Very Warm: NDAS IDE (PATA) enclosure for $19.99 shipped after $30 MIR at Outpost.com thru 7/5

[Karaktu]

Link

Rebate

Seagate 500GB IDE for $89.99 shipped!

I have this NDAS unit and really like it. Very light, very simple to set up (requires a device driver) and automatically powers up/down. Great way to add storage to your network.

 

[IlllI]

is ethernet > than esata? i'm too lazy to look up the info at the moment

 

[Athena]

I have 3 of these and I love them. I'd wait until the weekend though and check the stores: they were $9.99 AR a few weeks ago.

 

[bigpow]

I bought one and returned it right away.
It's NDAS, not a full blown NAS. It needs a driver & application to hook the drive to your PC (vista driver was not finished when I had it).
The driver, then, was so bad, that only one 'client' PC can write to the drive (while others can only 'read')

I really hate this NDAS propietary, give me a simple enclosure with RJ-45 and a simple web gui/console to configure its IP and I'm game.

Just my 0.02 - not trying to crap the thread, I think people should know what they're buying.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who was disappointed with this NDAS thing. It's really misleading, especially for people shopping for NAS

oh, and removing the drive is a PIA if you don't know how (look at the small holes on the sides)

finally, if you have a USB HDD enclosure and you have to hook it up to a PC, why not just use Windows/Linux file-sharing to share it over the network?

 

[gwynethgh]

They do have a few advantages though:
Support NTFS where as most affordable NAS devices only fully function with FAT/FAT32 unless USBed to a host PC
All PCs on the same router/switch can see the device all the time.
Newer drivers allow all the PCs to have read/write access all the time.
Drives spin down to reduce heat and increase life.

I plan to buy another to house a 500gb drive

Thanx for the post.

 

[letsgetsilly]

Gigabit ethernet?

 

[TwiceOver]

Originally posted by: letsgetsilly
Gigabit ethernet?

The one I have is 10/100. Also, for the Linux people, there are Linux drivers for different distros.

I have one sitting around. Works fine, the software isn't the greatest. Its actually been sitting there running for about 2 years now. hrm... I should do something with that.

 

[dehemke]

is ethernet > than esata?

No.
You will be double bottlenecked with this in comparison to an eSata external. Use eSATA if you need it with a single box; use something like this if you want multiple machines to acess.

 

[Athena]

Originally posted by: letsgetsilly
Gigabit ethernet?

No. That's why they are on clearance -- Ximeta's gigabit enclosures for SATA drives are about to be released.

 

[jlin101]

The price is now $19.99 ($49.99 - 30 rebate). Although NDAS has the disadvantage of requiring driver installation on each PC, reviews indicate that its transfer speed is significantly faster than NAS, with the added benefit of security (since no IP address is needed). I ordered one to try.

 

[Mongals]

I'll buy it if it falls down to $9.99 after rebate.

 

[cruzer]

finally, if you have a USB HDD enclosure and you have to hook it up to a PC, why not just use Windows/Linux file-sharing to share it over the network?

Because the host PC would have to be powered on at all times; no sleep or hibernate either. Everyone leaves their router on 24/7, but not their PC.

 

[jlin101]

for those that bought one earlier, how's Ximeta with rebates?

 

[caigido]

I am still wait for my rebate from Nov 06. I bought another one though because I like to auto power down.

 

[bigpow]

Originally posted by: cruzer
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>finally, if you have a USB HDD enclosure and you have to hook it up to a PC, why not just use Windows/Linux file-sharing to share it over the network?</end quote></div>

Because the host PC would have to be powered on at all times; no sleep or hibernate either. Everyone leaves their router on 24/7, but not their PC.

and how do you suppose to make the Ximeta NDAS work if you turn off the host PC?
It's NDAS, it requires a host (running a driver) all the time doh!
- as far as HDD power-down, any PC can be configured to do that (doesn't BIOS/Windows do it automatically?)

That was why I said, get a real NAS, not NDAS. NDAS and external DAS are 99% similar, IMO and at least with eSATA DAS, you get the Speed!

 

[cruzer]

and how do you suppose to make the Ximeta NDAS work if you turn off the host PC?
It's NDAS, it requires a host (running a driver) all the time doh!

All PCs in the NDAS scenario are host PCs; the driver is installed on all PCs on the network. Whoever wants access to the drive would, logically, have their computer on.

 

[Lanyap]

I was going to pull the trigger on this last night but it still had the old rebate form which was out of date. The rebate form has been updated but you need to get it from the Frys.com product webpage and not OP's link.

 

[Karaktu]

OP has been updated.

 

[Old Hippie]

as far as HDD power-down, any PC can be configured to do that (doesn't BIOS/Windows do it automatically?)

None of my USB/eSATA external devices power off or spin down. If you know a trick, please share it.

 

[Karaktu]

Originally posted by: Old Hippie

as far as HDD power-down, any PC can be configured to do that (doesn't BIOS/Windows do it automatically?)

None of my USB/eSATA external devices power off or spin down. If you know a trick, please share it.

The external enclosure has to be programmed to do it. Buffalo advertises that their's do.

 

[LoverBoyJ]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Karaktu
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Old Hippie
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>as far as HDD power-down, any PC can be configured to do that (doesn't BIOS/Windows do it automatically?) </end quote></div>
None of my USB/eSATA external devices power off or spin down. If you know a trick, please share it.</end quote></div>

The external enclosure has to be programmed to do it. Buffalo advertises that their's do.</end quote></div>

I have this, its power downs the HDD in 5 mins, if your transfering huge files and theres a pause, it'll get disconnected. You have to request from XIMETA for the software to adjust the power down time.

My unit worked fine for 8 months, it started to have some issues with the connection even if using USB and adjusting the power down time, had to RMA the unit and just used it as a regular USB backup. I end up making a file server from an old PC with gigabit nics.

 

[Dim]

This is a good enclosure. Yes, it allows only one computer to have read/write access at a time - the others are read only. So, if another computer on the network starts up with read/write, you may get "unexpectedly disconnected". No computer must remain on. Leave the drive enclosure on (program to power down if you like). Driver is on each computer, so when the computer boots up, it can connect. Mine has been pretty reliable. I have it in my heat pump closet - pretty warm in there. I have had to reboot it a couple of times in the past year, but otherwise trouble free.

Haven't gotten it to work with Vista yet, but I still have to keep XP to get my serious work done (that I cannot do on my Mac) anyhow. Drivers on Macintosh work fine.

I paid $30 from Radio Shack last year and thought it was worth it.

 

[Karaktu]

Added 500GB Seagate retail linke for $89.99 shipped!