Click here to access the instruction. 

Here is the latest drivers for DisplayLink Chipset for OS X 10.14.x ONLY.

https://www.vantecusa.com/CKEdit/images/files/DisplayLink_v5_1_1_for_OSX10_14_x.zip

Yes, all three hubs are designed to charge the devices without the aid of a computer. You can just provide power to the hub using the provided ac adapter and it is ready to charge your devices.

 

1. Why is the enclosure not powering UP after installing a drive?
   This enclosure is a green enclosure designed to save power. If it is not connected to a working system, it will not power ON.
   Please connect to a system that is working with OS loaded. Once it is connected to your working system and powered ON, it will spin up the drive, and your system will acknowledge a USB storage connected.
   Note: if you install a NEW hard drive for the first time, please use the OS tool to prep (initialize, partition and format) your new drive, you just need to do this once.
   
    
2. Do I need drivers for this enclosure?
   No, you do not need any drivers for this enclosure. The USB drivers are already built into your system OS. If you are using eSATA, your system eSATA port should have the drivers installed for your eSATA port. eSATA drivers are part of your system, not of this enclosure.
   
    
3. Is there more than one type of eSATA port?
   There are 3 main types of eSATA ports. The most common is just a plain eSATA port. There is also eSATAp, which is an eSATA port with power. And there is another combination eSATAp/USB port together, we called it combo eSATAp/USB port.
   
   
   
    
4. What port can I use with this NST-358SU3-BK enclosure?
   This NST-358SU3-BK enclosure is designed for either USB 3.2 Gen1x1 (same as USB 3.0) Type-A port OR any of the eSATA ports mention in the previous questions (eSATA/eSATAp/Combo).
   
   When you connected to an eSATAp, it will not use the power from the port because this enclosure is already self-powered using an ac adapter, moreover, the eSATA cable we provide is an eSATA cable, NOT an eSATAp cable. When connected to the Combo port it will only use the eSATA signal from the combo port.
   
    
5. How do I start using the USB/eSATA enclosure?
   USB: If you are using the enclosure to connect via USB, just connect the USB cable to the enclosure and the system USB port. Power ON the enclosure and just wait for the system to respond acknowledging a USB storage is connected and ready for use.
   
   eSATA: If you are using the enclosure to connect via eSATA, you can connect ONLY the eSATA cable to both sides, the enclosure, and the other end to your system eSATA port. Power ON the enclosure and use your Windows explorer to see if you view the storage device. If not, check and scan for hardware change in your computer device manager to see if it will pick up the storage device and become available using Windows Explorer.
   
    
6. My enclosure is working correctly in USB, but when I connect to eSATA, it cannot see the drive, why?
   eSATA can be a little tricky to work with. It is not like USB when you connect it acknowledges the connection, eSATA may not.
   
   Here are a few tips to troubleshoot the problem.
   
   A. Make sure your eSATA port is working.
   If you see an eSATA port available on the rear of the system, it does not mean that it is ready to use, often it needs to have your system chipset drivers loaded (not from us) and enabled in your system BIOS. Check to make sure your system eSATA port is working correctly.
   
   B. Make sure your eSATA port can support the capacity of the drive you are using.
   Some system eSATA may only support limited capacity (like 2TB drive size, on some DELL), please check with the manufacturer of the system for more information about the capacity the eSATA port is capable of supporting.
   
   C. Is the drive in the enclosure “NEW”?
   if yes, was the drive prep (initialize, partition, and formatted). Please use disk management in Windows to prep the new drive for use.
   
    
7. What is AHCI in esata?
   Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) is a standard defined by Intel for SATA drive with advanced capabilities such as hot swapping and native command queuing. It is only supported by Vista and newer OS. All system boards will have these capabilities. The AHCI function may need to be turned ON or OFF in the system BIOS for that system board.
   
   If you are using an eSATA device without AHCI:
   1) If the system power is OFF. Turn ON the eSATA enclosure. Turn the system ON, and the eSATA device will be detected and ready for use.
   2) If the system power is ON. Turn ON the eSATA enclosure. “Scan for hardware change” using the device manager and the system will see the eSATA drive.
   
