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/

 

 

 

 

For SD v4.0 Slot, it can support the following:

Secure Digital, Micro Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard interface
    Support Secure Digital v5.0 (Read and Write at SD 4.0 speed or less depend on card speed)
    Support Secure Digital v4.0 UHS-II： Full-Duplex Mode and Half Mode
    Support Secure Digital v3.0 UHS-I： SDR12 / SDR25 SDR50 DDR50 SDR104
    Support Secure Digital v1.0 / v1.1 / v2.0 / SDHC / SDXC (capacity up to 2TB)
MMC specification v3.x / v 4.0 / v4.1 / v4.2 / v4.3 / v4.4
    Support Mini/Micro SD, TF, MMC, MMCplus, MMCmicro, MMCmobile, RS MMC

Note: To use MicroSD v4.0 card in the SD 4.0 slot, the MicroSD v4.0 card must use SD 4.0 to MicroSD 4.0 adapter 

 

For MicroSD Slot, it can support the following:

Micro Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard interface
    Support Micro Secure Digital v3.0 UHS-I： SDR12 / SDR25 SDR50 DDR50 SDR104
    Support Micro Secure Digital v1.0 / v1.1 / v2.0 / SDHC / SDXC (capacity up to 2TB)
MMC specification v3.x / v 4.0 / v4.1 / v4.2 / v4.3 / v4.4
    Support Mini/Micro SD, TF, MMC, MMCplus, MMCmicro, MMCmobile, RS MMC

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

About Windows 7 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Some Firewire device may have a problem talking to the Firewire Host card due to the Microsoft Firewire drivers issue.

A simple correction is to use the Legacy drivers. See below for help.

 

Below is the step by step instructions on how to install the Legacy driver so you won‘t have any problems either: 

Click Start
Then click on Control Panel
Click on Device Manager
Note: If you don’t see Device Manager listed, click on View By Category on the top right side of the
Control Panel Window.
Then Click on Large Icons
You should now have a list of items in the Control Panel and click on Device Manager.
Under the Device Manager, look down the list for IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controllers and Double Click on it.
It should display something like - 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller
Note: If it has the word (Legacy) behind it, you are already setup and you can just exit out.
Next, double-click on the 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller
A window will popup saying 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller Properties
Click on the Driver Tab
Then look down in the window and click on Update Driver
Then select - Browse my computer for driver software
Next select - Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer
It will bring up a list of drivers.
Click on 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)

NOTE: It is important that you select the one with (Legacy) after it, just like shown above.
Then click next
once it installs the 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy),
it will say Windows has successfully updated your driver software.
Click on the Close button and exit out of all of the other windows.
Then Reboot your computer.
You will now be able to import video via the Firewire port on your computer.

NOTE:  We have noticed that when Microsoft has issued certain updates, it can cause Windows 7 to switch back to use the original 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller driver.  If you notice the Firewire device is not working again just repeat the above steps and reinstall the Legacy driver.

 

If a drive fails and rebuilding is required, it will take 200GB/hour to rebuild. If you have a drive 1TB drive, it will take 5 hours to complete the rebuild, generally it is a good idea to run these at night where disk activity is the lowest.

 

The LEDs on the card show the power and activity of the NVMe and UGT-M2PC100 / UGT-M2PC110 card.

When the card is getting power from the PCIe Bus, the Red LED2 will always be ON. If this Red LED2 is not ON, please check and reseat the card, follow the steps outline in the Knowledge Base here.

https://www.vantecusa.com/faq.php?fc_id=5

When the card is getting power (Red LED2 is ON) and the Blue LED1 is not Random flashing (activity), during boot or use, please check the NVMe module and make sure the NVMe module is seated all the way into the M.2 interface. Check for short and proper mounting of the NVMe module on to the card.

 

 

NOTE: This Drivers are for WINDOWS 7 ONLY, if you are using Windows 8/8.1/10/11, you do not need any drivers. It is already built into the OS.

Please do not use this drivers if you did not experience BSOD issue after installling the card.

Microsoft Windows 10 OS already comes with Native USB Host controller drivers built into the OS and you do not need to install any drivers. The system will automatically pick up the drivers once you have installed the card and power ON the system.

You should only use this drivers if you are experiencing BSOD issue after installing the card.

https://www.vantecusa.com/CKEdit/images/files/UGT-PC371AC_ASMedia_1_16_56_1.zip

On rare conditions using CB-ISATAU2 or CB-ISA225-U3 adapter, the 3.5" IDE will not spin up when connected to power and the USB adapter.
This is caused by a circuit loop between the drive with the USB adapter and it will short out the ac adapter. It prevents the ac adapter from functioning and providing power to the drive to spin up. 

 

Try the following: 

1) Have everything disconnected

2) Reboot the computer

3) For a 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 a different setup like Master, Slave, CS (Cable Select) setting. Make sure the hard drive is set into MASTER Drive Mode only.  Sometimes in very rare cases, using Master Drive Mode is still not working correctly; you should try other Mode.

