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Thread: Additional USB ports and Internal HD!

  1. #1

    Additional USB ports and Internal HD!

    Hi,
    I want to share a mod that I did yesterday on the w500gp.

    I wanted to add an internal 2,5 HD into the w500gp.
    So I bought a USB/ide interface(already had a 2,5 80Gb disc) and decided to try to see how I might
    insert the HD into the case.

    The next challenge was to see If I could use the internal USB ports on the VIA VT6212L ( which is a PCI USB 2.0 Controller chip).
    There are 4 USB ports on that chip and only two are connected.
    So I got the Data sheet and found a couple of solder points to try out. USBP4+ and USBP4-.
    See attach 1

    Data sheet:
    http://down.chinaeda.cn/upload/2007_...1218477472.pdf
    I soldered the VCC and GND to one of the existing USB connections.
    As long as the device uses 100ma i think it will be fine. Else I would think that the port will be closed(according to USB spec.).

    See attach 2

    I did the soldering and I needed to actually get external power to the HD from the 5v connection in the 500gp directly and that worked fine. Couldn't get it to work from the USB connection directly.

    So this configuration seems to work and the final product looks like attach 3.

    Cheers
    /P
    Attached Images Attached Images    

  2. #2
    Cool! just thinking about it. But i want to use SSD for better speed. Thanks for specs.

  3. #3
    What about the speed of this HDD? Can you transfer at USB 2.0 speeds?

  4. #4

    -

    The USB 2.0 standard is capable of running high speed (480MBit/s) and full speed (12MBit/s) so when a manufacture tells you that a device supports 2.0 it can be full speed if you are unlucky.
    You always need to check if the device supports high speed.

    Anyway to answer your question:
    1. the usb connectors on the chip are USB 2.0 high speed ones, as the external ones.
    2. So the limitation would be the usb to ide interface. But mine is a 2.0 high speed.
    3. And the ide 2,5" disc is a couple of years old disc but it is probably working with 20-30 Mbyte/s (160 - 240 Mbit/s) so the interface should be holding up.

    I haven't tried to do any benchmarking yet, but the general speeds would be as if you would connect an normal external usb drive and if there are any limitations it would be on the via chip it self.

    /P

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    the real spead will be on the order of magnitude of 2-3Mbytes/s (which is definitely usb2 speed, but still far from the theoretical peak value)

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by al37919 View Post
    the real spead will be on the order of magnitude of 2-3Mbytes/s (which is definitely usb2 speed, but still far from the theoretical peak value)
    In my tests - up to 5-6 MBps.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    Give us a proof, please!
    In my benchmarks maximum was about 3,5 MBytes/s!

  8. #8
    What kind of test method are we talking about ?

    The bestway would be to use some sort of standarized linux program that does this.
    Else SAMBA is a good choice but that will depend on the network.

    /P

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Serpent View Post
    Give us a proof, please!
    In my benchmarks maximum was about 3,5 MBytes/s!
    Use ext2/ext3 fs, large file blocks/buffers.

  10. #10
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    I can only think at ftp, because "iostat -nxtc" isn't available ...
    From LAN side of view, the network is the same for all of us, isn't true????

    Of course, I'm using ext3 fs.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Serpent View Post
    I can only think at ftp, because "iostat -nxtc" isn't available ...
    From LAN side of view, the network is the same for all of us, isn't true????

    Of course, I'm using ext3 fs.
    I am testing with dd.

  12. #12
    Join Date
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    Ah, ok.
    How do you use dd to do this?
    I hope not using something like this:
    Code:
    date;dd if=... of=... bs=...;date
    onto a single disk!!!

    Please, tell us your test procedure!

  13. #13
    Hi,
    so it would be possible to wire the unused USB3 (pins 77 and 78 according to the datasheet) right? moreover I would note that taking more power out of the main power might be risky: my device has a only 12W power plug, and in general 2.5'' hdd drain 1A@5V...that is almost 50% of the provided power. So I would recommend changing the wall plug to a more powerful one. Anyway, would it be possible to wire the other 2 ports VCC from the proper connectors...or it would be far too small soldering?
    thanks everyone!

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Serpent View Post
    Ah, ok.
    How do you use dd to do this?
    I hope not using something like this:
    Code:
    date;dd if=... of=... bs=...;date
    onto a single disk!!!

    Please, tell us your test procedure!
    In Russian:
    http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=11687

  15. #15
    ->sybeck2k
    Yes it will work to just solder to the pins.
    Keep in mind that the pins are rather small so you need to be stedy with your hand.

    About the power usage.
    Are you shure that a 2,5 inch hd use around 1A.. ?
    I would think moore in the line of ~500mA because that is the maximum you can get from a USB port and the idea with a usb drive is to run withou the extra power cable..

    /P

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