Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 I need 2 more June 13, 2008
Miles long (Los Angeles CA)
With both options Firewire or USB 2.0 You can use all the drives that have files on them. This on was able get some files off an old maxtor and The Drive is fried but I got the files off of it useing this unit
 Nice, sturdy enclosure, but tricky to instal drive. I recommend it! April 13, 2008
James S. Hill (Los Angeles area)
Pro's Nice, sturdy enclosure; aluminum sides should help dissipate heat. Rubber feet have a good grip to the table. Electrically, the enclosure works fine, but the blue power light is too bright. I attempted to measure heat dissipation from my hard drive by checking it with the enclosure on and off, but temperatures were just "nice and warm" instead of hot, so think the drive I finally used didn't run particularly hot. It's tricky to connect the drive (see below) so didn't install the second drive again just to check temperature. If I needed another enclosure, I would buy this one again.
Con's
It's tricky to connect the drive data connector to the connector on the enclosure's PC board. There is inadequate space to initially put the drive in line with the enclosure connector, so the drive must be inserted at an angle, the pins lined up, then the drive rotated. You can't see the pins during this process, and unlike ribbon cable connectors the enclosure connector is noticeably shorter than the drive connector so it is easy to have the pins and holes not line up. I found the best approach is to place the connectors near to each other, very carefully checking the pin alignment, try to partially mate the connectors, start to rotate the drive into place, and move the drive back and forth in line with the connector axis. When I was lucky, I could feel the connectors move slightly towards each other indicating the pins were going into the holes. After the hard drive was in place, I used moderate force to partially seat the pins, then applied power, connected the USB cable and verified the computer recognized the drive. If so, I turned off the drive and applied considerably more force to seat the connectors. I repeated the procedure a number of times using two different drives, and twice the process went smoothly. The remainder of the time it took a number of attempts. It is possible for the drive to appear be connected (drive installed, but mounting bolts not used), but actually not properly connected, leading to odd-ball results or no operation.
Increasing the length of the assembly about inch would allow the drive to be in line with the enclosure before connecting the data connector, which should simplify the process.
Also, I had tolerance build-up, so it was necessary to completely seat the drive before the mounting holes line up adequately for the machine screws to be used. Longer slots would be beneficial. I thought of enlarging the slots, but won't do so until the warranty period is over if I install another drive.
Cautions:
The part number is not listed on the unit, only on the bottom of the box. Jot it down before you toss the box.
After installing the drive assembly, be careful to not tilt it forward before installing the rear cover. The assembly will slide out, dropping to the table or worse.
Jim
 Disappointed March 23, 2008
Karl R. Josker (Derby, NY USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have three of these enclosures, and I needed a fourth, so I ordered another one. I was disappointed to find that they reduced the case size, and it now doesn't match my first three. Perhaps a minor point, but disappointing never the less.
Function wise, it is easy to install a bare hard drive, and it works well.
USB2.0/FIREWIRE Enclosure February 8, 2008
Jim Welsh (Tigard, Oregon United States)
Item arrived faster than I expected. It was a breeze to install my hard drive. I was especially pleased with the firewire option. Connected the cables, plugged it in, turned it on and it was immediately detected and recognized as a logical drive. And I will be able to use a larger hard drive(500GB) in the future.
 Crashed!!! January 9, 2008
K. Ung (USA)
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
Mine crashed only after a year. NO OPTION FOR REPLACEMENT! and I lost all my data. I should last longer than one year!
Never buy an acomdata product again!
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