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hfg

macrumors 68040
Dec 1, 2006
3,621
312
Cedar Rapids, IA. USA
After trying several PCIe I/O cards with mixed results, I was finally satisfied with the Inateck KT4004 4-port USB 3.0 card.

However, I soon realized that I wasn't a fan of USB 3.0 for disks, and lacking Thunderbolt on the Mac Pro 5,1, I really wanted the eSATA ports available again. So, I went back to a CalDigit and upgraded to their new FASTA-6GU3 Pro card they recently released. So far, it is working great for me and has all the ports I need with 2-eSATA and 2-USB 3.0. I can expand to more USB 3.0 ports using a hub which is fine for my application. It also adds a couple of internal SATA III ports if I want to hook up more SSDs in the future.
 

HeadshotSK

macrumors member
Dec 30, 2011
44
0
So after some posts here and I was pretty much sold on the 7-port version Inateck, but then was haunted by the fact that I would have to unmount any drives running off of it, whether a little thumb or cradle with a 3.5 internal spinner or my SD card from my camera - SO decided to wait a bit and look around a little more.

Is the drives unmounting themselves upon sleep-wakeup issue a:
1) a PCIe issue no matter the drive or cable or 2.0 v 3.0?
2) specifically a 3.0 CARD issue (as opposed to a USB 2.0 card)
or 3) specifically a USB 3.0 issue?

Hope that makes sense.
Even if I get an Inateck, I will still not be able to boot off an external thumb or hard drive with any PCIe 3.0 card, or will it not work with a PCIe 2.0 card either?
 

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,232
2,962
^^^^I believe it's none of the reasons that you state. See my Post #1076 on the preceding page.

Lou
 

HeadshotSK

macrumors member
Dec 30, 2011
44
0
^^^^I believe it's none of the reasons that you state. See my Post #1076 on the preceding page.

Lou

Thx Lou. I saw that...
But how in God's name do you know which drives will stay mounted through sleep and which ones won't?
My issue is that I have amassed so many internals over the years (I was so super excited at getting a 1.5tb just a few years ago!!) and they are my backups that go into the garage.
Plus a new array of thumbs and such. I could never know which if any and buying all new drives isn't a luxury.

Would be nice if a 'Cradle' or hub would keep the connection regardless of device!
 

Earl Urly

macrumors regular
Jul 11, 2004
221
1
So Inateck is claiming on Amazon that the KT4004 doesn't work with Yosemite. WTF?

I doubt the RocketU 1144C does, but has anyone tried?
 

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,232
2,962
^^^^The Inateck site appears to be down. So I can't access it to see what they say. But, I do see that statement at Amazon.

It has been my experience that Inateck's Technical Support is really bad.

However, I have used both the KT4004 and the RocketU 1144C and can attest that they both work just fine on Yosemite. I am using the RocketU card right now.

Lou
 

Earl Urly

macrumors regular
Jul 11, 2004
221
1

crjackson2134

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2013
4,823
1,948
Charlotte, NC
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crjackson2134

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2013
4,823
1,948
Charlotte, NC
I just wanted to post this quote, so that everyone who is feeling frustrated with the USB eject error can see that the issue occurs on Macs that don't even have PCIe cards installed. It goes deeper than that...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1812164/

Is anyone else having USB connection/disconnection issues with the new (6,1) Mac Pro?

Mine disconnects its only USB drive whenever it is put to sleep after a workday. In the AM I get the message that the drive was not properly ejected about 75% of the time.

Also, it is always slow to recognize the USB keyboard. By slow I mean a minute or more. I tried it with an Apple keyboard and a Das Keyboard unit, both through a hub and directly connected to the computer. Sometimes it will not recognize the keyboard at all unless I unplug it and plug it back in again. I have pretty much gone to an Apple bluetooth keyboard as a result of this, but I miss the numeric keyboard.

This was a problem under OS X 9.5 but is worse under Yosemite. Anyone else having this problem? Anyone know of a fix?
 

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,232
2,962
^^^^Again, I believe the issue is with the electronics of the USB device, not the OS. Since I have abandoned my MicroNet Fantom for the Horneteck USB 3.0 enclosure with a Seagate HDD, the problem has never happened again. However, it is still happening on my MBA (with native USB 3.0 ports) with an Orico enclosure. Not a big deal with the MBA, since the Orico is simply a backup drive and is not hooked up much.

Lou
 

crjackson2134

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2013
4,823
1,948
Charlotte, NC
Lou,

I understand that, but when I can boot Windows & Linux on the same hardware and this issue doesn't present, it demonstrates that there is a narrow band of compatability. Certainly the OS and it's drivers play some role in this don't you think?

We can blame the drive electronics for not being compatible with the OS/driver, or we can blame the OS/driver for not being compatible with the drive electronics. It's the same either way, just a matter of perspective. I do believe that the driver and/or notification mechanism could be, and should be tweaked to correct or compensate for some of these incompatibilities.