4) Follow the instruction for your CB-ISATAU2 or CB-ISA225-U3 for connecting the power supply ONLY to the drive. Turn On the power switch and let the drive spin up.

5) Once it starts to spin, plug the USB adapter IDE connection to the Drive IDE, continue to let it spin up for 30 seconds.

6) After the 30 seconds is up, connect the USB to your computer, you should see the LED on the adapter lit up.

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

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

 

 

 

1)   When I connect my external eSATA drive to your eSATA adapter, my drive does not work or spin up, why?
eSATA Technology comes in many forms, Standard eSATA do not provide power to device, it ONLY provides data link, but no power. That could be the reason why your external eSATA drive does not spin up.

2)   If eSATA do not provide power, where do I get power for my device?
There are mainly two types of devices for connecting to eSATA.

Some are self-powered (have their own ac adapter) to provide power to the device and only rely on the eSATA connection for the data link.

Some are bus-powered (rely on the computer to provide power to the device), for these devices and data link. If you are not sure what device you have, please contact the eSATA device manufacturer for assistance.

3)   What is the proper way for connecting Bus-powered device?
Due to the numerous devices available on the market, In general, most Bus-powered devices will have two types of ports, a USB and an eSATA. The USB port is used to provide power to the device and the eSATA for providing the Data link. Below is an example of the steps.

The sequence of steps is important. a) Turn ON your system.
b) Using this adapter, connect eSATA cable to the enclosure and the USB 3.0 end to a USB 3.0 port on the system (this provides the Data link to the system).
c) Connect another USB cable to your enclosure and to the system (this provides the power link to the system).  At this point the drive should spin up.
d) The laptop eSATA should see the external drive now. If not go into device manager and do a “scan for hardware changes” it should
pick up your new addition.

Do not reverse step #b and #c, if you do that the enclosure will assume you are connecting using USB and turn off eSATA. Only one can work at a time that is why step #b has to be first.

On SOME situation, if the drive power requirement exceeds that of a single USB port, you have to use 2 USB connections. Please refer to your external device for more instruction.
 

4)   What is the proper way for connecting Self-powered device?
Connect the Self-powered device power to a wall outlet and the eSATA adapter cable to the device and the other end to your system USB 3.0 port. Power ON your device, once the drive has spin up to speed, your system should acknowledge the presents of a connected eSATA device.

If the system cannot see the device, go into device manager and do a “scan for hardware changes” and it should pick up your new addition.

5)   What if I am connecting an External Optical drive with eSATA, will this work?
It depend on the External Optical drive unit, is the Optical drive Self-Powered? If yes, follow the steps in FAQ question#4. If the Optical
drive unit is using Bus-powered, find out from the manufacturer of the Optical drive on how the device is powered.

Some may be using eSATAp, which is very different from eSATA. These eSATAp will not work correctly with this eSATA adapter. If the
Optical drive is using similar connection in FAQ question #3, just follow the step outlined.

6)   How do I know if my eSATA device is connected and be ready to use?
Most devices will show in the Windows Explorer as a connected device with a drive letter.

7)   I just purchase a new external storage device and when connected it cannot see the drive in Windows Explorer, why?
If the external storage device is new, it needs to be initialized, partition and formatted before it can work correctly. Please refer to the
external storage device instruction for preparing the drive for use in the Operating System of your choice.

8)   Is eSATA similar to USB?
No, eSATA is very different from USB.
With USB, when you connect or plug a USB device to a system, the system will acknowledge the connection with a sound and/or popup display showing the device is ready for use. Most eSATA device May NOT report or acknowledge the connection with sound and/or popup display. When ejecting to disconnect a USB device, you can use the safe to remove icon to eject and disconnect the USB device, but eSATA do not have a eject function to safely remove the device, the user have to know that nothing is going on with the device and power it off.

9)   Is there a proper way of ejecting or disconnecting eSATA device?
For ejecting/disconnecting the eSATA device, there are no standard way of ejecting an eSATA device, there are many ways of doing it including unplugging the eSATA cable when there are not disk activity. Please refer to the manual for your eSATA external device or contact the technical support for your external eSATA device for assistance.

 

 

I try changing the 400MX storage to RAID 1 mode and it will not work. What am I doing wrong?
Here are the steps:
a) Set the DIP switches to desired RAID 1 mode of operation
b) Connect to power, connect USB to 400MX and PC
c) Go into Disk Management in Windows (Disk Utility in Mac) and power on the 400MX
d) Wait for OS to detect the 400MX and show the two separate drives
e) When the drives appear, press and hold the reset button on the 400MX until both drives disappear (15-20 seconds), and then release the button.
f) A single disk will now appear and will need to be initialized. Initialize, create volume, and then format.

The switch setting is confusing? According to your manual is the white color ON or the black color ON?
The white color is the correct toggle.
Individual mode: 1-OFF 2-OFF
JBOD mode: 1-ON 2-OFF
RAID 0 mode: 1-ON 2-ON
RAID 1 mode: 1-OFF 2-ON

I installed two drives into the 400MX and connect to my system via eSATA and it is seeing only one drive. Why?
The design of eSATA connection is for one connection to one drive. If the eSATA port on your computer has support for Port Multiplier function you will be able to read/write on multiple drives. If you can only see one drive, your system eSATA port does not have Port Multiplier function.

