Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]


Groups > comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage > #6426

Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal?

From VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH>
Newsgroups comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage
Subject Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal?
Date 2015-09-14 05:04 -0500
Organization Old Usenet Denizen
Message-ID <d5nkdhFal90U1@mid.individual.net> (permalink)
References (1 earlier) <r7e3va1qmim07opufmb1uhducg8iktpsdh@4ax.com> <6dk3vad61h05mk83dcaetthofhs7u4qfcd@4ax.com> <d5e9a9Fq1qU1@mid.individual.net> <d5ev1gF5lraU1@mid.individual.net> <d5ja5lF8flpU1@mid.individual.net>

Show all headers | View raw


Rod Speed wrote:

> VanguardLH wrote
>
>> Unless you void the warranty by opening the external's case to see
>> what drive model is in there,
> 
> You don't void the warranty by checking what drive is in there

Opening the enclosure for a pre-built external drive does not void the
warranty?

Some cases are designed to snap together.  Prying the half shells apart
often breaks off a tang or lip which is a telltale sign of opening the
case.  Some put stickers on.  If the seal is broke, removed, defaced,
altered, tampered, or rendered unintelligble then warranty is voided.
Some put a seal on the inside.  Some require screws be removed and they
are below the label so you have to puncture the label to get at the
screws.

If they didn't care about boobs getting inside their cases, why put
seals on the case, put screws under labels, or use snap-together cases
that get damaged when forcibly unsnapped?

> and you don't have to open the case to work that out either.

How is that performed (to get at the firmware string from the HDD
through the USB-to-SATA converter PCB)?

After I plug in a USB HDD, all I see is it enumerated as a USB device of
type "USB Mass Storage Device".  When I go in the registry under:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR

I see nothing that identifies brand and model of the HDD inside the
external USB case.  The subkey under there is named:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR\Disk&Ven____Mass&Prod_Storage_Device&Rev_

So there is not VID (Vendor ID) or PID (Product ID) in the naming of the
enumeration key by which I could identify the HDD on the other side of
the USB-to-SATA converter inside the USB enclosure.  The "Mfg" data
item's value points to disk.inf with a pointer of genmanufacturer so
that doesn't tell which brand or model, either.

Device Management (devmgmt.msc) and its console-mode kin devcon.exe is
not going to show me more than the enumerated info in the registry.

When I use USB Viewer, all it says for the USB device is:

            ---===>Device Information<===---
  English product name: "USB Mass Storage Device"

  ConnectionStatus:                  
  Current Config Value:              0x01  -> Device Bus Speed: High
  Device Address:                    0x02
  Open Pipes:                           2

            ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
  bLength:                           0x07
  bDescriptorType:                   0x05
  bEndpointAddress:                  0x81  -> Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1
  bmAttributes:                      0x02  -> Bulk Transfer Type
  wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
  bInterval:                         0x00

            ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
  bLength:                           0x07
  bDescriptorType:                   0x05
  bEndpointAddress:                  0x02  -> Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2
  bmAttributes:                      0x02  -> Bulk Transfer Type
  wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
  bInterval:                         0x00

            ===>Device Descriptor<===
  bLength:                           0x12
  bDescriptorType:                   0x01
  bcdUSB:                          0x0200
  bDeviceClass:                      0x00  -> This is an Interface Class Defined Device
  bDeviceSubClass:                   0x00
  bDeviceProtocol:                   0x00
  bMaxPacketSize0:                   0x40 = (64) Bytes
  idVendor:                        0x14CD = MOAI ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
  idProduct:                       0x6116
  bcdDevice:                       0x0220
  iManufacturer:                     0x01
       English (United States)  "Generic     "
  iProduct:                          0x03
       English (United States)  "USB Mass Storage Device"
  iSerialNumber:                     0x02
       English (United States)  "116AC2101219"
  bNumConfigurations:                0x01

            ===>Configuration Descriptor<===
  bLength:                           0x09
  bDescriptorType:                   0x02
  wTotalLength:                    0x0020  -> Validated
  bNumInterfaces:                    0x01
  bConfigurationValue:               0x01
  iConfiguration:                    0x00
  bmAttributes:                      0xC0  -> Bus Powered
  MaxPower:                          0x01 =   2 mA

