Using extern SSd Drive as a Cheap Substitute for Flashdrive

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backi
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Using extern SSd Drive as a Cheap Substitute for Flashdrive

#1 Post by backi »

Hi you guys !

Did a bit research for Topic how to use a SSD (Solid State Drive ) as an external portable Device .
So i bought a cheap USB 3.0 to SATA Kabel, USB 3.0 Kabel SATA for 2.5 HDD SSD on Amazon (just an Example ) .

10 Bucks (Euro)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01E3QSG3Y/ref ... 1f026692ee

and for 20 Bucks (Euro) :
128 gb Intenso SSD

https://www.amazon.de/Intenso-interne-S ... B0093RN0PI

Just plugged the SSd to the Adapter and plug it into a free Usb Slot .
Format it with Gparted and use it like a (portable) Usb-Flash Drive or like a portable Hardrive now.

Cool .....should have known earlier .
Think it is even less expensive than buying Usb-Sticks
Much more Storage for less Money .....and quite fast(er) .

Of course you can replace your magnetic Hardrive with SSD still .

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don570
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#2 Post by don570 »

Inateck has some interesting products...

English page....
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/836B ... 9123884011
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don570
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#3 Post by don570 »

If you have a desktop computer with a free pcie slot there is a better solution---> much faster speed is possible.

For $16 US this will hold mSATA memory which is falling in price
and will give excellent speed. Half height bracket is included for SFF computers.

https://www.amazon.com/SHINESTAR-Adapte ... ay&sr=8-13


$ 13 US model
https://www.amazon.com/QNINE-SATA3-0-Ex ... merReviews
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backi
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#4 Post by backi »

Hi you guys !
Thanks for interesting Infos .
Does anybody know if and how to connect SSD via eSata Port (extern) on a Laptop ?

Regards !

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rcrsn51
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#5 Post by rcrsn51 »

You can buy sata-esata adapter cables, but there will be a problem with power. Your USB adapter supplies power to the SSD. But I don't believe that an esata connection can do that.

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Burn_IT
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#6 Post by Burn_IT »

There are two types of eSATA
One supplies power, the other doesn't.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

LateAdopter
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#7 Post by LateAdopter »

Hello backi

Many of the cheap SATA to USB3 adapters only handle sufficient SCSI3 commands to work with Windows. But linux is more fussy when it comes to the "trim" and "discard" options.

There are plenty of discussions in Ubuntu and other forums about which ones work properly with linux and which ones will work with some manual tweaking.

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Burn_IT
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#8 Post by Burn_IT »

Most of the newer SSd drives handle trim themselves in idle moments and do NOT rely on the OS to do it.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

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don570
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#9 Post by don570 »

I went to wikipedia page and read following about power to esata port...
+12 V issue

There are only two versions of this port. Most laptop computers do not have 12 V power available, and have an eSATAp port which provides only 5 V. Desktop computers, with 12 V available, have a port with two additional pads, placed against the plug's "horns", which provide 12 V. Some manufacturers refer to these ports as eSATApd, where d stands for "dual voltage". Some devices, such as 2.5-inch drives, can operate off the 5 V supplied by laptop eSATAp ports. Others, such as 3.5-inch drives, also require 12 V; they can be powered from a desktop eSATAp port, but require an external 12 V power supply if used with a laptop computer. This can lead to confusion if users are not aware of the distinction.

eSATAp PCI and PCI-e add-on cards are available for desktop computers. They usually provide two eSATAp ports, with port multiplier functionality, and hot-swap capability.

eSATAp cables are available with wide connectors to plug directly into the power and signal connectors of a bare drive, providing a 12 V supply in the case of a desktop machine. A version of this wide connector is found inside every external SATA hard drive enclosure; when the hard drive is slid inside, it mates with a connector that supplies it with both signal and power.

If the smaller side of this cable is plugged into a "powered" ESATA port, providing both 12 V and 5 V, then the wide end may be plugged into a 2.5" or 3.5" SATA hard drive, supplying the bare drive with both signal and power. The small 2.5" drive will get signal and power at 5 V, which is all that the smaller drive requires, and which the larger 3.5" drive requires only for its logic board. Additionally, the larger 3.5" drive will get the 12 V it needs to power its disk spindle motor. Thus a bare hard drive may be attached directly to the computer, powered by the unique cable, where it will run at full SATA speeds, without the necessity of placing the hard drive into an external enclosure.

backi
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#10 Post by backi »

Hi !

Regarding :
Connecting external 2.5 HDD SSD to Esata Port of Laptop using the above mentioned USB 3.0 SATA Kabel/Adapter:

Connecting was easy and worked immediately without using external electricity
Supply .

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rcrsn51
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#11 Post by rcrsn51 »

Look at the label beside the port. Is it actually a combination USB/eSata connector?

backi
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#12 Post by backi »

Hi !
Yes there is written eSata and a three forked Usb Symbol .

I have a few Questions when using SSD with FRUGAL Installs .
There are Discussions about reducing read Accesses to SSD which could prolong SSD`s Live .
Implementing diverse Options like relatime noatime etc. shall modify read Accesses in a way no Writes/Changes will be done .(dont know how to express)
Here for Example :

https://superuser.com/questions/1156868 ... ab-for-ssd

Is it meant for Full Installs or will it work also in frugal Installs on SSD?

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rcrsn51
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#13 Post by rcrsn51 »

backi wrote:Yes there is written eSata and a three forked Usb Symbol .
So I believe that your SSD is still working as a USB3 device.
There are Discussions about reducing read Accesses to SSD which could prolong SSD`s Live .
Implementing diverse Options like relatime noatime etc. shall modify read Accesses in a way no Writes/Changes will be done .
I believe that all Puppies run with "noatime", but I cannot find the info to confirm that.

backi
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#14 Post by backi »

Hi rcrsn51 !
Found this regarding how to check esata port speed linux .

