USB to SATA Conversion - Hit or Miss

[Chris Kelly]

I'm sure some of you remember me from the Libre Drives section. I used an LG BE16NU50 USB drive for three years. Then two weeks ago, it quit reading UHD and FHD Blu-rays and is now only reading DVDs and CDs. I decided that none of the USB drives have the exact features I need. So I thought I'd give SATA to USB conversion a try. I ended up with the Prudent Way PWI-U3-IDSA. It's the only one I could find which stated 5GBS speeds, as opposed to 3GBS, and doesn't require an enclosure, especially since I'll be constantly switching between an LG WH16NS40 for ripping 4K/UHD Blu-rays, and a Pioneer BDR-212UBK for ripping everything else. My problem is sometimes Windows properly recognizes and installs the hardware, and other times it does not. When it works, it's great. But these hit-or-miss issues are getting on my nerves because it is so time consuming to finally get things working properly. I first tried connecting everything to my laptop's USB Type A port after Windows booted to the desktop, and my laptop would either freeze or else not properly recognize and install the hardware. When I power my laptop on after I connect everything to my laptop's USB port, my laptop doesn't boot to windows and I can't shut it off unless I hold the power button down. When I quickly plug and unplug from USB a few times while my laptop is booting to Windows, sometimes the hardware is properly recognized and installed, and other times it isn't. I even tried changing the boot order in my BIOS to first boot to USB CD/DVD ROM. My laptop still didn't boot to Windows, but I was able to turn it off the normal way. So I set my BIOS back to my previous settings. When using an additional adapter to connect to my Gen 2 Type C ports, it recognizes and installs everything properly, but then disconnects for a moment and reconnects again intermitently. It can't be my USB ports because they've been working with my USB drive since I got the laptop. I'm pretty sure I told you everything I tried and the several ways I tried it. So please let me know if I'm missing something or if I have a crappy SATA/USB conversion kit. Edit: This kit doesn't have an on/off switch. Could something be waiting to receive data which isn't receiving it at the right time? Other than that, isn't a commercially available USB drive just a SATA III drive with USB conversion and an on/off switch anyway? So if it's not resulting from a lack of an on/off switch, what's my problem here? Edit 2: My Prudent Way PWI-U3-IDSA has a one-touch autobackup button. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I also tried connecting the AC adapter before and after connected to the laptop before and after booting to Windows. I'm just posting as much info and things I tried as I think of such things so you guys can explore things I haven't tried or thought of yet. Edit 3: Before I got the Prudent Way PWI-U3-IDSA conversion kit, I tried an Other World Computing Mercury Pro enclosure for 5.25" optical drives. I even liked that one because it has an on/off switch and it's AC adapter is rated at 3 Amps for its DC output, as opposed to the 2 Amps on the one that came with the Prudent Way. However, I couldn't get the drive to fit securely in the metal chassis. So I wound up returning it and getting the Prudent Way conversion kit. Edit 4: The model number on that Other World Computing Mercury Pro enclosure is OWCMR3UKIT, in case it would help.

[Coopervid]

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[Chris Kelly]

Good news. I decided to return the adapter. I found a successful solution. Since my LG BE16NU50 USB drive still reads DVDs but not HD or UHD Blu-rays, I thought I'd take it apart and see if it uses SATA/USB conversion hardware. Indeed it does. It turns out I'm able to recycle the enclosure and drive for parts while keeping the SATA/USB conversion hardware. It is easy to quickly attach and detach it so I can quickly switch between my two newly purchased SATA drives--my LG WH16NS40 for ripping 4K/UHD Blu-rays to my laptop's SSD, and my high performance Pioneer BDR-212UBK for ripping my HD Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate everyone's input and efforts to help me. I hope others find my solution useful.

[Coopervid]

Feedback is always appreciated!

Some people ask for help, you make suggestions and you never hear back. I call that rude.