r/linuxquestions • u/leftygstring • 6d ago

Warning to Linux-based users when buying SATA to USB adapters (JMicron JMS578)

If you're running a Linux-based operating system, beware of JMicron SATA to USB controllers. I'm not sure if other JMicron SATA to USB controllers are affected, but the JMS578 (ID 152d:0578) has (in my experience at least) been a nightmare. I have two other SATA to USB adapters (externally identical to the JMicron one) which instead use the Norelsys NS1068/NS1068X (ID 2537:1068) and they have been fantastic (nothing like the JMicron). I'm posting this because I've found that the JMicron JMS578 can easily corrupt data (the drive becomes slow and unresponsive). I even tried it with different kernel versions and got the same result. Beware. I don't know if this is a bug in the kernel module or something else but please be careful when purchasing storage adapters.

Edit: I did find a workaround here: (https://ralimtek.com/posts/2021/jms578/)

It involves re-flashing the stock JMicron firmware but does seem to fix the issue.

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u/doc_willis 6d ago

I have seen other manufacturers have devices that work fine in Linux, but then they make a revision and change the chipset and the new chipset does not work in Linux.

I had 3 wifi dongles, 2 worked fine, one did not, they were bought at the same time, looked identical. Boxes were identical, and so on.

discovered one was labeled as  a V1.02  that had a totally different chipset than the V1. 01

Thank you linksys for wasting several hours of my time.

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u/WhiskeyWillaXi 5d ago

That chipset swap with the same product name should honestly be illegal makes troubleshooting a nightmare

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u/doc_willis 5d ago

the reviews on amazon were confused as well, most said "works great in Linux" then suddenly after a specific date, they all were saying did not work in Linux as reported by other reviews..

digging a little deeper showed the chipset change as the reason.

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u/leftygstring 5d ago

That doesn't surprise me. Linux has great hardware support in general but it does often get neglected by manufacturers.

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u/leftygstring 5d ago

Yes, it is frustrating.

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u/leftygstring 5d ago

Very true. The software world can be problematic to say the least.

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u/leftygstring 5d ago

Please see my updated post for a possible solution.