Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

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RichieLAX

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Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostWed Jan 13, 2021 11:55 pm

We have found a product from ICY DOCK called the EZ-Adapter Ex MB931U-1VB where you can connect your U.2 NVMe drive externally through a USB connection.

If you are working with a BlackMagic 12K camera with a URSA Mini Recorder Attachment (basically a U.2 caddy), you can simply use the same drive in the caddy and connect it directly to your computer's USB instead of messing with expensive enclosures. :o
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Travis Hodgkinson

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostThu Jan 14, 2021 1:46 am

Do you work for Icy Dock? Just a hunch.

Also buyer beware, they don't have power solutions for Australia as of yet. It's only comes with a US 2 pin power plug. Bit of a let down. But not the end of the world.
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Uli Plank

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostThu Jan 14, 2021 1:49 am

I have used Icy products in the past and they were OK.
Another good brand is Startech, they may have something similar soon.
They already have an enclosure: www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-NVMe-Enclos ... B07PZXZL3Y
No, an iGPU is not enough, and you can't use HEVC 10 bit 4:2:2 in the free version.

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robedge

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostThu Jan 14, 2021 1:54 am

Travis Hodgkinson wrote:Do you work for Icy Dock? Just a hunch.


Uli Plank wrote:I have used Icy products in the past and they were OK.


I think that whether Icy Dock is "OK" depends on the answer to Travis's question :)
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Travis Hodgkinson

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostThu Jan 14, 2021 2:26 am

Haha, yeah man I'm super confident they do :)

Not a bad thing, just have a hunch. Join date, the fact that I've been in contact with them. I digress.

The product looks well made and I'm confident it'll work well.

Not cheap. But hey they're literally the only ones on the market right now that make an external U.2 reader.

Was quoted $187 AUD including freight.
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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostThu Jan 14, 2021 2:31 am

I'm interested in Mr. Lam's answer to Travis's question. If the post that started this thread is effectively from Icy Dock, there is a problem with basic honesty, at a level that isn't tolerated in grade school.

If Mr. Lam is the disinterested observer that he represents himself as, let's hear more, especially about him, "finding" this product and his experience using it. If he isn't disinterested, and we're being played for fools, that's useful to know, and to remember.
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robert Hart

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostThu Jan 14, 2021 11:02 am

There may be a little enforced pragmatisim at play if the original poster is also a vendor or commissioned spotter.

Given how things are playing out worldwide, the little guys trying to get by in Dongguan, Shanghai, Hong Kong or where-ever in China will be doing it tough.

Vending from China may have become moribund. There has been some very deep discounting of asking prices for ARRI-clone HMI lamps recently.

There may be added to diminished world market and transport/delivery difficulties, a backlash by customers due to the origin of the virus and the sanctions against Australian exporters.

Vendors pushmarketing in forums with proxies or pseudonyms will only give themselves a footshot.
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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostThu Jan 14, 2021 7:41 pm

Travis Hodgkinson wrote:Do you work for Icy Dock? Just a hunch.

Also, buyer beware, they don't have powerful solutions for Australia as of yet. It only comes with a US 2 pin power plug. Bit of a letdown. But not the end of the world.


No, I don't work for icy dock. I am looking to repurpose my U.2 drives and I have a Blackmagic camera too. I couldn't really use the u.2 drive because it needed special cabling. I have been using a m.2 nvme ssd with a SSK enclosure.

That is strange that they only have a US plug. It is not a concern for me since I live in Florida. Did you ask why? Will it work for you if you have a power converter?
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Joao Boto

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostMon Mar 22, 2021 8:52 pm

Hi

I also have a 12k camera and a U.2 NVMe SSD but I dont have any adaptor to connect it to my Mac.

Can I connect the camera directly to my Mac and transfer the files from the SSD?

Thank you
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Jamie LeJeune

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostTue Mar 23, 2021 1:28 am

I tried that ICY DOCK EZ-Adaptor.

It did not work. The lights would flash, but the drives would never mount on any of my Macs. ICY DOCK support couldn't explain why.