   If you are using an eSATA device with AHCI enabled in the BIOS:
   1) If the system power is OFF. Turm ON eSATA enclosure. Turn the system ON, and the eSATA device will be detected and ready for use.
   2) If the system power is ON. Plugin eSATA enclosure. The system will automatically detect the eSATA device and ready for use.
   
    
8. How to disconnect an eSATA enclosure?
   There is no standard way for ejecting/removing the eSATA device. Here is the suggested method.
   
   1) On the System taskbar Windows Logo icon, right-click to see a popup menu.
   2) Click on Device Manager, Double Click on Disk drives to open the subset, you should see the eSATA drive.
   3) Right-click on the eSATA drive that you are trying to remove and select “Uninstall”.
   4) After it is uninstalled, you may turn off the eSATA enclosure and unplug the eSATA cable from your computer.
   
    
9. What is eSATA?
   eSATA stand for external SATA. SATA ports are normally internal ports on the system board. SATA port is fast (6Gbps) and is often used for connecting system storage for holding an Operating System to boot a computer. SATA technologies are widely used including Optical drives. The connection uses a 7 pins data cable for transferring serial data, this is one reason it is called SATA or Serial ATA.
   
   Due to the Speed of SATA, designer see a benefit to bringing the SATA technology to be used externally for connecting external devices that can achieve the same speed as the SATA port. The Specs for defined involving cables, connectors and signal, it was released in 2004 and eSATA becomes a high performance external solution with hot-pluggable capability. One advantage of eSATA over USB is that eSATA comes straight from the System, whereas USB requires a speciallize chipset to bridge USB and SATA. This resulted in an increased speed over early USB technologies.
   
    
10. Need further help, how do I contact support?
    VantecUSA support is available via email or phone (during normal business hours, PST – California, Mon – Fri 9 am - 6 pm). You can reach them easily via VantecUSA.com website contact form OR email support@vantecusa.com  OR phone at 510 668 0368 option 2.

There are two set of instruction. One for Windows OS and another for OS X. Please use the right set of instruction for your System.

 

>>>>>> 1) Preparing a new hard drive for use with Windows 7/8/10 OS <<<<<<

 

NOTE: If you have important data on this drive, DO NOT go any further, please backup your data before you continue. These steps will erase ALL your data on the drive.

 

For Windows 7, hold the Windows logo key on your keyboard and press “R” (Winkey+R). This will launch the Run the utility. Type “diskmgmt.msc” inside the text box and press Enter. This will open the Windows Disk Management utility. This is where you can format, create, and delete hard drive partitions.

 

For Windows 8/8.1/10, hold the Windows logo key on your keyboard and press “X” (Winkey+X). This will launch a popup window and select disk management.

 

Usually, the Initialize Disk Wizard will appear automatically when you open Disk Management. If you have more than one blank drive that needs to be initialized it will list them. Make sure that there is a check in the box of the drive that needs to be initialized, select check MBR if your hard drive is smaller than 2TB, if it is greater than 2TB, please check GPT and then left-click on the Ok button. If the wizard does show up, go to step 5. If the wizard does not show up, please see the note and additional images directly below.

 

 

   Critical: If your hard drive is greater than 2TB in capacity, you need to use check GPT(GUID Partition Table), if it is smaller, select MBR. 

 

Note: If you do not see the Initialize Disk wizard, manually start the initialization. The drive that needs to be initialized should have a little circle with a red arrow pointing down like in the image below.

 

 

When you find it. Right-click on the red arrow and choose Initialize Disk.

 

 

There are two mode of initializing a new drive using MBR or GPT. If your hard drive is greater than 2TB, you need to use check GPT, if it is smaller, select MBR.

 

 

The drive is now initialized. The disk should have a black bar and say that it is Unallocated. You should now be able to create a partition and format the hard drive.

 

 

Now right click the unallocated space and click create a New Simple Volume shown below:

 

 

Follow the on screen wizard by clicking Next

 

 

Specify your volume size, if you are not sure use the default, and now click Next

 

 

Assign a drive letter to the drive, if you are not sure use the default and click Next

 

 

Format the partition and name the volume, if you are not sure use the default

 

 

Now click Finish and it will start formatting the drive to get it ready for use.

