OWC Knowledge base

miniStack (All Versions): Drive Type Compatibility

LAST UPDATED: May 2018 CURRENT VERSIONS OWC MINISTACK – no known capacity limit at this time. LEGACY VERSIONS NEWERTECH MINISTACK (white plastic cover, also called "V1") – accepts PATA drives up to 750GB in size. NEWERTECH miniStack V2 – acce...

Qx2 (All): Formatting Results in "Invalid Request" Error

This may be due to the drive format you're trying to use. The recommended format for OS X is Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Try the steps below to see if they resolve the issue. 1. Launch Disk Utility. 2. Highlight Qx2 drive icon. It should say some...

Qx2 (USB 3.0): Arrays, Rebuilds, and Formatting Options

This document addresses some common points of confusion. Please use see the user manual for more detailed information. http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/manuals/mercury_elite/OWCMANMEQX3_R3.pdf [http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/manuals/mercury_el...

Qx2 (All): Replacing a Failed RAID Drive

If one of the drives in your Qx2 has failed, OWC recommends you replace that drive with a new drive of identical make, model, capacity (and if possible) firmware. The process for doing this is covered in detail in your user manual. USB 2.0 Version -...

Qx2 (All): Adding Drives to an Existing RAID

It is not possible to add more drives to an existing Qx2 RAID without reformatting the logical volume. To add additional drives to a new RAID array, please consult the user guide for your Qx2 mode: USB 2.0 Version - http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_...

OWC ThunderBlade: macOS Boot Drive Setup

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: * OWCTB3TBV4T1.0 * OWCTB3TBV4T2.0 * OWCTB3TBV4T4.0 * OWCTB3TBV4T8.0 * OWCTB3TBV4T01 * OWCTB3TBV4T02 * OWCTB3TBV4T04 * OWCTB3TBV4T08 * OWCTB3TBL8X08 * OWCTB3TBL8X16 * OWCTB3TBL8X32 DETAILS * Please note th...

Envoy Express (Thunderbolt): SSD Compatibility Notes

RELEVANT PART NUMBER: OWCTB3ENVXP00 ISSUE WORK AROUND Some third party M.2 SSDs may not support external booting when in an Envoy Express (Thunderbolt) enclosure. Only one drive series has currently been identified as having the inability to boot...

Storage Solutions: OWC Disk Performance

DETAILS As of Windows 10 v. 1809 the default disk removal policy is "Quick removal" instead of "Better performance". Prior to October of 2018 and Windows 10 version 1809, Microsoft had the default setting for storage devices to "Best Performance" relyin...

OWC Drive Enclosure LED Function with Select 3rd Party Drives

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: OWCT4MS6000 "_miniStack STX_", OWCTB3ENVXP00 "_Envoy Express_", & OWCSACL1M "_Accelsior_ _1M2_" Select drives may disable the LED function of the relevant part numbers....

M1 vs. Intel Macs: External Storage Performance

In a post on The Rocket Yard Blog , Get Up to 67% Faster External Drive Performance With Your M1 Mac [https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/74383-faster-drive-performance-with-m1-mac/], we promised to keep looking into the Thunderbolt drive speed issues. We wan...

OWC Drive Enclosures: M.2 Drive Compatibility

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: OWCENVPROC2N00, OWCT4MS6000, OWCT4MS6H02N00, OWCT4MS6H08N00, OWCT4MS6H14N00 The Crucial P5 M.2 drive series has been discovered to not be compatible with some of our drive enclosures: OWC ENVOY PRO EX: OWCENVPROC2N00 OWC MINISTACK...

Hard Drive: Expected and Unexpected Drive Noise

An external hard drive will make a range of sounds during regular use, which are perfectly normal and expected. There are also environmental elements which can impact sound perception:  * In an otherwise quiet room, HDD sounds can get exaggerated.   ...

OWC U2 Shuttle: Accessing Drives and Thermal Pad Warning

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: OWCU2SHUTTLE, OWCU2SHUTTLE01, OWCU2SHUTTLE02, OWCU2SHUTTLE04, OWCU2SHUTTLE08, OWCU2SHUTTLE16, OWCU2SHUTTLE32 Usage over time may result in the thermal pad of the U2 Shuttle sticking to the drives. Users when opening the U.2 Shuttl...

Thunderbolt Daisy Chain

Daisy chaining over Thunderbolt has a six-device maximum per bus. Refer to the manufacture specifications of your host to determine the number of Thunderbolt buses and associated ports. While Daisy chaining multiple Thunderbolt devices does allow for a...

Power Adapter Troubleshooting

A devices power adapter should be considered for troubleshooting if issues are being experienced. These issues can include, but not limited to, no power to the device or inconsistent recognition of the device by the host. * Troubleshooting expected po...

Mercury Pro LTO: Fan Upgrade Guide

CONTENTS 1.1 Opening the Mercury Pro LTO 1.2 Removing the SAS Card 1.3 Removing the Existing Fans 1.4 Changing the 12VDC Power Cable 1.5 Adding the New Fans 1.6 Adding the SAS Card 1.7 Closing the Mercury Pro LTO ------------------------- 1.1 OP...

Incompatible SSD List: macOS 10.14 'Mojave' and Later

The following SSDs, as of February 1, 2021, have been tested by OWC and shown to be incompatible with Mac systems running macOS 10.14 'Mojave' and later regardless of how they are connected to the host computer. The behavior of each drive can vary but i...

Envoy Pro 1A: Drive with Heatsink Compatibility

RELEVANT PART NUMBER: OWCMAU3ENP1AW PROBLEM The Envoy Pro 1A is designed to work with select Apple SSDs from most 2013 to 2019 Mac models. It is also compatible with Aura Pro X2, Aura Pro X, Aura N2, and Aura N drives. However, there are customers who ...