So, I returned it for refund. Still seeking a working solution of similar size and bus powered.
Last edited by Jamie LeJeune on Tue Mar 23, 2021 5:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Travis Hodgkinson

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostTue Mar 23, 2021 10:19 am

Jamie LeJeune wrote:I tried that ICY DOCK EZ-Adaptor.

It did not work. The lights would flash, but the drives would never mount on any of my Macs. ICY DOCK support couldn't explain why.

So, I returned it for refund. Still seeking a working solution.


I'd be happy to sell you our SSD recorder which you can use as a reader for your U.2 Drives Jamie.
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Jamie LeJeune

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostTue Mar 23, 2021 10:44 am

Interesting thought!

Powering it via the Molex connector will be interesting.

I was really hoping for that ICY DOCK to work since the size + cost was exactly what I am looking for.

If using a reader as large + expensive as the SSD dock itself, solutions already exist such as this one from OWC

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/HELIOS3U200/
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Joao Boto

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostTue Mar 23, 2021 10:57 pm

Jamie LeJeune wrote:I tried that ICY DOCK EZ-Adaptor.

It did not work. The lights would flash, but the drives would never mount on any of my Macs. ICY DOCK support couldn't explain why.

So, I returned it for refund. Still seeking a working solution of similar size and bus powered.



Upsss... Did not read your post. Ordered one yesterday. Will arrive Saturday.
I'm going to try it.
Let you now.

Did the drives mount with the BM SSD recorder connected directly to the Mac? Mine mounts.
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Jamie LeJeune

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostWed Mar 24, 2021 4:45 am

Joao Boto wrote:Upsss... Did not read your post. Ordered one yesterday. Will arrive Saturday.
I'm going to try it.
Let you now.

Did the drives mount with the BM SSD recorder connected directly to the Mac? Mine mounts.
Yes, my U.2 drive mounts just fine that way. But it is a hassle to have to do it that way. I was really hoping that dock would work.

Let us know if you have better luck with that dock than I did.
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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostFri Mar 26, 2021 11:22 pm

Jamie LeJeune wrote:
Joao Boto wrote:Upsss... Did not read your post. Ordered one yesterday. Will arrive Saturday.
I'm going to try it.
Let you now.

Did the drives mount with the BM SSD recorder connected directly to the Mac? Mine mounts.
Yes, my U.2 drive mounts just fine that way. But it is a hassle to have to do it that way. I was really hoping that dock would work.

Let us know if you have better luck with that dock than I did.



Got the dock today.
Works very well.
Its very fast. My ssd is a Samsung.
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Jamie LeJeune

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostSat Mar 27, 2021 12:13 am

Joao Boto wrote:Got the dock today.
Works very well.
Its very fast. My ssd is a Samsung.
Glad to hear that it's working. What OS are you on?
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Joao Boto

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostSun Mar 28, 2021 10:23 am

Jamie LeJeune wrote:
Joao Boto wrote:Got the dock today.
Works very well.
Its very fast. My ssd is a Samsung.
Glad to hear that it's working. What OS are you on?


Big Sur and Catalina.

Works on both Imac and Mac Pro.
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Jamie LeJeune

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostSun Mar 28, 2021 11:11 am

Thank you for the info!
I tested on both those macOS versions on a 2013 Mac Pro and a 2019 Mac Pro. I must have gotten a dud. Will order a new and hope it works.
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Joao Boto

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostSun Mar 28, 2021 4:59 pm

Jamie LeJeune wrote:Thank you for the info!
I tested on both those macOS versions on a 2013 Mac Pro and a 2019 Mac Pro. I must have gotten a dud. Will order a new and hope it works.