Anyway, that's not the discussion I was trying to have. It wasn't my intention to state that the drive electronics are not part of the equation, clearly they are.

My point is that the issue doesn't rest only on the shoulders of the PCIe cards we have installed in our machines as some may believe. Even owners of genuine Apple made USB3 ports suffer from the same plight as us 3rd party add-on card users. That's all I'm saying.
 

crjackson2134

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2013
4,823
1,948
Charlotte, NC
the Horneteck USB 3.0 enclosure with a Seagate HDD, the problem has never happened again.

Lou

They have a new enclosure out called the Falcon that supports UASP but I haven't been able to source that box here in the US. I was going to buy one after you reported that the problem was resolved with the Viper that you have, but sadly couldn't find one (referring to the Falcon). I've got about 12 enclosures and no 2 are alike. So far I haven't found any that eleminated the problem. I ordered a new StarTech UASP box yesterday, and I'm going to order a HorneTeck Falcon for testing when that comes out too. You know what's annoying? I have 8 drives connected and get 8 notifications at a time when this happens... :rolleyes:
 

brianric

macrumors regular
Jul 30, 2011
212
114
Yeah, I've got that one too, you should upgrade from the 1144CM to the 1144C. It's cheaper, supports pretty much all types of USB devices, does UASP, and also has 4 independent controllers (just like the 1144CM), requires no drivers, and let's the Mac sleep mode work properly. It's a nice upgrade.

Got mine today from B&H. Works great under Yosemite.
 
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nigelbb

macrumors 65816
Dec 22, 2012
1,140
264
I just bought an Inateck KT4004 from Amazon for £27.99. This 4-port USB 3.0 card needs no supplementary power & gives excellent performance from my external drives. A nice bonus compared to the previous card that I was using that did require extra power is that the cheap USB 3.0 7 port hub that would not work with the old card now works fine.
 

crjackson2134

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2013
4,823
1,948
Charlotte, NC
I just bought an Inateck KT4004 from Amazon for £27.99. This 4-port USB 3.0 card needs no supplementary power & gives excellent performance from my external drives. A nice bonus compared to the previous card that I was using that did require extra power is that the cheap USB 3.0 7 port hub that would not work with the old card now works fine.

Can you post a link to the product description of your HUB? It helps others who are searching for compatible devices.

Here's the US Amazon link
 
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nigelbb

macrumors 65816
Dec 22, 2012
1,140
264
I just bought an Inateck KT4004 from Amazon for £27.99. This 4-port USB 3.0 card needs no supplementary power & gives excellent performance from my external drives. A nice bonus compared to the previous card that I was using that did require extra power is that the cheap USB 3.0 7 port hub that would not work with the old card now works fine.

I just realised that the new USB 3.0 card doesn't prevent the Mac Pro sleeping either.
 

kgapp

macrumors regular
Jan 6, 2004
107
7
Chicago, IL
^^^^Again, I believe the issue is with the electronics of the USB device, not the OS. Since I have abandoned my MicroNet Fantom for the Horneteck USB 3.0 enclosure with a Seagate HDD, the problem has never happened again. However, it is still happening on my MBA (with native USB 3.0 ports) with an Orico enclosure. Not a big deal with the MBA, since the Orico is simply a backup drive and is not hooked up much.

Lou

So I am in a similar situation. I have now gone through multiple LaCie 4Big Quadra USB 3.0's and continue to have issues with these raid arrays dropping off the machines (mid backup) indicating an improper eject. It happens on three different Mac computers including my Mac Pro with the newer CalDigit USB 3.0 card and two iMacs with native 3.0 ports. Clearly there is some type of incompatibility from an electronics standpoint (LaCie won't admit it to me but they have to know about this issue) between the LaCie device and USB 3.0 on a mac. Sometimes it runs fine sometimes it disconnects on almost every large backup job I run.

So my question is, can anyone here recommend to me a rock solid USB 3.0 raid array (preferrably around 8-12 TB) that they have been using reliably for an extended period of time via USB 3 on a Mac Pro? These raid arrays are way too expensive to be throwing darts in the air hoping the next one works properly. I need to find someone who has been using it for a while and can confirm for me that it has no compatiblity issues.
 

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,232
2,962
Clearly there is some type of incompatibility from an electronics standpoint (LaCie won't admit it to me but they have to know about this issue) between the LaCie device and USB 3.0 on a mac.

I had the same issue with MicroNet, again they clearly knew the issue, I explained it in detail, but they would not admit it. As far as LaCie, I used their products for years. About 5 years ago, I had an issue with an HDD, and they just wouldn't acknowledge it. I have also used many MicroNet drives over the years. Now, both of those suppliers along with OWC are on my black list.

Lou
 

ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Original poster
Sep 21, 2010
9,612
6,907
Hi guys. I've been away from MacRumors for quite a while now but find myself back today.

I haven't read through this thread for the last few months, is there anything important I should update on the first post?
 
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