Cheap $7 SATA IDE external Hard Drive to USB reader

[edy]

Hi folks,

Just a quick review of some cheap gear I picked up for a total of $7 off eBay from Hong Kong/China (with free shipping). It is a cable/power supply kit to allow access to IDE and SATA drives (hard drives and optical) without the need for an external enclosure. Nice quick way to read old drives to your desktop/laptop over a USB connection:



I was guessing along as I was unboxing this thing, but managed to quickly figure it out, and confirmed it worked on all my old IDE and SATA drives (about 7 of them). Handy gear to have around especially if you have access to many PC's or scavenge dumpsters and tend to have lots of drives around. The main issue will be speed as USB 2.0 is way too slow normally.

[SeanB]

Just remember that you cannot plug a SATA drive in at the same time as IDE, or replace a drive from one type to another without unplugging the USB. They do hot plug though, and work well, though a copy operation of an entire drive will take a night. Very useful to have though, I have a few around. just take care that the PSU that typically comes with them is about the worst POS around. Might have a 3 pin mains connector, but only uses 2. Cheapest caps inside as well.