"Easy IDE" USB -> HDD adapter?

[Lobster]

Has anyone got one of these gizmos?

bought one a while ago on the strength of a newsgroup recommendation IIRC as it seemed like a brilliant idea; however when I tried it out it managed to totally corrupt the test HD drive I hooked up to it - had to reformat it. Sent the gadget back for replacement, but the next one did just the same thing, at which point I gave up in disgust. Anyway - having a clearout and have just found the thing at the back of a drawer...

So am wondering - has anyone got experience of using this gadget (successfully or otherwise) and maybe solved the problem I had?!

Cheers David

[.]

why not ask in uk.comp.homebuilt ?

while you're there, ask them if they have ever used kingspan :)

[Lobster]

Touche! Actually it was definitely in uk.d-i-y that I learned about the gadget (although can't find the thread), which is why I thought it was fair game/a good idea to post here...

[Grunff]

I had one of these about 3 years ago, with very similar results. Sent it back.

[John Rumm]

I have something similar (different brand / model but same basic concept). Never had it corrupt a drive, although it can be tempremental with some drives, sometimes preventing them from powering up correctly (I have found if you power the drive first and then connect the IDE connector they will often then work ok).

You can normally pick them up for a fiver on ebay direct from Hong Kong, so try a different one if you need to. Failing that the ebuyer caddies do a simmilar job (with a box round them to make an "external" HDD), these, IME, have so far been rock solid reliable.

[.]

wasn't having a go, just pointing out that you'd prolly get a better answer to your question over there, knowledgeable lot in there :)

[.]

FWIW I always put one of these in every PC I built/build

I've got a few of these equally useful bits of kit lying about

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'm not surprised - the IDE bus tends to be pretty sensitive in my experience. But I'm not sure why you'd want such an adaptor since IDE HDs and CDs are still available?

[Lobster]

Just a very simple and convenient way (allegedly) of accessing bare HDs for whatever reason, or accessing the data on them when a PC has gone phut; eg I quite often find myself swapping HDs between old PCs, that sort of thing... I bought it just as a useful adjunct to my PC toolkit really.

David

[karl]

[Rod]

Lobster wrote in news:bCCjg.37368$ [e-mail]:

Got a similar (but earlier) model from Scan. Worked a treat. Got what appears the same model you link to at work (after my suggestion). It has been a lifesaver. Within its limitations, indispensible.

It is just so quick and easy compared with any form of caddy. And, because you keep away from the internal IDE, there is usually no need for rebooting.

[EricP]

I find it the greatest gadget invented for the PC. Use it every day, all day.

Never had a moments problem with mine.

[Philip Herlihy]

I've used one of these for some time with no problems. Useful thing to have!

London ===========

[Derek ^]

I have one I got from Maplin (suspect not the *exact same*), it works like a charm, and once the volume is mounted you can do everything to it, play with partions with partition magic etc.

But like a lot of these "Cunning Chinese" USB goodies, despite the low price, there's a lot going on under the hood.

DG

[Clint Sharp]

In message , . writes

than you've built PCs, if you must buy one, spend some money and make sure you get a good quality one, either that or make sure your backups are good and regular. We spend a number of hours every month re-imaging machines that have them in because of the intermittent problems you get on cheap caddies.

about except it's in a box that goes around the drive.

[Colin Wilson]

I bought a cheap chinese one from ebay, the PSU failed, but other than that, it`s great - does 2.5" or 3.5" drives, as the connector to the drive is double ended.

I`ve since scrapped an old base unit, keeping the ATX PSU - if you short (IIRC) pin 14 to ground, the PSU powers up as though a motherboard is present - job done :-)

[Martin Underwood]

Ah. That's the magic pin, is it? I always wondered which one it was. I've replaced about 10 PSUs for various customers over the past year. When I was buying a new PSU from my supplier, he commented that people in this area (Didcot, Abingdon, Wallingford) seem to go through a lot of power supplies, so there must be something odd about the mains - which makes me glad that I've got a spike filter for my PCs/router/scanner/printer and also one for my TV/VCR/hi-fi.

[Colin Wilson]

I think it was - took me less time to google for it than to type this reply, I remember that much :-}

[John Rumm]

The other clue is that it is normally the only green wire!