What is Port Multiplier?
Port Multipliers are devices that allow a single SATA port to communicate with multiple drives. The Port Multiplier is transparent to the drives, but the host (computer) is aware that it is communicating with multiple drives. The Port Multiplier is the function of the SATA Host Controller. If the controller DO NOT support Port Multiplier function and it is connected to a hard drive enclosure with more than one drive, it will ONLY see one drive.

Where can I get eSATA that have Port Multiplier function?
eSATA card with Port Multiplier function comes in ExpressCard or an add-on card for your system. Some motherboard may have this function already built in to the board.

Since I am using JBOD/RAID 0/RAID 1 with 2 drives, I do not need Port Multiplier right?
Yes, you are right because after configuring the mode the two drives are combined into one and your computer system will see it as one drive, therefore you do not need Port Multiplier function.

I currently do not have a USB 3.0 port; can I use a USB 2.0 port for my 400MX?
Yes, you can. The USB 3.0 connection is backward compatible with USB 2.0 port, but the 400MX will run at USB 2.0 speed.

Do I have to use the same brand and model for two of the drives?
No, you do not, but it is good to have both the same.

Does this 400MX device require any drivers?
No, it does not require any special drivers. It is using built in drivers in the Operating Systems (Windows and Mac OSX).

Does the NexStar MX do RAID or JBOD?
The NST-400MX-S3R support individual (two single drives), JBOD (Concatenate drives), RAID 0 (Striped) and RAID 1 (Mirror) mode.

How do you interpret the LED lights on the NST-400MX-S3R?
Please refer to page 6 on the user manual for LED indicator.

If I have existing data on a drive, can I put this drive with data into the 400MX and create a RAID with the data intact?
No, the 400MX will erase the data during the initialize process.

Can I connect the 400MX USB 3.0 port to one system and the eSATA to another so that I can share the data on this storage with two computers?
No, it will work with only one interface at a time.

Will the 400MX goes to sleep when my computer it is connected goes to sleep?
Yes, if you are using USB 3.0 or eSATA.

Is the NST-400MX-S3R compatible with Windows 10 and OS X 10.10 or better?
Yes, the 400MX are compatible with both OS.

How long will the rebuild take?
It depends on your drive capacity. It is rebuilding at a rate of 250GB/hour.

Do I have to initialize and format the drives first before installing into the 400MX enclosure?
No, you do not. The Set mode function will erase the drive.

What is the maximum capacity of the drives that I can use with the 400MX?
Due to the ever increasing capacity of hard drives, the current size is 6TB or 8TB per bay.
Please check on our website or write to Technical Support for the inquiry.

Do you provide application software to monitor the status of the 400MX?
No, we do not. The LED is the only status for monitoring the health of the drives.

If RAID 1 HDD2 fails what must I do?
Power down the 400MX, remove HDD2, put in a new drive (similar or bigger in capacity), and turn it back on and let the rebuild take place. You do not have to do anything else.

How do I get eSATA to work?
a) Have everything disconnected
b) Reboot the computer
c) Make sure the hard drive is secure and properly connected
d) Proceed to connect the power to the device
e) Turn on the power and let the hard drive spin up for about 10-15 sec.
f) Connect the eSATA to the device and then to the computer
g) Computer should automatically detect the hard drive and mount it.
h) If hard drive is not mounting, please go ahead and check the device manager to refresh the device list. The hard drive might need to be formatted. Make sure you back up all valuable information on the hard drive before continuing. (formatting will erase all the information on the hard drive)

I wanted to connect my 400MX to my Router, can I use DLNA with this device?
We have not tested with any router, but it should work as a storage device, it have nothing to do with DLNA, and will not have managed capability of DLNA.

Can I get S.M.A.R.T data off the drive in the 400MX?
There are some 3rd party tools that lets you access SMART on the 400MX.

My RAID disk are almost full, Can add a bigger disk one at a time to grow and increase the capacity. Like my 1TB mirror pair, I remove one and add in a 4TB and let the rebuilding complete before adding the second 4TB so that I can have two 4TB drive in mirror mode?
This RAID-in-a-box cannot grow. If you need to upgrade the drive, you need to backup the data, create a new RAID for your 4TB drives and restore your data.

I need further help that is not listed here, where can I get help?
Write to technical support at support@vantecusa.com they can help you with other questions or assistance that are not listed here.

There are not support for Windows 10 using this card.

Drivers available for Windows 8.1 or older only. 

The switch is to correct compatibility issue with some brand of laptop computer. The default is BC position. BC position will work with 99.9% of laptop, there are no need to change the setting.

After installing, if you can see the drive in the BIOS and cannot see it in the OS physical disk. You can try changing the setting. By changing the setting, it will not harm your system or drive.