 

 

Once the formatting is done, your system will report the presense of a new drive with an assigned drive letter. You can begin using the storage.

 

 

>>>>>> 2) Preparing a new hard drive for use with Apple OS X <<<<<<

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

USB Enclosures:

All our USB enclosures do not need any drivers. It is plug and play. All our USB enclosures uses the USB client drivers that are already built in to the OS (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, OS X 10.6 or newer). As long as your computer USB Host controller drivers is install correctly and is working, when you connect our enclosures to your computer, the OS will sense the USB storage and load the correct drivers automatically for you.

 

USB Adapters:

USB adapter does not need any drivers. It is plug and play. It uses the USB client drivers that are already built in to the OS (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, OS X 10.6 or newer). As long as your computer USB Host controller drivers is install correctly and is working, when you connect the drive to this adapter to your computer, the OS will sense the USB storage and load the correct drivers automatically for you.

 

USB Docks:

All our USB docks do not need any drivers. It is plug and play. All our USB docks use the USB client drivers that are already built in to the OS (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, OS X 10.6 or newer). As long as your computer USB Host controller drivers is install correctly and is working, when you connect our docks to your computer, the OS will sense the USB storage and load the correct drivers automatically for you.

 

If you just purchase this Adapter (Version 2) recently, please refer to the guide/manual that comes with the Adapter.

 

The SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter is design to connect your hard drive to a USB port on your computer.

Here are some information on the connection to help you get started and troubleshoot the problem.

Select the type of drive you are using and follow the instruction closely and in this sequence to get the adapter to work.

 

FOR SATA (2.5” or 3.5”) drive:

 

1.Have everything disconnected

2.Reboot the computer

3.Follow the picture and make sure the hard drive is secure and properly connected to the device. Do not connect the USB to the computer yet.


 

4.Proceed to connect the power to the hard drive. There are two LED on the ac adapter. One on the ac adapter and another near the Slider ON/OFF switch. See picture below.


 

5.Turn on the power (make sure both Green LED is ON) and let the hard drive spin up for about 20-25 seconds. (you should be able to hear the hard drive spin up).

6.. Once connected to your computer, the RED LED on the adapter will be ON.

7.Wait while the computer detects the device and automatically install USB drivers. (Sometime older drives may take as longer as 45 seconds to be detected)

8.Once the drivers are installed, the computer should see the hard drive in My Computers. (for Mac, see a USB icon of the drive on the desktop)

9. it may be your drive’s file system that was corrupted as a result you cannot read the drive in Windows Explorer.

 

FOR IDE (3.5”) drive:

 

1.Have everything disconnected

2.Reboot the computer

3.For 3.5” IDE drive, there are jumpers in the drive that may need to change for it to work correctly with this adapter. Check the instruction on the label of the drive, it should show the jumper setting for different setup like Master, Slave, CS (Cable Select) setting. Make sure the hard drive is set into MASTER Drive Mode only.  Sometime in very rare cases, using is still not working correctly; you should try or Mode.

4.Follow the picture and make sure the hard drive is secure and properly connected to the device. Do not connect the USB to the computer yet.


 

5.Proceed to connect the power to the hard drive. There are two LED on the ac adapter. One on the ac adapter and another near the Slider ON/OFF switch. See picture below.


 

6.Turn on the power (make sure both Green LED is ON) and let the hard drive spin up for about 25-30 seconds. (you should be able to hear the hard drive spin up)
. Once connected, the RED LED on the adapter will be ON.

7.Wait while the computer detects the device and automatically install USB drivers. (Sometime older drives may take as longer as 45 seconds to a whole minute to be detected)

8.Once the drivers are installed, the computer should see the hard drive in My Computers. (for Mac, see a USB icon of the drive on the desktop)

9. it may be your drive’s file system that was corrupted as a result you cannot read the drive in Windows Explorer.

 

FOR IDE (2.5”) drive:

 

1.Have everything disconnected

2.Reboot the computer

3.For 2.5” IDE drive, connecting it right is VERY IMPORTANT because the power pin is part of the 44 pin connection. Wrong connection will kill the disk instantly once plug in. Please be very careful.

