Question 1

Does anybody used this enclosure with Windows 8? Does it work?

Accepted Answer

Not using it with 8, but with 7.  An excellent investment as you can use it with USB or  SATA.  Using the fan that is enclosed in the box it keeps the HD constantly at about 90 - 95 degrees.  Have two of this model as well as one of an older mode.  Highly recommend.
Cannot imagine it working any differently with Windows 8.

Question 2

Is this external drive "hot swappable" and "hot pluggable" via eSATA?  I realize the motherboard or computer also needs to have a hot pluggable eSATA port.  I also understand USB3 is hot pluggable, but I prefer eSATA.

Accepted Answer

I have never used yanked an eSATA connection while attached. Almost all Microsoft operating systems cache their directories, which may result in a corrupted file system if the connection is suddenly terminated.

I have many of this style of Rosewill enclosure (both USB 2 & 3). They have been 100% reliable. Because Rosewill complies with standard protocols, I would expect that they would respond to SCSI disconnect signals, etc.

I am sorry that I was not able to answer your question; but if you can buy the box with one of Newegg's coupons, etc., then it would be a low cost risk to find out for yourself.

Question 3

Is this hot swappable?

Accepted Answer

I currently use this with USB3 (no eSATA).  I have two and if I forget to power down the enclosure before removal, there is no problem.  However, if you mean swapping disks within one enclosure, I'd say no.   The enclosure is designed for disk insertion through the bottom (non-fan side) and screws are needed to hold the disk properly against the contacts.

Question 4

Does this work if both USB3 & eSATA are connected but to different devices?

Accepted Answer

I tried and no it can not use both connections at once. The usb 3.0 connection takes over

Question 5

I installed a 1T Seagate SATA drive in this enclosure (ST31000520AS Barracuda LP HDD).  I am running Win 7 Pro.  The device manager sees the drive and drivers installed OK.  The computer directory does not recognize the drive, however.  In the properties,Device Manager says that it "needs initialization."  I am stumped.  Does anyone have a suggestion on what I do next? many thanks. Jim B.

Accepted Answer

Windows is asking that you perform the equivalent of using DOS "fdisk.exe", which is to initialize the drive in the Disk Management tool.

1. There are many way to get there. Go to "Computer" or your computer icon in a file explorer and right-click and select the "manage" menu item.

2. Select the "Disk Management" tool, which will display all of the permanent hard drives attached to your system.

3. Right-click on the desired drive and select the Initialize Disk menu pick.

Question 6

The hard drive i have is a Maxtor DiamondMax 10 Model 6L080P0 80GB PATA133 HDD...I know this one will not work...which one will???

Accepted Answer

At Newegg:
Rosewill RX35-AT-IU BLK Aluminum 3.5" Black USB 2.0 External Enclosure (this one will work for up to a 320Gb HDD)

At Newegg, find any one with an Internal IDE interface.

Question 7

will this enclose work for a hard drive taken out of a Toshiba laptop L305 series?

Accepted Answer

No, this enclosure was made for a a typical desktop, form factor harddrive that is 3.5". The two most common form factors for modern HDDs are 3.5-inch in desktop computers and 2.5-inch in laptops. So this will not support a 2.5" hard disk drive from a laptop.

Question 8

Could somebody confirm if it supports 6T drives?

Accepted Answer

I've installed 4TB drive, mapped with GPT instead of MBR partition table.  It's used as storage drive for both Windows and Mac systems.  I don't know if this is only my problem: USB 3.0 connector of the cable often needs unplug and re-plug after the case power is turned on in order for partitions recognizable.  As long as your motherboard and OS supports beyond 2TB and GPT, 6TB should be the same.

Question 9

The product description says that 3TB/4TB not compatible with WinXP.  Would a 3 or 4 TB drive be compatible with Windows Server 2008?

Accepted Answer

I'm not sure that it will run on Windows Server 2008. But I have made this enclosure run on Windows 7 Ultimate with a 4Tb Seagate HDD (although, sometimes Win7 can't find the HDD for some reason, so I'll have to reboot the rig and go to Disk Management. But other than that, no problems so far.)  I hope you'll be able to run it on Win Server '08, and besides, if things doesn't go your way, you can always send it back for a refund.

Question 10

Is  the power adapter UL or CSA approved?

Accepted Answer

The power adapter is UL approved.

Questions & Answers