OWC miniStack STX : FAQ

Q: What is the maximum speed of the internal NVMe SSD in the miniStack STX? A:The maximum performance of the internal M.2 NVMe SSD is 770MB/s due to the bandwidth of the PCIe 3.0 x1 bus inside the miniStack STX....

Aura Ultra IV SSD: Thunderbolt 4 PC Mounting Issue

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: OWCP4U8T1PT08, OWCTB3TBV4T01, OWCTB3TBV4T02, OWCTB3TBV4T04, OWCTB3TBV4T08, OWCTB3TBV4T16, OWCTB3TBV4T32, OWCTB3EX4M2, OWCTB3EX4M2SL ISSUE SOLUTION Aura Ultra IV NVMe SSDs used with multibay NVMe drive enclosures like the Thun...

OWC Enclosures & Docks: SD Card Functionality

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: OWCTB3DKP2D, OWCTB3RSDK–T, OWCTB3DKPRO, OWCTB3DK14PSG ISSUE SOLUTION SD cards inserted into a Gemini, Thunderbolt Pro Dock, or 14-Port Thunderbolt 3 Dock will not be recognized by Windows Disk Management or applications af...

OWC Drive Dock U.2: Compatibility w/ OWC U2 Shuttle

RELEVANT PART NUMBER: OWCTCDRVDCKSN, OWCU2SHUTTLE, OWCU2SHUTTLE-- The OWC U2 Shuttle [https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc-u2-shuttle] is not compatible with the OWC Drive Dock U.2 [https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TCDRVDCKSN/]. The OWC U2 Shuttle...

Power Disable HDD Compatibility w/ OWC Enclosures

Select SATA and SAS HDDs contain a feature called Power Disable. The Power Disable feature allows the host system to perform a remote hard reset to the hard drive. This can be useful for resolving some drive issues without manually disconnecting and conne...

Innergize for Mac: Firmware Update

The following OWC products can be used with OWC Innergize software to manage the health and performance of OWC Atlas Memory Cards [https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory-cards/atlas]. Please note the third column "Requires Firmware Update" as select OWC M...

Thunderbolt Mac: Bus-Power Limitation

Select Thunderbolt 4 & Thunderbolt 3 Mac systems may be subject to a bus power limitation where only two devices at a time are recognized and their volumes mounted. This will depend on the amount of power they draw and/or other factors related to the comp...

OWC Slim: Connecting with USB Type-C Systems

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS * OWCVLSSTOPTU3 * OWCMR3PBDR6XT * OWCMR3PDVDR8XT Instructions The OWC Slim is a bus-powered optical drive. A USB Type-A Y-cable is included to provide the OWC Slim with additional power as some systems don’t offer enough fr...

4TB OWC Envoy Pro SX Heat Notice

RELEVANT PART NUMBER: OWCTB3ENVPSX04 The 4TB OWC Envoy Pro SX can reach temperatures of up to 57.2 degrees C during heavy operation. Placing the 4TB OWC Envoy Pro SX on a heat-resistant flat surface is recommended to avoid damage to the surface underneat...

OWC Thunderbolt Drive Enclosures: No Drives Detected on PCs Running Windows

Several troubleshooting steps can be followed If your OWC Thunderbolt Drive Enclosure is not detecting any connected drives on your PC running Windows. CHECKING DRIVE RECOGNITION IN DISK MANAGEMENT * Open Disk Management on your Windows PC * ...

Mercury Elite Pro Dual (3-Port Hub): Sleep Firmware Update

RELEVANT PART NUMBER: * OWC MERCURY ELITE PRO DUAL 3-PORT HUB: OWCMEDCH7--- Users may experience the drives of the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual 3-Port Hub not being recognized by the host system when waking from sleep. Users who have this experience c...

OWC Best Practice: Choosing the Best NVMe SSD for the OWC Express 1M2

RELEVANT PART NUMBER * OWCUS4EXP1M2 DETAILS The OWC Express 1M2 can reach speeds over 3100 MB/s. However, the host computer and the quality of the NVMe SSD selected will cause variance with performance. The OWC testing lab reviewed dozens of NVMe SSD...

OWC Best Practice: (Mac) Multiple SoftRAID Volumes with OWC ThunderBlade X8

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS * OWC THUNDERBLADE X8: OWCTB3TBL8X--- [https://ecn1.eshop2.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderblade?utm_term=&utm_campaign=PMax:+External+drives+(smart+shopping)+US&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&hsa_acc=9360794409&hsa_cam=17553315506...

OWC Best Practice: (Windows) Multiple SoftRAID Volumes with OWC ThunderBlade X8

Apple Silicon iPad Pro (Thunderbolt Enabled): External Drive Performance

DETAILS * OWC tested how external drive solutions performed with an Apple Silicon iPad Pro. The USB-C connector of an Apple silicon iPad Pro is rated to perform at 40GB/s. * Lab results conclude that performance between an external drive solution and ...

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini: Receded ON/OFF Switch

OWC Archive Pro: Windows LTFS End-of-Life | LTO Tape Issue

DETAILS * Windows LTFS is end-of-life and no longer supported by IBM. The final available version is 2.4.5. Windows LTFS will no longer receive any updates including bug fixes. * Users continuing to use Windows LTFS can consider using TeraCopy [ht...

OWC U2 Shuttle: Capacity Limitations

The 0TB OWC U2 Shuttle only supports drive capacities of up to 4TB per drive. 8TB drive usage is ONLY supported under these conditions: * Installing 8TB OWC Aura Ultra IV M.2 SSDs (OWCP4U8T1PT08) * Installing the populated OWC U2 Shuttle within a...