2.5"/5.5" USB 2.0 Enclosure $39.99 shipped

BoKingWen · May 9, 2003

Got this from Techbgains

Dealsonic has this enclosure for $39.99 shipped free by Fedex Ground.

Features and Technical Specifications:
***New Ali Chipset supports up to 200GB Hard Drive!!***
Can be used with 3.5-inch IDE drives (such as hard drives)
Can be used with 5.25-inch IDE drives (such as CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, etc. drives)
USB 2.0 Interface
Support for Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP
Support for MAC OS 8.6 or better
Plug and Play
Hot-Swappable
Stackable Casing
Case Dimensions: 265x165x55mm/10x6.5x2.25inches (LxWxH)
Cooling Fan (Approx. 1.5" in diameter) mounted on back panel
Silver Case
AC Input: 100-240VAC, 50-60Hz, 0.6A/0.3A
Supports up to UDMA/100
No Max Hard Drive RPM
Supports High Speed CD-RW Drives
Retail Box Includes:

Case
Power Cord (US)
USB Cable
Manual
Drivers CD, Download Driver
Brackets & Screws

linky

Tab · May 9, 2003

I wonder how it performs...

AAman · May 9, 2003

I have 2 from newegg (cost $46 each with tax), they work fine, but the plastic is very
light/cheap, not built for abuse.

DeviousTrap · May 9, 2003

I got the 2.5" version and it performs very well. Its the on here for $29.99.

KLineD · May 9, 2003

check out galaxy3000.com they have usb2, firewire, combined, etc (combined is like 45 i think other ones are 35) .. i got two from them since theyre about 30min from my house ... drove over there, picked up the cases and overall pleased with them, prices are not bad and service is ok.

Buzzy62 · May 9, 2003

I bought one of these about a month ago (at the same price, too) and was very pleased. For me, it's really just a toy, but I'm sure it'll come in handy someday. It makes a great MP3 storage device, or a Windows installation unit, etc.

I would say that if you're 'on the edge' and need some input to sway your decision, "go for it". You'll find it is fairly good construction, very quiet, and it doesn't overheat. Mine performs flawlessly.

BoKingWen · May 9, 2003

For those who had this already will this drive work with Northon Ghost? Will this drive show up after when using the ghost boot disk?

Mike7 · May 9, 2003

I bought one of these from Dealsonic a few weeks ago -- the Bytecc ME-320U2, for $39.95, inc. FedEx.

Bought it because I'd recently purchased a WD 120 gig drive at a great price, and figured I could slap the drive in the enclosure, make use of Norton Ghost, and have myself a reliable, portable, simple solution for daily back-ups of my computer's hard drive.

It's working fine. No complaints on speed or reliability. It's sufficiently quiet, albeit not dead silent (but hey, that's the price you pay for the fan). Speaking of the fan, the case gets no worse than warm in use. Not hot.

It uses a simple power cord, not some corded thing with a box attached to regulate power supply or whatever, so that's nice.

Setting everything up was easy enough. But, of course, this isn't quite rocket science.

The case doesn't impress with its solidity and massive construction. But it's adequate for its intended purpose.

It doesn't fit in my pants pocket (duh), but it's portable enough that it could be carried in a briefcase, were this needful. Actually, its size and weight (with disk installed) are less than those of a good-sized book.

No Firewire capability, but that's fine with me. USB 2.0 is roughly, in real world terms, about as fast as Firewire for purposes of running an external hard drive for data back-up. (No, differences on the order of 10-15% don't matter to me.) And any computer I'm likely to use now, or within the next couple of years, is likely to have multiple USB 2.0 ports. (It might have Firewire, but it will almost definitely have USB.) So I'm satisfied. And if, in a few years, some new standard arises and renders USB 2.0 a pathetic and ancient technology, I'll go and replace the enclosure then, having gotten my money's worth from this unit. I mean, it is under forty bucks, after all.

So, I could've paid $269 at a local store, for an external 80 gig hard drive. Instead, I paid $47 (after rebate) for my 120 gig hard drive (with 8 meg cache, no less), and $40 for this enclosure. And you know what? It works exactly the same as the more expensive alternative. I'm not displeased.

BoKingWen · May 9, 2003

Thanks Mike7 I will get this to use my 75G HD I got last year from BB (after thanksgiving sale), to back up the 5 computers I had at home......

Tot · May 9, 2003

Hmm what cable should I get for this?

Or should I say. Can I use the 10 ft A to A cable for extension?

Tot · May 9, 2003

And what is the maximum size that the 2.5 inch enclosure with support? Is it the same 200 GB or less?

AAman · May 9, 2003

I have a 200g drive in it, no problems, not sure on bigger though

Tot · May 9, 2003

Hehe... I think I made a mistake.

2.5 inch enclosure is for laptop drives right?