Picture below show the UNDERSIDE of the drive and adapter. There are two sets of pins, a 4 pin and a 44 pin. The CB-ISATAU2 adapter will uses the 44 pin. The 4 pin are NOT USED. If you are still not sure, please write or call us for assistance.

 

 

4.Follow the picture and make sure the hard drive is secure and properly connected to the device. Do not connect the USB to the computer yet.

5.Since 2.5” IDE drive is using power from the USB port, you do not need to connect the power adapter, but please use the USB port that can provide the most power to the drive.
A good way is to connect to a powered USB HUB if you have one. If not connect to the USB on the back of a desktop or tower system (avoid the front USB port).

6.Once connected to the USB port the drive should spin up and the RED LED on the adapter will be ON.

7.Wait while the computer detects the device and automatically install USB drivers. (Sometime older drives may take as longer as 45 seconds to a whole minute to be detected)

8.Once the drivers are installed, the computer should see the hard drive in My Computers. (for Mac, see a USB icon of the drive on the desktop)

9. it may be your drive’s file system that was corrupted as a result you cannot read the drive in Windows Explorer.

 

Troubleshooting guide for Hardware.

 

As for the device hardware,

Here is a troubleshooting tip to make sure that the AC adapter is working correctly:

 

Troubleshooting the AC Adapter: (This is what should happen in parenthesis)

 

1.Plug AC adapter into wall (see solid LED on AC adapter)

2.Turn on inline switch connected to the AC adapter (see solid LED on AC adapter and solid LED on switch)

3.Plug in the molex 4pin to SATA power (see solid LED on AC adapter and solid LED on switch) If the LED start blinking, this cable is shorted or bad.

4.Plug in the SATA power to the power connector on the hard drive. (See solid LED on AC adapter, solid LED on switch and the feel the drive spin up)

 

Troubleshooting the ISATAU2 Adapter: (This is what should happen in parenthesis)

1.All connected - AC adapter, drive except the USB to your system (NO red LED light on ISATAU2 adapter)

2.All Connected - AC adapter, drive and USB to your system (red solid LED light but not bright on ISATAU2 adapter)

3.No drive connected, just the ISATAU2 to the USB port (red solid LED light but not bright on ISATAU2 adapter)

4.All connected and drive doing transfer correctly (BRIGHT red solid LED light on ISATAU2 adapter)

 

Troubleshooting Guide for Software:

Check your system’s device manager under Universal Serial Bus controllers, If you see the subset list the “Standard USB Universal Host Controller”, you will have to get the correctly USB drivers for your system before continue. This device has a USB bridge chip and it need to talk to the onboard USB Chipset correctly. The “Standard” USB Chipset Drivers will not let this device work correctly. Once the drivers are updated, it will automatically see the device and work correctly.

 

Sometime is also because the disk is not initialized/corrupted/other format like raw/dynamic, get to the computer management console, START -> right clicking COMPUTER -> MANAGE and under STORAGE you will find DISK MANAGEMENT. From that point on you should be able to determine if the drive is there or the status of the drive.

 

OTHER Questions and Answers:

Q:  Can I connect my CB-ISATAU2 to my USB 3.0 or USB 1.1 port?
A:  Yes, the USB 2.0 connector on this adapter is backward and forward compatible with USB 1.1 and USB 3.0 port, but it will only performance at USB 2.0 or slower speed depending on the speed of the port.

Q:  I took a hard drive out of an older notebook but the interface is different from what is available to connect the adapter, how can I get it to work?
A:  Some notebook manufacturer uses an adapter interface to connect the hard drive to the notebook. If you remove the adapter interface you will see the standard SATA or IDE interface to connect to this CB-ISATAU2 adapter.

Q:  How do I get power to the 2.5” IDE hard drive when there is not power connector?
A:  The 2.5” IDE hard drive gets it power from the USB 2.0 port on your computer. If your 2.5" drive power requirement exceed the provided power from the USB 2.0 port, it will cause the drive not to recognize correctly. Please use an external powered USB Hub for the 2.5” IDE drive to work correctly.

Q:  What type of symptom will I get if the drive is under powered?
A:  You may see problems like not able to see the drive, asking you to format the drive, drive spinning up and down, clicking sound or disconnection symptom.

