Review on 📱 StarTech.com Mobile Rack Backplane for 2.5" SATA/SAS Drive - Supports 5mm-15mm SSDs/HDDs - Hot Swap Vented Metal Enclosure - SATSASBP125 by Jeff Bourke

First of all, this test deals with the S251BU31REM hot-swap bay. The rest of the reviews here are for one or more completely different products. Revain really needs to stop their despicable practice of bundling reviews of products they consider "similar" products. I bought these (and a few extra cases) to use to secure my laptop and sync to my desktop. I can connect drives in enclosures to a laptop for an upgrade with short USB cables (more on that in a moment). Also, I can sync data between the laptop and the desktop (aka Snickernet) computer by plugging them one at a time into the hot-swap bay installed in the computer. Four of these sleeves (I have four drives in my laptop so I need four spare drives) fit easily in my laptop bag. The cases are pretty solid (I'd rather have aluminum front and back than plastic). and should protect the drive inside well if the case is dropped, even if the plastic ends break. The body is made of durable extruded aluminum. I had several previous versions of this bay and hot swap case but replaced them with this newer version as the previous case was not TRIM compatible when using SSDs and USB. The older version of the case required removing the SATA-to-USB adapter from the case before inserting it into the case, which isn't necessary in this case (one less thing to lose, break, or wear out) . I was a little apprehensive when ordering these because all the photos I could find, including those on Revain and on the Startech website, showed the hot-swap bay poking out clearly from the front of the 3.5 bay adapter protrudes. 5.25 inches of what would look like garbage. It doesn't really stick out; it closes almost flush with the adapter. Also, I couldn't find a photo showing how far the hull sticks out of the bay. Luckily, it sticks out just enough to give the power/activity LED a good view, and when you press the eject button, it pops out even more, making it easy to pick up and remove. I've attached a couple of photos showing the bay with the bay installed in the bay adapter and the case inserted into the bay. While there's nothing wrong with the included plastic pit adapter, I prefer metal over plastic and plan on not using the included pit adapter. I knew that when I ordered; I have polished aluminum adapters (posted by Lian Li) that I can use to adapt to other manholes and manhole covers I already use. Installing hard drives in cases is much easier than the old version I had. On older cases, the two tiny screws on the back were not easy to remove and replace without removing the screw heads. The screws on the ends of the new cases are much easier to remove and replace. A PH00 screwdriver (also known as a #00 Phillips head) is best for removing and replacing these screws. A #1 Phillips screwdriver is best for installing the screws that secure the drive to the circuit board inside the case. The cases slide easily and smoothly into the hot-swappable bays, but are tight enough that you can't attach stickers or labels. Tape the crates with duct tape to keep them from dangling when the crates are removed from the bay. I also tried masking tape on the bottom of the case so walking across the countertop wouldn't scratch the paint on the bottom over time. This also caused the case to freeze when removed from the bay. I glued label tape to the front of the suitcases. You can also attach 1/4" flat label tape (like that used by Brother label makers) to the sides, but it fits snugly. Keep the back of the case on an unusual or branded case that I can't find anywhere. The thread is 4-48 and the length is 5/16". The only 4-48 screw lengths I could find were 1/4" (too short) or 3/8" (too long). I could Cut 3 screws / 8" but the other issue is that the heads of the Startech screws are much smaller than any other screws I could find and the case would not fit in the hot swap bay. The screws are Startech, so how about if I lost one (it's very easy to do), the case would be useless. Startech's response was that since it was not a warranty case they could not supply the screws. When I replied and asked if they could tell me where to buy them (after all they have to get them from somewhere) they ignored me. My advice? Unless you absolutely need something like this, stay away from Startech because of their unacceptably poor customer service. If you do this, you will NOT lose those screws! Edit 2: I was finally able to get Startech to tell me that the screw s were actually 2.6mm instead of 4-48 (oddly the screws fit my 4-48 thread gauge). With this information I was able to find a company (nbk1560 dot com/en-US/products/#all) with screws under part number SNZF-M2.6-8-TBZ. I had to buy a set of 50 screws, but even with shipping it's a lot cheaper than replacing the whole case if I lose a screw. Another thing I like about the cases is that the LEDs aren't piercingly bright blue. They emit a pleasantly soft green light. Although I rated it five stars, I have serious complaints. The first is using the USB 3.0 micro-B port on the back of the case. Why? USB C has been around for almost as long as these cases, if not longer, and USB C cables are a lot easier to find these days. Startech included a USB-C to USB 3.0 Micro-B cable and a USB 3.0 Type-A to USB 3.9 Micro-B cable, but they are too long for my needs ( others may find them too short). It took me a heck of a lot of time to find the shorter ones that are better suited to my use. Also, what is Startech's obsession with using power connectors for floppy drives (this isn't the first Startech product I've seen and used that had these)? They ran out before the end of the last century! SATA power connectors have been the standard for many years. Startech has integrated a 4-pin floppy power connector into the SATA power adapter cable and a 4-pin floppy power connector into a 4-pin Molex power connector (another legacy connector). Luckily, the SATA power cable was just the right length for my use, and all I needed was an extra braid to cover up the ugly, exposed wires. Another improvement over the previous model I had was the SATA data port. This one has a lock. The previous one didn't snap and I had to tape the connector to keep it inside. Ironically, the SATA data cable that comes with the hot-swap bay doesn't have a latch. Go Startech! There are five cables between the USB cable, the power cable and the SATA data cable, of which at best (if at all) only two are used and they may or may not be the right length. These are additional costs that consumers do not want. If Startech simply used more modern connectors, consumers could easily obtain the cables they need themselves. I have a ton of cables bundled with various devices, wrong lengths, etc. that I will probably never use. Enclosures and bays work out of the box with Linux. TRIM for SSDs works when the enclosure is inserted into the bay, but TRIM does not work immediately when using a USB cable. First you need to create a udev rule on the machine. I was having trouble figuring out how to do this with another case brand (all the instructions I found were incomplete), so here is the guide on how to do it. 1. Find out Vendor ID and Product ID. Run lsusb in a terminal with the device attached. If you're not sure which device in the list is your SSD, unplug it and run lsusb again to see which device is gone. (Remember to unmount the file system before unplugging a device.) Each device has an ID value in the list. For example, I have "174c:1351" (Startech Case ID). Vendor ID is the first part and Product ID is the second part.2. Create a udev rule. In the terminal, copy and paste this line and press Enter. sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/50-usb-ssd-trim.rules Type your password and press Enter again. Copy and paste this rule into a text editor (all on one line; the correct IDs for these attachments have already been added): ACTION=="add