Question 1

Does this need drivers for Win 7?

Accepted Answer

All I had to do was plug it into my system with a ESATA cable and it was recognized.   I'm using a StarTech ESATA card for my connection.  The fan can be distracting if placed on your work area but mine is located on a shelf next to my desk.  There is also an off/on switch for the fan.

One of the nice things about the this product is that it also includes a USB 2 port.  Since my recovery boot disk doesn't recognize my ESATA card (too lazy to create a new one and add the ESATA card driver).  :>)

I use the USB 2 port if I need to do a recovery.   I also use the USB 2 port for creating/restoring images of my laptop using the same recovery boot disk.  Slower than ESATA but faster than rebuilding from scratch.

Question 2

Can I put 1 TB drives in this and read the (archive) data that's already on them?

Accepted Answer

I forget the max size you can put in these. What I remember is only up to 3tb but it might only be 1tb. But you shouldn't have any problem reading the old files so as long the drive was not originally encrypted or something like windows was installed while it was internal for your system. Like, if this was an extra drive added on to, then out into this enclosure for easier swapping. then you are good. Other than that you might have problems. Worst case is that you'll need to re format.

Question 3

Can I mount an internal BD drive in this?

Accepted Answer

No. This enclosure design for HDD only but even though the SATA interface should work with your BD/SATA drive but it doesn't fit.

Question 4

how do you hook up HDD?

Accepted Answer

Not sure exactly what you mean.

Internally the hard drive plugs into the matching connector in the provided connector, and attaches inside the enclosure with the provided 4 screws.

Externally, the enclosure connects to the PC with either the USB 2 cable (provided) or the eSATA cable (provided) if your PC has an eSATA port.

I have several of these, including one used for CloneZilla backups.  I can say both USB 2 and eSATA work fine for me, since I have used my backup drive using both types of connections (only one at a time, of course).

And do note that this enclosure is externally powered, so you need a source of AC power.

Hope this helps, so far my 3 of these have been solid performers.

Question 5

I'm currently using a 1.5TB WD HDD inside it (the one with the green label) and was wondering if I could use it as a backup/2nd HDD and not turn on the fan? Right now, my desktop is super quiet and the only noise is this enclosure's fan noise (it's a bit annoying). I was wondering if I could still use the HDD without the fan on. Thanks!

Accepted Answer

E W –

I’m a noise freak too, so I understand why you posted this question.

For liability’s sake, I cringe as I write this, but:  You should be fine running this enclosure without a fan.  As a good geek, I have to say that it might shorten the life of the drive a bit, but (relatively) not by much.  I also have to say that how the heat will affect the drive will depend on the heat tolerances of the mechanical and electrical components – every drive is different.  Past all that, I’ve run hard drives in much hotter conditions for years without issue.  I have an old, fan-less 3.5” HDD enclosure in a closet on top of a running tower computer.  Between the heat from the tower, my two network switches, router, cable modem, cable phone box, and wireless access point, it gets pretty warm in there.  The drive never spins down, and it has run flawlessly for over four years.

The Rosewill enclosure (I love mine) has several vents; those should provide some passive cooling if the fan is off.  The vents aren’t going to block any internal sound, so keep in mind that even if you turn the fan off, you’re still going to hear the drive.

I hope this helps.

Question 6

I have a WD Caviar Blue Hard Drive. Will this hard drive enclosure work?

Accepted Answer

As far as I know I would say YES. I have either a blue or black WD drive in the enclosure now; it is designed to take a standard 3-1/2 SATA (full size; NOT laptop[  at 2-1/2 inch) drive; it has been running 24/7 since I bought it without incident. I ORIGINALLY bought it as an expansion for my COMCAST HD DVR; since switching to much more robust and expandable TiVo units; so I had a 'spare' expansion box lying around and decided to use it on my PC tower along with a ROSEWILL 5 port JBOD; I do NOT RAID my stuff

Question 7

Mounted a seagate 3TB drive. Hooked up via esata. win 7 and 8.1.
Gigabyte mobo.

Drive disconnects after a short time of inactivity. As long as its doing something its fine. Drive works fine hooked up internally, doesn't disconnect.

Is it some hidden sleep settings in the enclosure? This is so annoying!

Accepted Answer

YES!  There has been a problem with these enclosures powering down drives after about 5 min of inactivity (I especially noticed it when connected via the eSATA cable)!  I have a number of these enclosures and it was difficult to narrow down, since some didn't appear to have the problem but some did (but some were connected to eSATA and others to USB 2.0).  I can't recall if using the enclosures in USB 2.0 mode exhibited the problem or not, but using them in eSATA certainly did.

Long story short... there is -FINALLY- a firmware fix for it on the Rosewill site.  Just look up the RX-358 V2 BLK model and click on the Download link/tab on the left side.  FYI: you'll need to connect in USB mode to do the firmware update.

Get the following files:
rx-358_v2_disable power saving_manual.pdf
rx-358_v2_disable power saving_fw.bin
fwupdatetool_v1_17_14.exe
(you can ignore the confusing file "v69.12.0.zip".  IIRC, it really just has the same info above, minus the PDF and minus the same name for the .bin file, but I think turns out to indeed be the same .bin file content-wise in the end.  Again, just ignore this file and go with the 3 files above).

The PDF file may be a little confusing.  I suggest that you only have the enclosure running that you want to update when you do this (no other USB devices powered on) to prevent possible mistakes.  Might be good to have a direct connect and no USB hubs between the computer and the enclosure either.  Basically, you have to select the correct "USB DISK" from the drop-down menu (i.e. the disk in your affected enclosure).  Then, click the "Load File" button to then select the .bin firmware file on your hard drive.  The firmware version then should show up.  Finally, click the "Run" button and then WAIT until it completely finishes before doing/touching anything else!  When it finishes, it will ask you to power cycle the enclosure.  Do it and you'll be DONE!  Close all windows, repeat complete process for any other affected enclosures.

Question 8

Can I use a Western Digital Black with SATA III in this enclosure?

Accepted Answer

I believe it will work, i think sata 3 is revers compatible. But this is a usb 2.0 and sata2 case.  It will not transfer at the hard drive's maximum speed.  You are probably better off using one that is usb 3.0 and advertises Sata 3

Question 9

Will this enclosure work with a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ATA SATA 250GB hard drive?

Accepted Answer

Yes, I install a Seagate Barracuda 400GB SATA drive which seem to have greater weight then the normal SATA drive and it Also
was producing more heat than normal. That's the reason I bought
this model enclosure. I'm happy with my choice.  Vince

Question 10

Will this enclosure work with windows 8.1?

Accepted Answer

I say absolutely; since 8.1 is 'smarter' than 7 I would say 8.1 has this in its database as a certified product; using it as an external SATA drive; as long as the connections are on the motherboard I would anticipate it being compatible natively; worst case getting a different driver from Roswell
I use mine as an external drive powering a 1 TB drive for my COMCAST DVR as an expander.

Questions & Answers