Q:  Will this CB-ISATAU2 work on my Mac?
A:  Yes, it will work your Mac OS X 10.6 or newer.

Q:  Can I use the CB-ISATAU2 as a boot device?
A:  No, it will not work as a boot device.

Q:  Why is Windows Operating System asking me “Do you want to format this drive”, I have important data on the drive that I want to retrieve. What can I do?
A:  If you have important data on the hard drive, do not format the drive. Windows OS try’s to read the data and could not read it due to file corruption or unknown format; it will then ask if you want to format this drive. Please answer NO and use data recovery software to recover your data.

Q:  Can this CB-ISATAU2 read other file systems format?
A:  The CB-ISATAU2 can read other file systems format if the computer it is connected to can read the format of the drive.

Q:  My old computer cannot boot and I took the drive out. I then connect it to the CB-ISATAU2 adapter and try to retrieve the data using my new computer and it is saying “access denied”. What is wrong?
A:  Due to security reason, you do not have rights to the data on the old computer. You can access the data by taking ownership of the data so that you can get your data back. You can search on the web for instructions on how to take ownership of files or folders.

Q:  Will the CB-ISATAU2 work with Advanced Format (4Ksector) Drives?
A:  No, it will not work with Advanced Format (4K sector) Drives. We do have other product that will like CB-ISA200-U3 or CB-ISATAU3.

Q:  My computer crush and I cannot boot to Windows. Can I use this CB-ISATAU2 to retrieve the data on the hard drive?
A:  It depends on the cause of the computer crush. If the crush is cause by files corruption or other software problem not related to the hard drive, you should be able to retrieve the data. If it is cause by the hardware of the hard drive, you may not be able to retrieve any data using the CB-ISATAU2.

Q:  Will the CB-ISATAU2 works with my Windows 8/8.1/10 OS?
A:  Yes, it will work correctly for Windows 8/8.1/10 OS

Q:  I have other questions that is not listed here, what can I do?
A:  If you are located in the USA/Canada, you can email our support representative using the Contact Us section of the website

 

 

About warranty:

All our standard products comes with 1 year warranty. Some special products may have longer warranty, please check the product page for more information.

If you have questions about our product, please contact our support team for assistance. You can reach them via the contact form located in Menu "About Us", select the Region and select "Product Support". They are very helpful and can answer and assist with our products.

 

Here are the steps for warranty repair. You can use this link below or you can contact RMA our website main page, select Support pull down menu and pick RMA Center. In the RMA Center page select Warranty Service, "End User" to begin.

https://www.vantecusa.com/rma.php

Normal RMA returns for repair.

1)            Submit the online RMA request above.
2)            Wait for the RMA to be approved. You will get notification of the approval via email. (Check your spam folder if it did not show within 2 hours.)
3)            Follow the instruction in the RMA email. Pack well and send back the defective unit. (You pay for shipping to us)
4)            We wait for the unit to arrive.
5)            Once here, we replace the unit and send replacement unit back to you. (We pay for shipping to you)
6)            RMA case close.

 

Register Products:

You do not need to register the product. For warranty purpose we require the invoice or proof of purchase.

You can do the following:

If you purchase it from a store and have the physical receipt, take a clear picture of the receipt, email to yourself and save it in your email warranty folder (create one if you do not have one).
If you purchase it online, you can save the invoice email to your email warranty folder.
If you purchase online, the online store may have your purchase history that may help.

With this you will have a central place for all your receipts.

All products warranty is for one year, if you do not need them any more after a year clear that email.

 

 

Technical notes from DisplayLink on Mac OS X 10.13 or 10.14 or 10.15 Video Function not enabled by default due to OS X security issue.

This affects the following device using DisplayLink Drivers.

NBV-410DU3,  NBV-400HU3,  NBV-320U3,  NBV-200U3,  DSH-300U3,  DSH-M100U3

Please use the following important steps to install the drivers

https://www.vantecusa.com/CKEdit/files/Steps_to_install_DisplayLink_Drivers_on_OSX.pdf

 

Sometime Windows is shutting down the USB Root Hub on your system to save power, that may be the cause of the monitor issue not waking up correctly. You can correct the problem by doing the following changes.

