Deloptes  wrote:
> bob prohaska wrote:
>
>> Would that be the package to try? It's unclear to me if -arm refers to
>> the host architecture or the emulated architechture....
>
> it is the emulated architecture
>
> you would need the -x86 package on the rpi. Consider that then you have to
> install windows7 in the qemu. I have no idea how good it is supported. But
> if the drive is so important, given the risk that you can brick it and the
> time and work you will invest, wouldn't be it better to buy a used laptop
> with windows7 on it?

It seems more cost-effective to keep searching for a USB-SATA enclosure or
adapter that correctly supports the Pi4's implementation of UASP. Even a
rather expensive adapter will be cheaper than a second-hand laptop if a
candidate can be identified.

It's a bit surprising that nobody has collected a list of suitable adapters.
Perhaps one is out there, but I've not found it in considerable looking.

Then again, it may all be a wild goose chase. The drive and adapter I'm
using now, a Sabrent EC-UASP, works in a subjectively acceptable way. The
sticking points are a report that the firmware upgrade is needed to support
TRIM and a poor performance report from the Pi's SD card speed test utility:

Raspberry Pi Diagnostics - version 0.5
Sun Dec 13 07:48:49 2020

Test : SD Card Speed Test
Run 1
prepare-file;0;0;92174;180
seq-write;0;0;100979;197
rand-4k-write;0;0;1200;300
rand-4k-read;254;63;0;0
Sequential write speed 100979 KB/sec (target 10000) - PASS
Random write speed 300 IOPS (target 500) - FAIL
Random read speed 63 IOPS (target 1500) - FAIL
Run 2
prepare-file;0;0;79245;154
seq-write;0;0;83912;163
rand-4k-write;0;0;1274;318
rand-4k-read;271;67;0;0
Sequential write speed 83912 KB/sec (target 10000) - PASS
Random write speed 318 IOPS (target 500) - FAIL
Random read speed 67 IOPS (target 1500) - FAIL
Run 3
prepare-file;0;0;59959;117
seq-write;0;0;58671;114
rand-4k-write;0;0;677;169
rand-4k-read;366;91;0;0
Sequential write speed 58671 KB/sec (target 10000) - PASS
Random write speed 169 IOPS (target 500) - FAIL
Random read speed 91 IOPS (target 1500) - FAIL
Test FAIL

This is with a 5400 RPM mechanical hard disk, so rotational latency
precludes excellent random performance. Still, the subjective "feel"
of the machine is reasonably good; it's fast enough to use as a
chromium browser workstation.

It's unclear if the adapter supports trim as-is. One report on Amazon's
review pages says the update is required. An examination of the system
per the instructions at

https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2020/enabling-trim-on-external-ssd-on-raspber
ry-pi
suggests the adapter and hard drive both support TRIM:

Maximum unmap LBA count: 65535
  Maximum unmap block descriptor count: 8
  Unmap command supported (LBPU): 1

In addition, the disk reports:
  Data Set Management TRIM supported (limit 8 blocks)
suggesting it's an SMR drive.

I attribute the acceptable performance to the drive being new,
with 1 TB capacity. Once it starts re-writing old sectors it'll
likely slow much more.

Thanks for reading this far!

bob prohaska

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05