I don't know about the new Sonata II. However after the mods I did (as described above) the rear fan was still bothering me, so I removed the rear case fan and created an OUTPUT duct from the SI-97 heatsink/cpu fan to the rear case fan outlet hole. I also reversed the cpu fan to suck air through the...

Re booting windows. I think you can boot windows from a eSATA or USB enclosure. I've read that USB booting should be possible on Win pc's, and when my eSATA card/enclosure were working my BIOS would list the enclosure drive as a BIOS boot choice. Note that I've not actually tried any of this, so YMMV!

Overdue update on Vantec Nexstar 3 NST-360SU-BK, WD3200KS, and eSATA-150 PCI card. WB3200KS works great. Formatted it on an internal SATA port while base mounted in the pc because I did not want to format for 1+ hours in enclosure until I knew things worked. Its a quiet drive that seems cool running...

I stopped using s2k bus disconnect (on a MSI KT880 Delta, MS-7047). I was getting a very annoying and extremely high pitched whine from some component surrouding the processor. It sounded like a very high pitched and fast bubbling noise. None of the components were particularly warm, and touching th...

Executing 's2kctl/e' will apply the last settings and exit.
However the latest version does not seem to automatically reapply the settings on resume from standby in WinXP SP2.

Executing 's2kctl/e' will apply the last settings and exit. So all I need now is a program or service that can execute another program on a resume from standby/hibernate.

Using the latest version of s2kctl (v1.5b103, 2005-12-04) I get at least a 14C drop in cpu temperature when I apply the bus disconnect and divisor settings. Unfortunately s2kctl does not restore the bus disconnect and divisor settings on resume from standby (or also presumably on resume from hiberna...

I only found this post after searching for many hours and finding s2kctl ! BTW, there is a new version available, v1.5b103, dated 2005-12-04 (minor startup bug fixed). On my MSI KT880 Delta-FSR (MS-7047) motherboard with an Athlon XP 3200+ at 2.2GHz (11x, 200MHz FSB) and SLK-900-A heatsink, enabling...

After all the research, I finally got the time to make a purchase! I'll let you know how it goes: Vantec Nexstar 3 NST-360SU-BK - eSATA 3Gb/s, USB 2.0 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KS - 320 GB, 16 MB SATA II eSATA-150 2 port PCI card, Sil 3512 chipset I would have got a card based on the Sil 312...

I've seen enclosures that are both SATA I and SATA II, and with L type and I type connectors! So be careful which options you get. If you want SATA II eSATA (type I) connectors I think this is what you want: http://store.yahoo.com/cooldrives/dual- ... a-ii-.html

Many (all?) 1394b / Firewire 800 PCI cards only support 1394a / Firewire 400 (S400/S200/S100) speeds when installed in a 33MHz/32-bit PCI slot. They only support S800 when installed in 64-bit PCI slot. This seems to be a generally reported problem, which pretty much makes it a waste of money to buy ...

Finally got an e-mail reply back directly from Rosewill. The RX30-U2FAB, which uses the Oxford 922 chipset and provides 1394b, 1394a, and USB 2.0 interfaces (and I think is an import of the Pleiades 800+) supports drives up to 500 Gbytes (in contrast to the note on their website).

This Western Digital support page "Problems are encountered when installing Second Generation Serial ATA hard drives on First Generation Serial ATA controllers" lists a similar auto-negotiation issue with SIS760 and SIS964 chipsets.

In my cabinet, the added bottom Sonata air intake and the original Sonata front air intake are just pulling air from the cabinet itself, and therefore from the bottom gap in the cabinet back (through negative pressure). Both the Sonata rear case fan and psu fan are venting the air to a physically se...

My situation sounds different, but similar. The PC is in a cabinet in the desk. The back of my cabinet has large (4" high) gaps at the top and the bottom. My PC is a modified Sonata on 4" legs and with a bottom case air intake as well as the front air intake. I made a false cabinet back that complet...

Since a single rear port works it sounds like the motherboard USB hub can provide the current required. I'm assuming the front ports run off the same southbridge hub. So perhaps there is a higher resistance or poor connection somewhere between the motherboard front usb header, the cables, and/or the...

An excellent external hard drive enclosure summary, recommendations, and discussion is listed on FatWallet: ”The official external ENCLOSURE thread” . Also a listing of enclosures with Oxford chipsets (apta’s post, valid in August 2005, subject to change). Potential issues include: Summary of issues...

Reviewing web comments on Firewire enclosures, there are many reports of data corruption and other issues when using drives in enclosures over Firewire interfaces. A common problem is delayed write failure (DWF). More details here . The Oxford 911 chipset had these issues but it appears that the cur...

Correction (after more research): apparently pin 10 is intended for USB over current detection. This is meant for a daughter card to indicate an over current condition to the motherboard hub, which will shut down USB to prevent damage. If over current detection is not being used (which it won't be f...

The reason for my mods described below was to improve air flow, cooling, and noise, and to minimize dust infiltration (which would also help with cooling over the long term). So far, after 6 months, the improvements for minimizing dust are fantastic and there is no dust inside the case. This is in c...

Couldn't find this tip anywhere, apologies if it is a repeat. It puzzled me for a while. I have two Antec Sonata I cases with MSI KT880 Delta-FSR (MS-7047) motherboards. The motherboard has the standard USB header to plug the Sonata front USB cable into. However the front USB ports would not operate...

Derek, you may find some of this discussion useful.

I did some more research, and summarized it here in case this helps anyone else, and also so I can refer to my notes again! Fanless enclosures are currently widely available with USB 2.0 and/or IEEE 1394a (Firewire 400) interfaces. With a good bridge chipset implementation, both will have similar re...

If you used Linux/SAMBA you would not require a keyboard/display except for the initial install. However if you are not familiar with Linux/SAMBA (a steep learning curve) you are probably better getting an XP Home OEM copy and using free UltraVNC installed as a service to provide remote keyboard/dis...

While researching external drive enclosures I discovered this issue. A real pain for the future as all my PCs have VT8237 chipsets in them, but currently have IDE drives for other reasons (Acronis True Image support). Apparently VIA chipsets VT8237, VT8237R, VT6420 and VT6421L are incompatible with ...

Instead of buying a copy of XP use a Linux distrubtion with SAMBA. Will give you web based administration.

Did some more research and found a few other common units. The Bytecc page has more detailed specifications, so you know what you get. The reviews for all units seem to be favorable. including warm cases, indicating heat is disipating! Bytecc ME-350U2(V3) (note - version 3) - about $30 http://www.by...

As part of my backup strategy I want to use an external WD3200JB PATA 320Gbyte disk (good price/capacity point, acceptable performance, and quiet enough with AAM enabled) . I'm thinking it should be possible to put this drive (which is meant to be cooler running) in a fanless aluminum external hard ...

Thanks for the Nexus feedback - I suspected that. The fan is already undervolted, but perhaps not by enough. I'm going to try to duct air more to the CPU. I'm now thinking that a lot of the air from the bottom hole is short circuiting the case and going straight out the back! So better ducting would...

I currently have a Nexus D12SL-12 120mmx25mm fan mounted in an Antec Sonata (first gen) case using soft ear mounts. From my normal sitting position I can clearly hear this rear case fan / air noise. It is not the CPU fan as turning that off (temporarily!) makes no difference despite it running at 10...