            ===>Interface Descriptor<===
  bLength:                           0x09
  bDescriptorType:                   0x04
  bInterfaceNumber:                  0x00
  bAlternateSetting:                 0x00
  bNumEndpoints:                     0x02
  bInterfaceClass:                   0x08  -> This is a Mass Storage USB Device Interface Class
  bInterfaceSubClass:                0x06
  bInterfaceProtocol:                0x50
  iInterface:                        0x00

            ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
  bLength:                           0x07
  bDescriptorType:                   0x05
  bEndpointAddress:                  0x81  -> Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1
  bmAttributes:                      0x02  -> Bulk Transfer Type
  wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
  bInterval:                         0x00

            ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
  bLength:                           0x07
  bDescriptorType:                   0x05
  bEndpointAddress:                  0x02  -> Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2
  bmAttributes:                      0x02  -> Bulk Transfer Type
  wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
  bInterval:                         0x00
 
So I can get USB info (presentation data) up to the USB interface inside
the USB enclosure (the USB side of the USB-to-SATA converter PCB) but
nothing about what HDD is on the SATA side of the USB-to-SATA converter.

Make and model are not identified in the enumeration of the USB drive.
So what program could I use to get past the USB-to-SATA converter PCB to
get the HDD's firmware string used to identify it?

Back to comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage | Previous | NextPrevious in thread | Next in thread | Find similar


Thread

Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Percival P. Cassidy" <Nobody@NotMyISP.net> - 2015-09-10 10:46 -0400
  Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Mark Perkins <mark@none.invalid> - 2015-09-10 12:09 -0500
    Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Mark F <mark53916@gmail.com> - 2015-09-10 15:05 -0400
      Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> - 2015-09-10 20:27 +0000
        Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Mark Perkins <mark@none.invalid> - 2015-09-10 15:59 -0500
          Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2015-09-11 07:14 +1000
          Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> - 2015-09-11 02:01 +0000
          Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? larrymoencurly@my-deja.com - 2015-09-17 21:58 -0700
            Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Mark Perkins <mark@none.invalid> - 2015-09-30 17:50 -0500
              Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Ed Light <nobody@nobody.there> - 2015-09-30 19:58 -0700
              Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Mark F <mark53916@gmail.com> - 2015-10-04 12:24 -0400
      Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Percival P. Cassidy" <Nobody@NotMyISP.net> - 2015-09-10 17:00 -0400
        Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2015-09-10 22:10 -0500
          Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2015-09-13 04:45 +1000
            Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2015-09-14 05:04 -0500
              Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2015-09-15 05:00 +1000
                Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2015-09-14 19:16 -0500
                Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Ed Light <nobody@nobody.there> - 2015-09-15 00:03 -0700
                Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2015-09-15 18:57 -0500
                Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2015-09-16 13:14 +1000
                Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Ed Light <nobody@nobody.there> - 2015-09-16 14:12 -0700
                Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2015-09-16 05:01 +1000
                Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2015-09-15 18:57 -0500
                Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2015-09-16 13:12 +1000
              Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? larrymoencurly@my-deja.com - 2015-09-17 22:50 -0700
        Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Mark F <mark53916@gmail.com> - 2015-09-11 18:44 -0400
  Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2015-09-11 07:15 +1000
    Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Percival P. Cassidy" <Nobody@NotMyISP.net> - 2015-09-10 17:48 -0400
      Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Mark Perkins <mark@none.invalid> - 2015-09-10 21:08 -0500
  Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Sam <newsgroup2003@gmail.com> - 2016-01-22 21:24 -0800
    Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Percival P. Cassidy" <Nobody@NotMyISP.net> - 2016-01-23 10:32 -0500
      Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? jerryab@juno.com - 2016-01-24 09:59 -0600
        Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2016-01-25 05:06 +1100
          Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? jerryab@juno.com - 2016-01-25 09:26 -0600
            Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2016-01-26 06:23 +1100
            Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? "Percival P. Cassidy" <Nobody@NotMyISP.net> - 2016-01-25 15:38 -0500
            Re: Why are external drives cheaper than internal? Ed Light <nobody@nobody.there> - 2016-01-25 16:38 -0800

csiph-web