*** Critical for all TowerRAID user, you are putting your data at risk if you don’t fix it. In the worst case scenario, the partition will be corrupted. You may able to recover all of the files with recovery software but they can’t recognized the original filenames. You has been warned***
The Sansdigital TowerRAID Enclosure I purchased a few months ago having so many problems.
Symptom (It happened on my TR5M & TR5M6GNC) (From minor to major)
1. HDDs installed in the TowerRAID Enclosure unable to use safely remove in windows.
2. The amber power light of the TowerRAID Enclosure keep flashing but none of the HDD detected
3. Windows event logs showing a record of HDD controller error [Event ID:11]
4. The HDDs installed in the TowerRAID Enclosure having ULTRA ATA CRC ERROR
5. HDDs installed in the TowerRAID Enclosure suddenly disappear and required a reboot to fix the problem.
6. Computer hang at booting [Windows loading screen ]when TowerRAID Enclosure is connected.
7. The partition suddenly corrupted and windows showing a popup to format the drive.
If you google about it. You will found many TowerRAID users having exactly the same problems but none of them come with a solution.
I am glad to tell you I finally found the root cause and get them fixed.
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In my previous review, I had already replaced all of the PSU come with the enclosure so I am pretty sure the problem had nothing to do with PSU.
Review of Sansdigital TowerRAID 5 bay Enclosure [Replace PSU is a must]
At first, I guess it’s due to bad esata cable so I spent $60 USD to purchase different brand esata cable , including C2G, startech.
However, the problems remain the same. I think it’s likely there’s a compatible issue between controller chipset. So I spent another $200 USD to purchase different esata controller card using different chipsets, including Marvell, silicon Image, Asmedia, Jmicron. I bought all of them and test them all one by one but none of them can fix the problems.
Finally, I decided to replace the esata socket that come with a short cable which directly connected to the back-plate.
BINGO! All of the problems go away after the esata socket cable has been replaced.
My new esata socket cables, come with a lenovo parts number on it.
The original one, come with a logo of CFI
In order to find out the root cause of the problem, I decided to cut them apart
As you can see in the above pictures. The cable manufactured by CFI is inferior to lenovo one.
The main reason why the CFI didn’t works is because it didn’t follow the industry standard. Let’s take a closer look at the cable manufactured by CFI.
There’s no gap and no isolation between those two pairs and both pairs of shielding are directly connected to each other.
CFI had made a fatal mistake when manufacture this sata cable. The gap and isolation is a must and they will affect both incremental capacitance and inductance, as well as return loss, and amount of cross talk.
In conclusion, CFI failed to comply with the industry standard and made a cable they think it may works (which apparently didn’t).
I am pretty sure that nearly all of Towerraid OEM by CFI were affected. Since Startech S358BU33ERM, Startech S355BU33ERM were also OEM by CFI. I believed they were having the same problems too!
I had eight towerRAID units in total. All of them keeping having windows event error [Event ID:11] before the esata connector replacement, the [Event ID:11] is showed up every day / every few days.
Once the Event ID:11 shown up, HDDs no longer able to safely remove from windows until next power cycle.
I confirmed [Event ID:11] no longer appeared on any of my towerRAID units after all of the esata connectors has been replaced. That’s a ultimate fix!
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Recommended reading
https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/262017/does-the-separation-of-the-differential-pair-shielding-of-a-sata-cable-matter
Solved my issues on a TR4M! Thanks so much for the research and posting about it!
Hellο there! This blog post couldn’t Ƅe written any
better! Looking at this post reminds me of my prevіous ｒoommate!
He constantly kеρt talking aЬout this. I will forward tһis information to him.
Pretty sure he’ll hаve a good read. I appreciate уou foｒ sharing!
I’m having a tough time find the replacement eSATA socket I’m only finding Startech which you indicate is CFI. Can you provide an applicable replacement part so I can fix my Sans Tower .. Thank you.
