporting devices. The USB 3.0 is also backward compatible with the USB 2.0 interface, allowing the device to be used with any legacy system that still have USB 2.0 interface. If the system supports USB 3.0, you will be able to take advantage of the superior performance capabilities – which is crucial for professionals who need tools that perform their jobs quickly and efficiently.
Note – For UASP, PC users require Windows 8/10 and host support, Mac supports it natively
Protect Your Investment
For external protections, the MB991U3-1SB is built with rugged heavy duty metal for high durability and it comes with protective rubber sleeves for a sturdy stand either horizontally or vertically on any flat surface. The protective rubber sleeves prevent sliding or wobbling, giving the unit the best stability possible. The sleeve also allows for easy yet stable stacking of multiple MB991U3-1SB.
Making sure that your drives are in secure hands and drive longevity is carefully considered for any enterprise build and design. The MB991U3-1SB is built with a rugged heavy-duty metal construction and is capable of holding up hard drives in the harshest environments. The full metal body and air ventilation design allows efficient heat dissipation for the hard drives throughout the enclosure.
The metal material used allows for effective heat dissipation from the hard drive to the enclosure. Multi-Flow Technology (MFT) effectively routes air flow correctly for excellent passive cooling, via ventilation slots on the front, rear, top and bottom (in multiple locations). Lastly, Anti-Vibration Technology (AVT) and EMI Grounding are used to provide a stable environment for the hard drives or SSD’s used to perform at its best.
Versatile Utility & Security
The easy to read front LED indicators will indicate when a drive is ejected (no light), powered (green), or accessed (flashing green). Active Power Technology (APT) allows each drive LED to be on only when a hard drive is inserted into the enclosure. For drive security, the MB991U3-1SB’s eagle-hook lock system makes sure your hard drives will not eject unintentionally. Additionally, the 2 segment key lock provides extra protection to physical theft of hard drives and safeguards any sensitive data. For extra security, we have designed a Kensington style security slot on the back of the device to prevent quick grab-and-run thefts of the entire enclosure.
Device, user manual, screws, keys, USB type B to A Cable
Documents
Explore the benefit of a hot swappable external USB 3.0 to 2.5" SSD/HDD enclosure for your everyday post production, video, and audio workflow - MB991U3-1SB
There are plenty of USB 3.0 external enclosures for 2.5” hard drives and solid state drives, but none of them have the drive interchangeability and solid drive protection of the ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB! Designed with functionality in mind, this ToughArmor allows for easy management of data on the move while providing a solid platform for holding those drives.
The ease of use and functionality of the ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB is reflected by the design of the drive tray system. It allows for easy swaps of hard drives or SSDs with different trays. With the tray system of the ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB, you click the hinge out, pull out the drive tray, insert a different drive tray, click it in and go, making a drive swap quick, easy and secure without the need of additional tools.
For an example, if a media professional who works for post productions on a Mac Pro 2016 and wishes to backup his/her critical data to an individual drive, he or she is able to use the MB991U3-1SB to transfer backup data to the desired hard drive or SSD and simply eject the drive and place it into a physical hard disk archive. On top of that, ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB supports UASP for enhanced performance for faster transfer speeds, saving valuable time for all the media professionals. Even if someone has to work with an older Mac or Windows system, the ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB is backward compatible and can still be used with systems with a USB 2.0 interface.
The ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB can accommodate 2.5”SATA HDD / SSD with 7 – 15mm height and it is compatible with any system that has a USB interface. It is definitely a little nifty kit for any professional who deal with large data transfers on a daily basis.
Product Reviews
ICY DOCK 2.5" SATA SSD / HDD USB 3.0 Drive Enclosure: Overview and Crash Test ( MB991U3-1SB )
Published on Oct 16, 2016 by AA Computers and Technology
A crash test using my Prius demonstrated that this thing is nearly indestructible. It showed no signs of damage following the test and while it it was being driven over it continued to transfer a 1.5GB video file. Speeds from the enclosure are also definitely a pro. Sequential read speeds clocked in at 210MB/s and sequential write speeds were around 250MB/s while a ADATA SP 550 was housed within. It is also very easy to use and practically designed.
ICY DOCK ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 Enclosure
Published on June 13, 2016 by Richard Jackson
In this review we will be checking out an external USB 3.0 drive enclosure that really isn't like your typical offering. The ICY DOCK ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB 2.5 inch USB 3.0 enclosure holds a single 2.5" drive and is designed to protect that drive very well. The housing is constructed of metal, with protective rubber sleeves, which definitely help the device earn the name ToughArmor. ICY DOCK describes it as being an enterprise-grade device, and we will see if that tag fits.
Q: I installed the hard drive/SSD and the device is connected to my computer, but the drive is not detected.
A: There are some scenarios you can do to rule out potential problems.
Scenario 1 – Drive status LED is not lighting up
Make sure the connected USB port works properly and the hard drive/SSD, port, and cable are plugged in and secured. If the LED lights up, but the drive is still not detected by the system, please continue to refer to Scenario 2; if the LED is off, please contact our customer service tech@icydock.com.
Note: Please be sure to use the USB cable that comes with ICY DOCK. If you have the same specification cable, you can replace it to see if the problem is solved.
Scenario 2 - The drive status LED lights up, but the hard drive/SSD is still not detectable
Please confirm the drive and the connected USB port is in working condition and transfers data normally. Make sure you use the cable that comes with MB991U3-1SB. If the problem persists, please go to Scenario 3.
Note: If the situation permits, we strongly recommend get your USB drivers updated, connect the device to different USB ports on the system, or replace the USB cable with the same specification to see if the connection problem is solved.
Scenario 3 - The hard drive/SSD and the connected USB port do work normally, but the drive does not show up on my computer after connecting to my computer
It may be because the new hard drive/SSD has not been formatted yet, or other drives have used the selected drive letter. Please go to Windows disk management to check whether the partition of the installed drive's partition is listed (refer to the tutorial for more info). After hard drive/SSD formatting or changing the code, you should able to see the drive. If the problem still exists, please refer to Scenario 4
Note: If you have another hard drive/SSD with the same specifications on hand, we suggest replacing the current drive with it and see if the problem is solved.
Scenario 4 - It has been verified to rule out all possible hardware problems, but the system still cannot detect the hard drive/SSD
Due to the difference in power consumption between different USB specification ports, if the drive you are using requires more power than the USB port can provide, it may not be detected by the system. This situation generally occurs in the USB 2.0 port because its power supply is up to 2.5W. When the current drive exceeds 2.5W, the system will not detect it or may cause unstable transmission. If this problem occurs, we recommend using a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (also known as USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 Gen 1) port or a hard drive with a lower power consumption drive.
Note: For some high-capacity hard drives with higher power consumption than USB 3.2 Gen 1 4.5W, we recommend to purchase a Y cable to provide sufficient power through two USB ports.
USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A to B Y cable
Please contact tech@icydock.com if the problem persists so we can resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Q: I feel that the drive tray's upper and lower metal spring is stuck when inserting the drive tray. What should I do?
A: Remove the drive tray from the enclosure and reinsert the tray without putting excessive pressure on the metal mesh sheet in front of the tray. Excessive force on the front metal mesh sheet may bend the top and bottom metal spring, causing difficulties when inserting the drive tray. Therefore, please do not forcingly insert the drive tray when this happens as it may cause damage to the metal spring.
Please DO NOT put excessive pressure on the metal mesh sheet as shown
