[ltp] External drive enclosure (IDE to USB converter)

[Mendel Cooper]

> > -----Original Message-----
> > Subject: [ltp] External drive enclosure (IDE to USB converter)
> >
> > I just got a hold of a Rainbow Storage brand "3.5/5.25 External Drive
> > Enclosure." This is a case for installing desktop IDE devices, such
> > as a CDR drive or a hard drive into, and it contains a power supply
> > and USB output.
> >
> > What I'd like to do is put the CDR drive from my desktop computer
> > into in, and use this with the USB port of my 770z TP. It's 1.1 USB, 
> > I believe.
> >
> > Has anyone had any experience with using one of these enclosures with
> > the USB port on a Linux Thinkpad? Success stories? What's the entry in
> > /etc/fstab for a USB CDR drive?
> 
> The enclosure *should* work properly, but you'll be stuck at the slow 
> speed of USB 1.  Maximum write speed will be 4x.

Doesn't matter. I write at 2x for reliability.



> It's also possible 
> but unlikely that the enclosure's firmware won't recognize the CD-RW, 
> since IDE CD-RWs speak ATAPI and IDE hard disks don't.  Make sure that 
> the usb-storage, usb-uhci (or usb-ohci), sg, and sr_mod modules are 
> loaded before you try writing to the drive.

I tried it tonight and everything works fine. The machine recognizes the USB
hardware at bootup, though it takes a while, and it rewrites the /etc/fstab
file automatically. It also loads the usb modules automatically. No manual
configuration needed. Hurray, $45 well spent.

The only real downside I've found is the annoying multicolored flashing LED stripe
on the cover of the enclosure. Maybe I'll cover it with duct tape <g>.






> The device will appear as a SCSI CD-ROM (/dev/scd0, probably) and a SCSI 
> generic interface (/dev/sg0, probably).  Mount the scd0 device, use 
> cdrecord and/or cdrdao to write to the /dev/sg0 device.

Not necessary. Need to mount only when *reading* CD disks. When writing,
using cdrecord, the modules autoload.


Thanks to all who responded to my query.


Mendel