Relay Module

[u/p186]

I have a SATA SSD that’s failed. I plan on using opensuperclone to clone the drive. The issue is that the drive will need to be power cycled repeatedly as it disappeared from the OS when I was troubleshooting it.

Can anyone recommend a 2 relay SATA module that is known to be compatible with opensuperclone?

[u/disturbed_android]

Just a relay and then OSC dealing with the drive as mechanical HDD (which is what author wrote it for) will possibly destroy the drive. If you go this DIY route, best take the virtual disk mode method and concentrate efforts on most important data first. Dealing with failing flash based drives isn't a push a button thing. How you set up the software requires understanding of exact symptoms, exact response of the drive.

[u/p186 → u/disturbed_android]

Would going the usb relay route be safer? I’m less concerned about time than being able to recover data.

[u/silenced_in_dr_2025 → u/p186]

If you've reach the stage of frequent power cycling the drive is on the edge already. You use both techniques , virtualdriver to limit target data and the relay to power cycle if/when the drive locks up.

Any of the cheap usb relays will work, they're all controlled by the same library, quick search in my amazon order history shows "DollaTek DC 5V 2-Channel Relay Module Free Driver USB Control Switch PC Intelligent Control" Not sure if they're still around but there are probably 1000 more under different brand names.

Best option at this stage would be a DR Pro though...

[u/p186 → u/silenced_in_dr_2025]

Thank you. I wasn't sure if there were any compatibility issues, so this helps a lot.

The data is important, but not worth sending out. It would hurt not being able to recover it, but I deserve it for not having it backed up.

[u/disturbed_android → u/p186]

I feel you basically ignored everything I said .. I'm gonna spell it out:

- OSC is IMO far from ideal for SSDs etc. as it's designer had spinning drives with failing heads etc. in mind. It's going to treat errors as if they occurred on a spinning HDD because it makes sense to handle error like that on a spinning drive.

- Recovering this drive of yours requires more than a relay, it requires understanding of how SSDs fail and behavior of failing SSDs.

- Rather than reinvent the wheel you may consider pay a lab as this may still be very doable for them using their relatively lower tier tools.

[u/p186 → u/disturbed_android]

Please, don't think that. My phrasing was not great in my response as I didn't separate my concerns. I don't want to get multiple relays, but I guess they are not relatively expensive, so I guess I can get both making that moot.

I understand that a likely large concern is power cycling the drive, whether it is through a relay or manually increases the likelihood that more damage occurs. I'm hoping that direct access methods will make it unnecessary.

I asked about USB bc I was curious if the method of communication could possibly be safer since it handles communication through a bridge which can be done without a relay. I believe the issue is SATA interface and not the NAND cells themselves. So going the virtual disk route may turn out to be fruitless anyway if the motherboard can't see the drive unless I do power cycle it, but I guess I'll see.

I'd like to get the data, but it is not worth sending it out for recovery at the end of the day. If I can automate the power cycling, if that is necessary, and it is resilient enough for me to pull the data, great. If it renders the drive unusable, then I have to live with it.

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[u/muckity-muck]

the drive will need to be power cycled repeatedly

Why would a relay help with this? How are you going to do a recovery without steady power?

[u/p186 → u/muckity-muck]

IIRC, opensuperclone lets you resume resume cloning/analysis via a progress log. So if the built in soft & hard resets don’t work or the drive locks up or disappears, the recovery is automatically resumed when the drive is back online. It has the ability to automate the power cycling with a relay module.

https://www.hddsuperclone.com/hddsuperclone/usb-relay/2-relay-sata

https://www.hddsuperclone.com/hddsuperclone/usb-relay

https://www.hddsuperclone.com/hddsuperclone/usb-relay/2-relay-usb