• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Are hard drive docks reliable?

I have the exact same kind of one but from nexstar. I love it, I find it fantastic and swap hard drives in and out of it all day with my repair business. It is completely plug and play.
 
I have the exact same kind of one but from nexstar. I love it, I find it fantastic and swap hard drives in and out of it all day with my repair business. It is completely plug and play.

With the constant plugging and ejecting, will the SATA connector become damaged? A dock makes a lot of sense to me for at home use. Also, are hard drives designed to work well when it's facing up? Stupid question, but I had to ask!
 
Hard drives now claim to be position-independent. In the days of stepper motors, position could affect how well tracking performed. With today's voice coils and better bearings, tracking is much better controlled in any orientation.
 
Hard drives now claim to be position-independent. In the days of stepper motors, position could affect how well tracking performed. With today's voice coils and better bearings, tracking is much better controlled in any orientation.

Thx for the info. Are there any reasons why I shouldn't get a hard drive dock? Can I eject the dock when it's not being read or written by the computer? If not, how do I eject the hard drive from the computer while it's turned on?
 
Cons:
- it has its own power supply so you need to remember to turn it off (and if you're computer goes to sleep for power-saving the dock and drive will stay on)
- no active cooling so drives will get hot if left on for long periods
- you'll have bare drives laying around unprotected

I prefer an internal tray because I know it always powers on and off with my computer.

Also, it may or may not be plug and play in your system... it depends on the controller that you're connecting it to.
 
Cons:
- it has its own power supply so you need to remember to turn it off (and if you're computer goes to sleep for power-saving the dock and drive will stay on)
- no active cooling so drives will get hot if left on for long periods
- you'll have bare drives laying around unprotected

I prefer an internal tray because I know it always powers on and off with my computer.

Also, it may or may not be plug and play in your system... it depends on the controller that you're connecting it to.

If I connect using the USB 2.0 connection, why wouldn't it be plug and play?
 
If it is doing any kind of reading or writing it could damage your files. better to eject the drive using the software or rebooting the computer to keep the chance of corupting files lower.
 
I have two eSATA extermals and they are completely plug and play. Both are NexStar 3's.
 
Back
Top