Hello, since you’re from USA, I suggested you go to ebay and search for”esata cable female”, you should find a few sellers selling those cables.
Hope this helps.
Kam
I wished you had a PayPal listed, I’d buy you a cup of coffee just for this post! I had a TR4M that I tested before and all good. Now a year later finally using as an expansion for NAS, and nothing but trouble. I started to suspect drives (4TB) were issue, and it was compatibility. But the orange light on front of the power blinking there was nothing in manual about it. Finally, stumbled on your page, and ironically I had another SATA to eSATA laying around, swapped out, and NOW all drives powered up and NAS is syncing.
Thank you so much
Good to hear that you fixed it.
Kam
I know this is old, but the new StarTech bulkhead cable does have the gap now.
UPC code is 6503084439 1ft/30cm
I bought 2 and cut one in half to verify. So far it’s been working great.
Good to hear that you fixed it.
Kam
Hi. Thanks for this info after all this time. I have had TR5 sitting around since 2018 when you posted this, still cannot get it to go.
I have not been able to find your exact cables. But I have tried a few different ones including ecripiming ESATA cables and some generics with no name on them.
I also picked up some SATA internal internal to eSATA external connector cables, about 1M long, and just bypass the int/ext cable.
I have the same problem typical problems others have, no matter what I do: drives fall off the windows PC, Ultra ATA CRC errors when the drives actually stay on the PC.
Sometimes the BIOS is only detecting 4 out of 5 drives, but when I go to Windows, all 5 drives are there.
Any other suggestions ? I find it hard to believe so many cables are problematic?
Worst case, I’m wondering if you can test out my unit, since you have all this gear… just so strange.
Edited for clarity:
Hi. Thanks for this article. I have had a TR5 sitting around since 2018, and just now found your article in 2024! Sadly, I still cant get the TR5 working correctly. No matter what I do, I have the same typical problems others have: drives fall off the windows PC, Ultra ATA CRC errors when the drives actually stay on the PC. Sometimes the HPT RocketRAID 622 BIOS is only detecting 4 out of 5 drives, but when it gets into windows, all 5 drives are there.
I have not been able to find your exact eSATA internal to external cables. But I have tried a few different ones, including: ecripiming ESATA cables, some generics some generics with no name on them, and: I also picked up some SATA internal connector on one end, to eSATA external connector cables on the other end. These are about about 1M long, and they just bypass the int/ext cable altogether. I would think this would work no matter what, but the problem is still the same as everything else.
Any other suggestions ? I find it hard to believe so many cables are problematic? Worst case, I’m wondering if I could talk you into testing my unit, since you have all the right gear to do it… I’ve went through tons of cables and 2 RocketRAID eESATA PCIe cards, problem is the same no matter what I do.
Thank you Kam for this article. I can’t tell you how frustrated I got with my Sans Digital TR5 unit dropping out and having CRC error problems. I went so far as to get another RocketRaid 622 and new external cables. Just shocking that a manufacturer could be making bad cables and then putting them in Sans Digital units like that.
I finally found a new eSATA cable and was able to fix my TR5 unit. It’s an HP 483942-001 that I am using, the screw mounts are slightly larger than the Sans Digital case. But it works, have copied so far 8tb without any problems.
If you have any suggestions for replacing the LED lights for the drives (2 of mine do not work) I’m all ears, as I have never replaced LEDs before.
Thanks!
Please accept my apologies for the delayed response; comments are manually approved to prevent spam.
I am glad to hear you were able to resolve the issue! If you are still looking for LED replacements, I recommend searching for ‘LED packs’ on eBay. When selecting a replacement, please keep the following in mind:
1. Voltage: Ensure the new LED matches the operating voltage of the original.
2. Fit: Check that the physical size and pin configuration (pinout) match your current setup.
3. Color Features: Some TowerRAID models use bi-color LEDs (typically green and red) for HDD activity. If your model has this feature, ensure your replacement has the same dual-color capability and pinout.”
Kam