i'm in need of several fw drives to use for backing up the 3+ machines i am now responsible for. i have an older fw drive, a 14gig vst 7200rpm drive . it has a red swoopy enclosure that looks like this: [cgi.ebay.com]

i'm thinking of trying to crack open the 14gig, install a larger drive-perhaps a 320gig or 250gig or even a 160gig.

will an older enclosure such as this red swoopy vst allow me to install a larger drive?

will putting a new 3.5" drive (i imagine that is what is in the red swoopy vst enclosure) be more difficult in an older enclosure?

what type of 3.5" drive should i get? ide? ata? (i'm not even sure what i'm asking!)

as u can surmise, i have never built my own fw drive but others on this forum have said its rather simple.

any and all thoughts as to whether i can install a larger drive in this older vst red swoopy enclosure would be welcome

be well

rob

>what type of 3.5" drive should i get? ide? ata?

Yes--those are synonyms. 14GB is sort of worthless, so why not try? In all likelihood, the hardest task will be getting the case open--assuming no screws are apparent, the top and bottom are likely fastened together by a series of internal plastic latches on one side of the case that snap over a lip inside the other cover. Mac Minis have a similar system for fastening the case, if you want to look. You might break the case, but it'd probably still work fine after you glue it back together.

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I have the same case. IIRC, it will only accept drives 128gb or less. To open the case, there are two black plastic pieces that hold the whole thing together. I don't remember if there are screws underneath them or not, as long ago the fan went bad in mine and I just continued to use the case open all the time. I don't even know where the top half is anymore.

jimbrady/blu-boo:

thanks for sharing your insights.

i've lifted off the rubber feet and sure enough there are the screws tat hold the case together. i'm psyched!

now all i need is a worthy 120gig/3.5"/7200rpm/ide drive and i can play dr. frankenstein (or is that franken-steen?)

by the way, why is there a 128gig limit?

again, thanks for the info.

be well

rob

It's the old firewire chipset. Pre-Oxford 911

blusubaru-

do all current hard drive enclosures which are firewire designated have the 911 chipset? is the 911 oxford chip set a brand name or a generic term?

sorry for the newbie questions. just trying to learn.

thanks in advance

be well

rob

There are other chipset manufacturers now. At the time that this VST case came out, that was a different story. There are higher values for the Oxford chipset now too, but back in 2002 or so, the 911 was the most dependable. I'm not even sure which chip this case has anymore

blusub-

one last question

in a quick search of 3.5" internal ide drives there are not many 120gig offerings. what would happen if i put a 160gig in the vst red swoopy fw enclosure?

again, thanks for sharing your experience

be well

rob

If you put the 160 gig in, most likely it will be seen as a 120 gig HD.

> what would happen if i put a 160gig in the vst red swoopy fw enclosure?

No harm but wasting a little space on the drive.

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What they said

newegg has a western digital 200gig se 7200/8mb cache/ide/ata100 internal drive for $60. this western digital is a se (special edition) model with a 8mb cache and a 3 year warranty (according to the newegg site).

here is the link: [www.newegg.com]

the western digital link says this drive needs a eide interface. will this drive work in the vst swoopy fw enclosure? does that enclosure have a eide interface?

any thoughts about the quality of this western digital drive?

as i've often said, thanks in advance for sharing your insights

be well

rob



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2007 11:01AM by robfilms.

Yes, it will work, but it will only format for 120ish gb's of the 200.

Don't try to use that old VST enclosure with a new drive: it probably isn't adequately ventilated, plus there is the issue of the old bridge. Get one of these:

[www.dealsonic.com]
[www.dealsonic.com]

It'll work out better, and the price is hard to beat.

Get the 160 GB and live with the loss of 32 GB, or get a newer, larger capacity FW case and drive (and keep the 14 GB in the existing FW case). Stick with the Oxford chip cases, if you can, as they seem to give the least problems if this forum is any indication.

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Ed (modelamac)

I think I will just put an OUT OF ORDER
sticker on my head and call it a day.

I would still try to find a 120G HD, but a good price on a 160G means that you'll see about 128G. And that's not a bad deal.

OWC sells a bit of software (a driver, I think) that allows larger than 120128G HDs to be seen. I don't know if it works on external drives; somebody here will know.

I also think there could be a slight downside, but once again, my memory fails me. It may not apply to a drive not likely to be moved out of that enclosure.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

A bare HD will ship set either to Cable Select (I've got a few Seagates that way) or Master. The latter is what you'll want for that external case.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Quote
RAMd®d
A bare HD will ship set either to Cable Select (I've got a few Seagates that way) or Master. The latter is what you'll want for that external case.

how will i know looking at a drive whether it is a cable select or a master?

how can i choose master on the drive?

thanks in advance

be well

rob

rob,

There's usually a legend on the drive itself near the connections that shows how a drive is configured.

This is done by placing a jumper, a little plastic piece with a conductor embedded in it, across two pins. You remove the jumper (carefully, they can be a pain to find if you drop 'em) with a pair of tweezers from one set of pins to another pair, as appropriate.

When you get the drive, examine the top edge near the connections, and any labeling. Some drives will have the pin configuration on the label, others will have it inscribed in the case itself.

You'll see (not necessarily in this order) CS, Master, Slave.

Take your time, look closely, and you'll do OK.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.