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=250355

Result of my terminal Output :

root@live:~# dmesg -t | grep AHCI
ahci 0000:00:1f.2: AHCI 0001.0300 32 slots 6 ports 6 Gbps 0x39 impl SATA mode

Found interesting Link :


https://www.dell.com/support/article/de ... ollapseOne

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rcrsn51
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#15 Post by rcrsn51 »

backi wrote:root@live:~# dmesg -t | grep AHCI
ahci 0000:00:1f.2: AHCI 0001.0300 32 slots 6 ports 6 Gbps 0x39 impl SATA mode
That may be your internal SATA hard drive.

Run: lsusb. Does the SSD appear in that list? If so, it's still working as a USB device.

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bigpup
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#16 Post by bigpup »

SSD's have load leveling built into their internal controllers.
This controls writes to drive to make them last as long as possible.
With normal use. The computer will probably die before the drive starts having write errors.

To limit puppy writting to the save file/folder.
If you see a save icon on the desktop.
Puppy is running in pupmode 13.
The save file/folder is loaded as read/write and also using a saveramdisk in memory.
Everything first writes to the saveramdisk.
Writes are only done to the save file/folder when the set save time activates, you click on the save icon, or at shutdown.
There is some control of this in menu>System>Puppy Event Manager>Save Session

The pupmode is controlled by the pmedia= option in the boot entry.
pmedia=usbflash is usually the one that makes Puppy run in pupmode 13.
So make sure that is the one in the boot menu entry you are using. This is in the kernel line of the entry.
Example:
kernel /bionicpup64798/vmlinuz psubdir=/bionicpup64798 pmedia=usbflash pfix=fsck

If you are not running in pupmode 13.
Change the pmedia= entry to pmedia=usbflash
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

backi
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#17 Post by backi »

Hi rcrsn51 !

root@live:~# lsusb
Bus 002 Device 005: ID 0a5c:5800 Broadcom Corp. BCM5880 Secure Applications Processor
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 152d:0578 JMicron Technology Corp. / JMicron USA Technology Corp.
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 2188:0ae1
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 05ca:181e Ricoh Co., Ltd
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 413c:8187 Dell Computer Corp. DW375 Bluetooth Module
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

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rcrsn51
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#18 Post by rcrsn51 »

Compare the lists with the SSD plugged/unplugged.

backi
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#19 Post by backi »

Booted from Usb Flash Drive using Bionic Dog :

SSD unpluggged (from Esata Port):

root@live:~# lsusb
Bus 002 Device 005: ID 0a5c:5800 Broadcom Corp. BCM5880 Secure Applications Processor
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 1307:0165 Transcend Information, Inc. 2GB/4GB/8GB Flash Drive
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 2188:0ae1
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 05ca:181e Ricoh Co., Ltd
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 413c:8187 Dell Computer Corp. DW375 Bluetooth Module
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

SSD pluggged in (from Esata Port):

root@live:~# lsusb
Bus 002 Device 005: ID 0a5c:5800 Broadcom Corp. BCM5880 Secure Applications Processor
Bus 002 Device 006: ID 152d:0578 JMicron Technology Corp. / JMicron USA Technology Corp.
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 1307:0165 Transcend Information, Inc. 2GB/4GB/8GB Flash Drive
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 2188:0ae1
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 05ca:181e Ricoh Co., Ltd
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 413c:8187 Dell Computer Corp. DW375 Bluetooth Module
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

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Marv
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#20 Post by Marv »

@backi If you run mount with no arguments in terminal you can see how your various drives are mounted. My frugal install of upupcc looks like this:

Code: Select all

/dev/sda1 on /initrd/mnt/dev_save type vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,quiet,utf8,errors=remount-ro)
tmpfs on /initrd/mnt/tmpfs type tmpfs (rw,relatime)
unionfs on / type aufs (rw,relatime,si=3e0b7c6d)
/dev/loop0 on /initrd/pup_ro2 type squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop1 on /initrd/pup_f type squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop2 on /initrd/pup_z type squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop3 on /initrd/pup_ro1 type ext2 (rw,noatime,errors=continue,user_xattr)
tmpfs on /initrd/files type tmpfs (ro,relatime,size=5216k,mode=755)
devtmpfs on /dev type devtmpfs (rw,relatime,size=2497804k,nr_inodes=209617,mode=755)
none on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
none on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,gid=2,mode=620,ptmxmode=000)
none on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
shmfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,relatime,size=1115420k)
/dev/loop4 on /initrd/pup_ro3 type squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/sda2 on /mnt/sda2 type ext2 (rw,noatime,errors=continue,user_xattr)
I add an option in the mount line for my data drive in /etc/rc.d/rc.local that changes the /dev/sda2 mount (where all my data, profiles, caches etc. live) to noatime from relatime. It is an SSD.

Code: Select all

mkdir -p /mnt/sda2; mount -t ext2 -o defaults,noatime /dev/sda2 /mnt/sda2    # pmount + Jim
Actually relatime isn't too bad on SSDs, way better than atime was. It updates the access date if either a write to that file was performed or, so far as I understand it, if more than 24 hours have elapsed since the last access to that file. relatime is the default in all the newer kernels and I haven't found a simple way to make noatime the default short of recompiling the kernel -not worth it IMO-.
Last edited by Marv on Wed 20 Feb 2019, 18:06, edited 1 time in total.
Pups currently in kennel :D Older LxPupSc and X-slacko-4.4 for my users; LxPupSc, LxPupSc64 and upupEF for me. All good pups indeed, and all running savefiles for look'n'feel only. Browsers, etc. solely from SFS.

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