Works great. I tested the disk speed and its great.
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Jamie LeJeune

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostTue Mar 30, 2021 7:29 am

Joao Boto wrote: Works great. I tested the disk speed and its great.
My second attempt Icy Dock arrived today. It has exactly the same problem as the first one. It won't mount the disk on any system (I tested four different Macs this time). The U.2 SSD mounts fine when I connect it to computers via the BMD SSD recorder. But the Icy Dock won't mount it. So, this Icy Dock will be returned like the last one. Ugh.
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Joao Boto

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostTue Mar 30, 2021 5:19 pm

Jamie LeJeune wrote:
Joao Boto wrote: Works great. I tested the disk speed and its great.
My second attempt Icy Dock arrived today. It has exactly the same problem as the first one. It won't mount the disk on any system (I tested four different Macs this time). The U.2 SSD mounts fine when I connect it to computers via the BMD SSD recorder. But the Icy Dock won't mount it. So, this Icy Dock will be returned like the last one. Ugh.


Sorry for your troubles. Let me just say that I live in Europe and ordered mine from a German distributor.
Model: GB931U-1VB serial: 20477301.
Im using the enclosed cable and my drive was formatted in the Ursa with ex-fat.
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RichieLAX

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostFri Apr 16, 2021 6:15 pm

Jamie LeJeune wrote:
Joao Boto wrote: Works great. I tested the disk speed and its great.
My second attempt Icy Dock arrived today. It has exactly the same problem as the first one. It won't mount the disk on any system (I tested four different Macs this time). The U.2 SSD mounts fine when I connect it to computers via the BMD SSD recorder. But the Icy Dock won't mount it. So, this Icy Dock will be returned like the last one. Ugh.




I just had the same problem and so I contacted ICY DOCK. They stated my micron 9300 drive does not work on mac but my dell drive works fine. The reason why remains unknown. What drive are you using?
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Jamie LeJeune

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostFri Apr 16, 2021 9:12 pm

Yup, it’s a Micron 9300

The drive mounts just fine when I connect it to my computer in the BMD SSD recorder. But the IcyDock won’t mount it.
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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostMon Apr 19, 2021 11:35 pm

Jamie LeJeune wrote:Yup, it’s a Micron 9300

The drive mounts just fine when I connect it to my computer in the BMD SSD recorder. But the IcyDock won’t mount it.


Im using micron 7300 and it works fine with mac and windows. i would just stay away from using 9300 for now. also, their list of compatible drives is limited and there are some other drives I am looking to buy but so far the adapter has been useful.
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Jamie LeJeune

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostTue Apr 20, 2021 12:13 am

Oops, typo — I have the Micron 7300, not 9300

The 7300 has not worked with the IcyDock adapter. I tried two of them, neither worked.
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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostTue Apr 20, 2021 6:26 pm

Jamie LeJeune wrote:Oops, typo — I have the Micron 7300, not 9300

The 7300 has not worked with the IcyDock adapter. I tried two of them, neither worked.


that's weird. i am using 1.8tb 7300 u.2 ssd. not sure if it is capacity related but what capacity is yours? might wanna contact icydock if the adapter's firmware is up to date.
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Jamie LeJeune

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostTue Apr 20, 2021 10:05 pm

RichieLAX wrote:that's weird. i am using 1.8tb 7300 u.2 ssd. not sure if it is capacity related but what capacity is yours? might wanna contact icydock if the adapter's firmware is up to date.
It's the 3.2TB version of the 7300. And yes, I did contact Icydock support about it. They were not able to give me any info about why it didn't work. All that was clear from the communicating with Icydock support is that the company is selling a device that they themselves clearly did not test for compatibility with commonly available U.2 drives.
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Travis Hodgkinson

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostWed Apr 21, 2021 4:02 am

Thanks Jamie for your insight, Certainly saved us a bunch of time and money.
Sorry you didn't find success with the IcyDock. We were really hoping it was the golden solution.
Freelance Camera Op & Cinematographer based in Brisbane, Australia.
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RichieLAX

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostFri Apr 22, 2022 6:57 pm

I think icy dock just updated their drive compatibility list on the faq tab of the product page.

https://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=363#t2
-
still wondering if 15tb drives will work.
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Jamie LeJeune

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Re: Use your U.2 NVMe drive externally!

PostSat Apr 23, 2022 10:44 pm

3.2TB version of the Micron 7300 Max is still not supported.
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