Thermaltake BlacX ST0005U (storage enclosure - SATA-300 - SATA 3Gb/s - Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300 - USB 2.0)

Pros: Works great when the computer loads the proper drivers.

Cons: Just the opposite when the drivers don't load properly.

Summary: I bought the ST0005U and when connecting it to my Sony Vaio laptop (Windows XP), it was not recognized. I went to Thermaltake's site and read the FAQ section. Checking Device manager - Disk Drives, I found no 'Generic external USB Device", what I found was "Sony MSC-U04 USB Device" and "Toshiba MK6021GAS,", neither of which apply. Perhaps this is something peculiar to Sony? Also, the ST005U was showing up in the USB section as a "Sony Memory Stick Reader/Writer" with a yellow question mark. Obviously wrong, so I updated the driver to "USB Mass Storage Device", that also resulted in the yellow question mark.

I found no other help anywhere on the web. Out of frustration, I "uninstalled" both the "Sony MSC-U04 USB Device" and the "USB Mass Storage Device" in Device Manager. I then plugged the ST-0005U back in. The "Generic External USB Device" appeared, also the "USB Mass Storage Device" appeared, this time with no yellow question mark. The ST-0005U now works!!!!

Odd enough, the "Sony MSC-U04 USB Device" entry also reappeared. However, the Thermaltake product now works. I tried unplugging, replugging, and various scenarios/other drives, and it appears to be ok.

I think there may have been some kind of conflict, which did not allow the proper drivers to load. This may be a common problem that has people going into fits.

Also, Thermaltake's FAQ says nothing about checking the "USB" section in Device Manager, that was my idea, from dealing with USB stuff in the past.

Have a nice day, folks.

Jeff (eviljeff1@yahoo.com)