Go into Windows 10  "Setting" > "Power and Sleep" > on right side "Additional power setting"

Change EVERY plans setting one at a time. If you have Balanced, High Performance, Powert Saver or others:

Select "Change plan settings" on the right of each > "Change advanced power settings" > "USB setting" > "USB selective suspend setting" > change setting to "DISABLE"

Done one, now do for all the rest (Balanced, High Performance, Powert Saver or others). After changing all, restart computer.
 

Some computer system or laptop with Thunderbolt 3 port may requires updates before it will work correctly with our adapters. Please follow the link below for more information on the updates and check with your system manufacturer.

Link to more information:

https://thunderbolttechnology.net/updates

The NST-271C31-BK enclosure power management function is designed to save the wear and tear of the installed hard drive or SSD. When the system goes into sleep mode or is power off, the enclosure will go into sleep mode. There is reports of hard drive spin down when it is at idle with the system still running. We have made a correction in the firmware to correct this issue.

Here is the link to the firmware.
https://www.vantecusa.com/CKEdit/images/files/NST-271C31-BK-Firmware_161028_B1_26_40.zip

You will need a Windows OS system to flash the firmware. Unzip and follow the instruction in the package to update the firmware of the enclosure.

If you are using strictly OS X, you may use Parallels or Boot Camp to aid in flashing the firmware.

 

Here are the steps to setup RAID on the NST-272S3-BK.

1) Power ON your system, wait for the system to be fully booted up

2) Use a pen tip to change the RAID switch to the right setting

3) Power up the unit, plug in the USB cable to your system

4) Wait for the drive to spin up if this is HDD, If SSD go to the next step

5) Press and hold the reset button for 3 seconds (HDD LEDs will turn off)

6) Release the reset button and the built-in RAID controller will activate the RAID Mode based on the RAID dip switch setting

7) The RAID is now ready to be initialize, partition and formatted for the Operating System you are using before it can store data

8) For Windows, use Disk Management. For OS X, use Disk Utility

For detail instruction refer to the FAQ "How to preparing a New storage, Hard Drive, or SSD for use with a system?" 

 

There are changes to the Quick Installation Guide for NST-371C31-BK.

If you have purchase a unit and the installation screws instruction is not correct, please use this revised version.

https://www.vantecusa.com/CKEdit/files/NST-371C31-BK_QIG-color.pdf

 

Disclaimer:

VantecUSA or VantecUSA Support do not endorse, have any affiliation, get paid, use or have contact with the companies listed in the links below. The links are provided as a service to our customer if they need the assistance of these companies services. The links are provided by some of our customers or via google search engine. VantecUSA does not use their service and is not responsible for service charges the customer may incur using their services. It is totally the customer responsible to pay for any service they request from these companies.  

 

There is two types of problems with drives. They are hardware and/or software related problems. 

Software related problem:

If the problem is file corruption caused by file system problem, you can try using a data recovery program to scan and retrieve the data. Here is a list of data recovery software companies:

https://benchmarkreviews.com/data-recovery/best-file-recovery-for-windows/

 

Here are some free to try and pay to recover. Some totally free.

 

For Windows OS:

https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm

https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk   (absolutely free, but not very user-friendly, YouTube tutorial can help)

http://www.reclaime.com/

http://www.piriform.com/recuva

http://www.puransoftware.com/Puran-Utilities.html

http://www.cleverfiles.com/disk-drill-windows.html#

http://www.glarysoft.com/glary-undelete/

http://www.pandorarecovery.com/download/

http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/free-data-recovery-software.htm

https://www.wisecleaner.com/wise-data-recovery.html

http://www.officerecovery.com/freeundelete/

 

 

For OS X:

http://www.cleverfiles.com/

http://www.easeus.com/mac-data-recovery-software/drw-mac-free.htm

https://www.prosofteng.com/datarescue4/   (not free)

http://www.alsoft.com/diskwarrior/   (not free)

 

Raw filesystem HDD error data recovery

http://www.raw-file-system.com/Default.aspx

 

 

Hardware related problem:

You need to rely on a specialized company that provides hardware data recovery service. Here is a link to a company that specializes in hardware data recovery.

https://drivesaversdatarecovery.com/