2.5" SATA Hard Drive Case (Blue) 500GB Max Capacity Review

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(More customer reviews)This was one of the funnier 'electronics' items I ever got and... I like it but anyone considering it should be aware that this case does not travel well - see below.
The most interesting feature about the case is the design, so to speak. If you can imagine your HDD inside a box of Altoids Curiously Strong Mints and you don't mind it being there then this case is for you. There are no screws or hinges or locks and none are needed for as long as your case doesn't move much. What you get is a little tin box where you press the top part on after you literally squeeze in your 2.5 SATA drive and it kind of clicks in and it stays that way because it's not easy to reopen it.
This is great design - how come no one else thought of it? - and I applaud it but, like I said, I would not carry this case in my shirt pocket or even in my laptop bag. Murphy's law being what it is, the lid just might pop open and the HDD may come out and, in the process, maybe damage the case own USB interface or, worse, its own connectors, making itself useless. However, as a stationary external HDD solution, it's tops on the price/performance curve.
- INSTALLATION - Without exaggeration, it took less than 2 minutes, most of the time spent to actually open the empty box because it comes closed. Must be careful with those connectors but that's all. Once you snap in the lid, your drive is encased and ready to use. On a Vista and on a Windows 7 computer it was recognized within seconds.
- CONTENTS - Other than the tin/aluminum case, you get a little USB cable to connect to your computer [mine was junk - see my note below]. It's split for 2 'A' (wider connectors), just in case your HDD needs to draw power from 2 USB ports but my 500GB, 2.5" SATA is happy with just one. You should make sure that your HDD is connected to a 'powered' USB port - some USB port splitters/hubs do not power all or some of their ports. There is also a postage-sized manual that discusses setup under Windows 98 or Windows 2000 and when it's safe to disconnect the drive - the English is a solid B+. I don't believe I found any warranty promises but warranties on items this inexpensive are silly to begin with. There is also some cheap neoprene-like pouch, presumably to be used while traveling. It's actually a good thing to have, IF you insist on taking your encased disc on the road because it improves the odds of keeping the whole thing together - remember, there are no screws.
- PERFORMACE - For a stationary drive, it fully meets my expectation. The interface is USB 2.0 so you should expect way over 100MB/s when it comes to data rates. The aluminum/tin case, being metal, is quite good at dissipating heat and the disc seems to be running pretty cool inside.
I am very happy with this inexpensive case and I will consider getting more if I end up with more loose 2.5" SATAs (it happens when you upgrade or your old laptop turns obsolete) and decide to use them as stationary external HDDs or simply to store the discs and put them away for data archiving while keeping easy access to the data via the USB port.
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Note:
After posting the review above where the case was used with one of my own USB cable, I actually used the supplied 'free' USB wire and, to my surprise, the disc was either not recognized, I was being prompted to format the perfectly good disc or, from time to time, it WAS recognized. On occasions, the LED would blink red indicating that the the disc was 'writing' something (scary) and it would not stop unless I turned off the computer.
To make the story short, IF you are having trouble connecting the disc to your computer with the supplied USB wire, the first thing you should do is try another USB cable. I hope that most of the USB cables shipped are good but... you never now. I'm taking a star away for the scare I got - asking me to 'format' a perfectly good drive.

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This hard drive enclosure for 2.5" SATA-interface drives makes your files ultra-portable: fits in your pocket and can be accessed by any computer's USB ports. Supports drives up to 500 GB. The included cable has two USB plugs (Type A, the regular kind) for connecting to the computer, and one mini-USB plug for the hard drive. The cable uses two plugs for input/output & power from the PC, so you don't have to carry an extra power adapter! The indicator light shows you when the drive is being accessed. Perfect drive solution for students, business people, and those on the go!To determine if your hard drive is an IDE drive or a SATA drive, please look for the connectors. An IDE connector is longer, and has two rows of pins that stick out. A SATA connector is smaller and has two plastic tabs with flat metal contacts.

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