Sabrent Support

EC-DFLT 512-byte sector update

This update makes your EC-DFLT docking station present drives to the computer using 512-byte logical sectors. Use it if your dock is currently showing a drive at 4096 bytes per sector, which is what stops an existing drive from mounting. Please read the warning below before you begin.

Important: do not tick Partition or Format

In the Execution Setting panel on the left of the tool, the Partition and Format boxes must stay unticked. They are already unticked when the tool opens. Leave them that way.

If your drive has data on it and either box is ticked, that data will be erased. The tool does not ask you to confirm and the erase cannot be undone.

This update itself does not require the drive to be formatted, and the manufacturer has confirmed that data is not expected to be lost. Even so, please back up anything important on the drive before you start.

Is this the right update for you?

This package changes the dock in one direction only: to 512-byte sectors. Use it when a drive that works normally on a direct SATA connection will not mount behind the dock, and Windows reports the disk with 4096-byte logical sectors.

If you need the opposite, that is, your data was written while the drive was connected to an older dock that used 4096-byte sectors and you need to read it back, do not use this package. Reply to us and we will send you the 4096-byte version instead.

You can check what your dock is doing today. With the dock connected, open Windows PowerShell and run:

Get-Disk | Select-Object Number, FriendlyName, LogicalSectorSize, PhysicalSectorSize

Find your dock in the list and read LogicalSectorSize. If it says 4096, this update applies. Run the same command after the update and it should say 512.

Before you begin

You need a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC. The manufacturer tested this tool on Windows 10. It does not work on Windows XP, and there is no macOS or Linux version.
Unzip the whole folder first and keep the files together. The tool reads its settings from the JMMassProd.ini file next to it. If you move or copy the program somewhere else on its own, it will not apply the 512-byte setting. Do not run it from inside the zip.
Unplug any other USB drives, memory sticks or card readers, so the docking station is the only USB storage device connected. This avoids updating the wrong device.
Connect the docking station directly to a USB port on the computer, not through a hub.
Keep the docking station powered and connected for the whole process. It takes under a minute.
Back up your data first.

The settings the tool should show

These are already filled in for you. Steps 3 and 4 ask you to check them rather than type them. They are listed here so you can confirm at a glance:

Field	Value
Password (when prompted)	jmicron
VID	152D
PID	A578
Standby Timer (Sec.)	10
HDD.String	SABRENT
Partition / Format	both unticked
Firmware file to load	JMS578_PPE_v124.01.00.02.bin

Step by step

Open the unzipped folder and double-click JMMassProd_v1_16_15_12.exe.

Run it from inside the unzipped folder, alongside JMMassProd.ini and the .bin firmware file. If Windows shows a security prompt, choose to run the program.
Tick RD Version in the lower left corner, then type jmicron in lower case into the password box that appears and click OK.
Check that your screen matches the screenshot below. EEPROM Update and Firmware Update are ticked, along with the small boxes beside VID and PID, Map to HDD String and Auto Increase.

Leave Partition and Format unticked, as in this screenshot.
Confirm the values: PID is A578, Standby Timer (Sec.) is 10, and HDD.String reads SABRENT. Correct them if any of them differ.
Click Load F/W File, select JMS578_PPE_v124.01.00.02.bin from the folder you unzipped, and click Open.

The path field next to the button then shows the file you picked.
Check one last time that Partition and Format are still unticked, then click START.
Wait for it to finish. When it is done, the F/W and EEPROM columns both read Pass and the large box near the bottom right reads Pass.

That is the update complete. Unplug the docking station, plug it back in, and Windows will detect it again. Your drive should now mount normally.

If Windows offers to format the drive afterwards, click Cancel. This update does not require a format, so a format prompt means something else is wrong. Do not format the drive. Reply to us instead and tell us what you see, and we will take it from there.

If something goes wrong

The tool shows no device, or the port list stays empty. Close the tool, unplug and reconnect the dock, then reopen the tool and click Refresh. Try a different USB port on the back of the computer.
The result says Fail. Do not unplug the dock while it is running. Click Reset, then repeat from step 5. If it fails a second time, stop and reply to us with a photo of the tool window.
The settings do not match the screenshot, or the PID box is empty. The tool has not read its settings file. Close it, make sure JMMassProd.ini is in the same folder as the program, and open the program again from that folder.
The drive still does not appear afterwards. Reply to this email and tell us what Windows Disk Management shows for the drive, with a screenshot if you can. Do not reformat the drive if it holds data you need, as we may still be able to recover it.

If you are unsure at any point, stop and reply to us instead of guessing. We would much rather answer a question than help recover a drive afterwards.