Has anyone had any success with getting SMART self test logging on the expansion cards
I seem to be getting errors but I’m not sure if it’s just the encrypted partition or the actual usb interface that the drive is in.
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SMART over USB is very problematic - you’re really reading off the controller chip rather than the drive itself.
Some controllers support it, some support it but not well, most don’t support it at all.
There’s not much you can do about it, it requires proper support in the controller.
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Same results here, fwiw (Windows 11, smartmontools 7.3). I cracked open one of my (early revision) storage expansions in order to add a thermal pad. While inside, I also looked for a part number to see if I could find a datasheet for the NAND to confirm the thermal and endurance specs. Alas, the sticker and chip surface markings are fairly inscrutable, and the controller doesn’t appear to hold this information either.
@x56 Did you happen to have made a picture? When yes, could you please share it? Maybe we can decipher it together 
Not something I’ve personally explored as I use the expansion drive for data backups (then to secure cloud storage).
All of that said, SMART data isn’t likely going to be reliable over USB (historically on a multitude of different drives over the years in testing).
That got a lot better lately (like the last couple years) but is still a bit hit or miss.
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If not through SMART, anyone have recommendations on how to test the health of the storage expansion cards? Just monitor read/write latencies and try to guess if the drive is dying?
This approach will be your best bet. Should work on the USB storage expansion card.
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Dang, I thought it might involve wiping the disk and testing each sector. Thanks!
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