SATA/PATA/IDE Drive to USB 2.0 Adapter Converter Cable for 2.5 / 3.5 Inch Hard Drive / Optical Drive with External AC Power Adapter

by Generic

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B001OORMVQ
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (349 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #12 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Cables > Computer > USB Cables
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 10, 2004

Product Description

Use your 2.5" / 3.5" IDE hard drive or SATA hard disc as an additional external hard drive. Connect your SATA / IDE device to your computer through a USB port. Compliant with USB 1.1 and 2.0 standards. Usb 2.0 interface for 480 MB/s high speed data transfer. Package includes USB to IDE / SATA cable adapter, SATA data cable, AC adapter, AC to IDE power converter, IDE to SATA and power cable.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Trashed two drives., January 2, 2010

By 

Christopher T. Frantz (Frederick, MD, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SATA/PATA/IDE Drive to USB 2.0 Adapter Converter Cable for 2.5 / 3.5 Inch Hard Drive / Optical Drive with External AC Power Adapter (Electronics)

Faulty internal power connector, managed to fry an optical drive and a rather important laptop HD. Check the connectors on every piece of equipment in this package if you use it. I plugged my hard drive in and immediately the smell of burning plastic and wisps of smoke begin emerging from my once operational hard drive. I'm now looking into professional data recovery which will cost me hundreds of times more then this product cost me. Spend a little extra and get a real piece of equipment...trust me its not worth the headaches.

59 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars USB 2 IDE SATA Hard Drive Connection, September 13, 2009

By 

Patrk71 "Patrick 71" (Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SATA/PATA/IDE Drive to USB 2.0 Adapter Converter Cable for 2.5 / 3.5 Inch Hard Drive / Optical Drive with External AC Power Adapter (Electronics)

Tried this device a Friend of mine had when I had a hard drive get corrupted in the boot sector. It worked so well that I ordered mine own. Did a hard drive replacement on my MAC Book Pro using this unit and it was easy and no problems. If you work with your hardware or swap hard drives then this is a MUST HAVE. Works on 2.5, 3.5 & 5.25 inch hard drives as well as CD and DVD 5.25 inch drives. SATA and IDE and PATA drives all work.

143 of 166 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, but has a MAJOR omission, October 25, 2009

By 

Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SATA/PATA/IDE Drive to USB 2.0 Adapter Converter Cable for 2.5 / 3.5 Inch Hard Drive / Optical Drive with External AC Power Adapter (Electronics)

I use devices like this in my work. I was attracted by the low price of this unit, about one-third of other similar products. Cheap enough to give it a try.

The unit is cheaply packaged in a poly bag, but everything you need for connecting to an IDE or SATA drive is included. There's an AC adapter that terminates in a standard 12vdc plug for IDE drives and a pigtail SATA power adapter. The main unit, the piece that contains the interface electronics, looks the same as more expensive units and has connectors on either side for 3.5" and 2.5" IDE drives. There is a data cable for SATA drives. One end plugs into the drive, the other into a molded outlet on the electronics portion.

The USB cable connecting the interface to the computer is a little short compared to competitor's units that I have, but that isn't really big deal.

There's a mini-CD with a bunch of drivers and some documentation. Anyone using Windows 2000 or later will not need the drivers. I've tried it a Knoppix Linux distribution and it worked fine. Can't speak for use on a Mac, but the manufacturer says it is compatible.

So why only three stars?

There's no drive activity LED! When you're working with a product like this, you absolutely want a visual indication that data is being read or written. Many applications don't provide a progress indicator and even those that do aren't necessarily accurate. In other words, you can wind up in a situation where you have to know if everything is working - and with this product, there is no evidence of drive activity!

Now that is bad. But here's the curious part: the little bit of documentation that is included on the CD says that there should be an activity LED. I intend on writing the distributor I purchased this from for clarification. If I just goa bum unit without a working LED, I'll amend my review to reflect that this unit at its current price is a real bargain. Otherwise, it is barely adequate, regardless of the price.

UPDATE: 11/01/09 The vendor of this product has been super-great to work with. They sent a replacement unit quickly and without question. Unfortunately, the replacement didn't have an data activity LED either. I tried working with these a couple of times and without that lED, they simply aren't suitable for serious use. Yes, they do work as they should for transferring data - but if you can't physically observe drive activity, you don't know what's going on. Too bad, because these are priced much lower than other units that do have the LED.

Jerry