So I blindly placed an order for it and realises it 5 minutes later. Then I did a quick email to Dealsonic. And guess what.
They are indeed what they say they are. They replied my mail in a record time of less then 5 minutes.

Wow that is fast if you ask me.

Anyway I will get the 3.5/5inch ones instead now.

DanFungus · May 9, 2003

Originally posted by: Tot
Hehe... I think I made a mistake.

2.5 inch enclosure is for laptop drives right?

So I blindly placed an order for it and realises it 5 minutes later. Then I did a quick email to Dealsonic. And guess what.
They are indeed what they say they are. They replied my mail in a record time of less then 5 minutes.

Wow that is fast if you ask me.

Anyway I will get the 3.5/5inch ones instead now.

wow, that's pretty fast!:Q

alexcohen · May 9, 2003

So, my question for those of you who already have this: Can you operate it without it being plugged into the wall? for instance, could you watch DVDs with it and a tabletPC while on an airplane?

Mike7 · May 9, 2003

No, it has to be plugged into the wall, alexcohen.

I _think_ some 2.5" drives (notebook drives) can be powered from a USB connection alone, but full-size drives (such as the 3.5"/5.25" ones for which this enclosure is intended) require a power supply beyond the limits of USB.

On the bright side, this enclosure uses a simple (if somewhat heavy duty) power cord. I've seen other enclosures where the power cord incorporates some mini-brick thing that I assume is a transformer or an interociter or somesuch. The simple power cord, with the electronic stuff presumably built into the enclosure itself, strikes me as a rather more elegant solution.

weepul · May 9, 2003

i have this: Bytecc ME-720U2F Combo IDE to Firewire 1394/USB 2.0 External Enclosure for 3.5" Device which i got from CompGeeks for ~$65 shipped. a very useful tool and supports both USB2.0 and Firewire.

best purchase i ever made!

//krunk (^_^x)

MontyBurns · May 9, 2003

I too have one of these. And let me just reiterate that this thing is not built to take any abuse. I was kind of disappointed when I got it -- felt very cheap. Then again, I paid a lot more than $39 for it, so I guess in this case you're getting what you pay for.

Marm · May 10, 2003

Has anybody used these with USB 1? I want one to transfer files from a friends that has cable modem but does not have USB 2.0 and was wondering how they work.

Thanks

Tot · May 10, 2003

The speed would be slow.... really slow.

But what I am not sure about is whether you would need to reformat the harddisk inorder for it to be recoqnized in XP or other OS for that matter.

DeviousTrap · May 10, 2003

Originally posted by: Tot
The speed would be slow.... really slow.

But what I am not sure about is whether you would need to reformat the harddisk inorder for it to be recoqnized in XP or other OS for that matter.

All you would need to do is format the drive use tha FAT32 filesystem. Then all operating systems (95-XP) can recognize. However if you would use anything before 2000 you need to install a driver that is supplied with the enclosure. In 2000/XP it is completely plug-n-play.

kof · May 10, 2003

I see several comments on flimsy case - can anyone compare it to the case the Maxtor's USB/Firewire external drives ?
That's a darn good case.

mindless1 · May 10, 2003

It doesn't fit in my pants

:Q

Anyone know where I might find just the USB to IDE controller (circuit) board for cheap? I have a few old external cases that are very durable, just need converted to USB.

mrVW · May 10, 2003

There is a computer fair at the Orange County Fairground this weekend. I got a cool external USB 2.0 case for laptop 2.5" hard drive.

It was only $25 and it has two USB cables. One can power the unit, the other for data. Even cooler, they include a PS2 to USB adapter that lets you steal the power off a PS2 port if you have a laptop that does not have an extra USB port.

It also works fine at USB 1.1 rates too...

$25 seems like a steal. The PS2 to USB power adapter is cool, wish they sold them by themselves! It has a pass-through PS/2 port and a USB connector.

Also, the USB data cable that comes with it has a blue LED on both ends and flashes as data is sent over the cable.

I don't usually go for the fu-fu stuff, but $25...

Tung · May 10, 2003

Originally posted by: mrVW
There is a computer fair at the Orange County Fairground this weekend. I got a cool external USB 2.0 case for laptop 2.5" hard drive.

It was only $25 and it has two USB cables. One can power the unit, the other for data. Even cooler, they include a PS2 to USB adapter that lets you steal the power off a PS2 port if you have a laptop that does not have an extra USB port.

It also works fine at USB 1.1 rates too...

$25 seems like a steal. The PS2 to USB power adapter is cool, wish they sold them by themselves! It has a pass-through PS/2 port and a USB connector.

Also, the USB data cable that comes with it has a blue LED on both ends and flashes as data is sent over the cable.

I don't usually go for the fu-fu stuff, but $25...

nice

2.5"/5.5" USB 2.0 Enclosure $39.99 shipped

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