Let’s have a look at the hard disks I will be using for my storage project:

I have two 250 GB 3.5″ IDE Hard Disks:

I have one 250 GB 3.5″ SATA Hard Disk:

I have two 250 GB 2.5″ SATA Hard Disk:

The 2.5″ disks are already in USB cases. I have bought some new cases for the 3.5″ disks:

The USB cases for these disks use the wrong type of USB port. This is a type A port. Type A ports are for hosts, devices should be using a type B port.

And so, these are the disks I will be using:

The 2.5″ disks are bus powered. The 3.5″ disks come with a 12 Volt power supply. This means I will be needing three power supplies for the disks. The provided power supplies are a little light-weight so I wonder if they will be able to supply the rated amount of current. In a future project I will be replacing these power supplies with a single supply. I will probably re-use an old ATX power supply for that.

The 2.5″ disks will need to be connected to a powered USB hub. Getting a decent powered hub is a challenge these days as well. Back in 2008 or so, when I bought a 4 port USB hub, it would be accompanied with a 2 Amp power supply, to be able to provide 500 mA per port. When I bought a USB hub in 2013, the power supply was only 1 Amp, so it would not be able to provide four devices drawing the maximum specified current according to the USB specs. USB hubs bought in 2021 show the same picture, a 4 port USB2 hub with 1 Amp supply, and a 4 port USB3 hub with a 2.4 Amp supply. A USB3 port should be able to provide 900 mA. So these power supplies are only half of what they should be.

So western brands have not been supplying adequate power supplies with their powered USB hubs for over a decade. I might have a look at what AliExpress is offering. An Orico BT2U3-7AB comes with a 12 volt 2 Amp power supply. So this is 24 Watt, and will have to be regulated in the hub. 24 Watt for a 7 power USB3 hub is still underpowered. Is there any powered USB hub on the market that comes with a power supply that can supply the maximum allowed current on all available ports? At last this power supply gives me more confidence it will meet its specs then those that came with the USB cases.

Now everything is hooked up, let’s see where this gets us: