Question 1

Does this come with a 3.5" tray?  Can you buy extra trays?

Accepted Answer

It does not, it is tray-less. The front-center plastic face has a latch that allows the center face to swing open (hinged on right).  The 3.5 drive fits tight & snug inside this device.  In theory opening the front face causes a metal spring (finger) at the rear of the drive to push the drive out an inch so you can pull the drive out.  My experience is that the SATA/Power connector is tight as expected, and I could not eject the drive for fear of breaking something.  I ended up removing the case side cover and "helping" push the HDD forward and out of the SATA/Power connector.  Even so, swapping drives is quicker and more convenient than taking apart my Roswell external enclosure.  That said, my main purpose for this is to have a backup HDD powered down most of the time, and on demand conveniently power up the drive, and this device suits my purpose well for the sale price.  Perhaps the SATA/Power connector will wear-in over time, but if your plan is to frequently swap drives, I would look to something more expensive - perhaps with a tray to help ease the HDD removal process.  Or purchase an external adapter that drives can easily slip in/out without requiring assembly/disassembly of parts/enclosures.

Question 2

It say's that it will take a 3.5" SATA HHD which I want to use But, I want to be able to swap out with a Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSHD 1TB SATA 6.0Gb/s 2.5" Notebooks / Laptops Internal Hard Drive ST1000LX015 2.5" drive, Dimensions say Form Factor 2.5" Height (maximum) 7mm Width (maximum)
    69.85mm  Length (maximum)100.35mm. --- Will they work with those drives?

Accepted Answer

Yes and no.  Dimensionally this bay is sized for a 3.5in drive.  To do what you want dont try using a bent metal bracket that converts a 2.5in drive to fit an internal 3.5in bay, there is nothing then for the bays ejector mechanism to push and pull against.  Instead find a used, good or bad SATA WD Rapt*r drive, remove its drive and install your 2.5in drive which will now be sized to correctly fit the bay.  All the WD Rapt*r heat sink does is make a 2.5in drive into 3.5in dimensions, it otherwise does no modification or controlling of the drive attached to it.
Alternately they sell 2.5 +3.5in double bays that require 2 SATA ports or trayless bays into which you screw either a 2.5 or 3.5in drive.
The Orinco has 2 advantages and yes they are hot-plugable, if the SATA port you connect it to is and is set in the BIOS to be hotplugable.  First they have a power button, second its sides are ridged unlike most single bays.  Flexable sided bays are OK for retail cases where screws are used however in factory cases which are often screwless, there is nothing to keep the sides from being held ridgedly

Question 3

How many screws and what color come with the adapter?

Accepted Answer

The front of the adapter, which is the part that you see in the case, is black just like the picture. There are 8 mounting screws included. They are the same size as screws used to mount CDROM/DVD drives, which are smaller diameter  and finer pitch than those used to mount 3.5 inch HDD's.  The screws themselves are black while the frame is bright metal (stainless steel).

Question 4

will this fit an hp z230 pc desktop not sff?

Accepted Answer

I assume you're talking about the "HP Z230 Tower Workstation" with two 5.25" bays, so yes it would fit. I didn't see any information that would indicate you have the SATA port or SATA power cables, but with two 5.25" bays in the tower, it seems like an obvious yes there as well. Every PC seems to have their own tool-less way of mounting or just use screws, but the mounting location and holes are a standard footprint, so it rarely matters.

A note on these Orico units: If you unscrew the metal rails from the back spacer and put a small shim of paper (4 layers) in there and bolt it back up, the hdd drive will slide in and out better. From the factory, the spacer is a tight fit and makes you wrestle with the hdd a bit too much. I usually put a shim on both rails and it runs smooth and trouble free.

Question 5

The specs say 4tb HDD limit. Has anyone tested larger capacity drives? Does that mean a size limit on each partition size or actual drive maximum capacity?

Accepted Answer

It is merely an extension of the capability of your motherboard so as suggested will not be any limitation that isnt limited by the board so yes 5-, 10, 20tb whatever is available will be accomodated as long as the board accomodates that capacity.  There is no secondary controller involved which might necessitate a matching of capability or specs.

Questions & Answers