Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(137)
4 star:		(67)
3 star:		(33)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(86)

 

 

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.

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.

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

The power supply appears to never having been tested before shipment.
Several buyers report supplies blowing up and smoking. This indicates lack of testing.
I made the mistake of hooking up the supply to my hard drive before plugging it into the wall.
It destroyed my hard drive and I have been unable to access important data.

Examination of the defective supply shows the top blown out of U10 and a bulging top on C7. The hard drive shows damages to a surface mounted device that goes between the power input and ground. Clearly, the 5 volt dc line was subjected to excessive voltage as the power supply failed.

Other reviewers mention lack of an indicator LED on the adapter. I also dislike the adapter for this reason.

This adapter fried my hard drive within 5 seconds of plugging it in. After looking over other reviews, is appears to be a recurring issue.

The drive I connected this to was a Western Digital Caviar 250gb drive with SATA interface. Within seconds the circuit board turned extremely hot and began smoking.

The first red flag I ran into with this terrible thing was the packaging. There is not a brand-name anywhere on the box...not even a manufacturer....just a "Made In China" stamp. Had I been thinking rationally, I would have sent it back right then. My geek side got the best of me though, and I just had to try it out. Immediately, the second red flag jumped up and screamed at me when I looked at the power adapter. On the molex connection (female side) there was a pin missing. Not only was it missing, it looked as if the hole where it should have been was not even bored out all the way. The red wire on the molex to SATA adapter fell out as soon as I picked it up. Of course, at this point, I'm frustrated, and I'm bound and determined to make the damn thing work at any cost.

I hook up the sata/usb cable and use a power cable from my PC's power supply. Long story short, every time I tried to initialize the HDD, I received an I/O error - essentially meaning a bad cable. I tried in Windows 7, Windows XP and Linux (Kubuntu), with basically the same results each time.

What a complete waste of money and time. At this point I'm just happy the power supply didn't freak out and destroy my drives or burn the house down. Do NOT waste your money on this.... from the reviews, it seems like a gamble at best. When they work, apparently they work well, but when they are defective, they are damn near a safety hazard.

Plug everything in and 3 second I saw smoke come out of my hard drive. My hard drive went to heaven. DO NOT BUY THIS ONE.

The product came in a plastic bag and the bag had a small blank white box inside. This is where the product is held. The AC adapter is of actually pretty sturdy quality(I keep an eye on it for safety after reading the exploding reviews.) I took it out of the box and tried connecting it to my macbook and the product was not recignized at first. I even checked disk utility. I said hmmm and too product doesnt have directions or procedure instructions. I am trained in computer technology and IT. I was pretty mad when after trying for so long the adapter didnt work. After reading a little online there is a way you should connect the adapter in order to get it to work.

1. Plug in power adapter and plug the other end into device
2. Wait 10 Seconds.
3. Plug IDE or SATA into device.
4. Plug in USB into PC Or mac.
5. Wait for at least 20 seconds.

IT WORKS!

And transfer speed is fast plus HDD Activity Light!

A Win Purchase. Shipped Monday. Arrived Tuseday WITH STANDARD SHIPPING!!!

Best Five Bucks ever spent. Look forward to purchasing more for my small buisness soon!

This product is not worth your money. I plugged it in to the wall outlet and instantly heard a popping noise, followed by smoke billowing from the AC adapter. Extremely poor quality. Save your money and find a similar product you can actually use without having to exchange it.

SERIOUS FIRE CONCERN!! I ordered the USB to SATA unit,to be used both as a data transfer device and in conjunction with a hard drive (internal bare type) that would serve as an external back up system. When I powered up the unit, the power supply box (that was delivered with an internal rattle) immediately had an electrical short out, creating a loud buzzing noise and a very burnt smell. It was connected to a new hard drive and also my computer. I had concerns about any power spike from the short out that caused any damage to the new hard drive and computer. Now I have found that other people also have reported similar short outs with this unit, so be warned about your potential fire issue and maybe damage to your computer components.