StarTech.com 2.5-Inch Silver USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure for SATA HDD (SAT2510U2) - Silver

by StarTech

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 2 x 5.3 inches ; 2.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000PKC102
• Item model number: SAT2510U2
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #40 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Accessories > Hard Drive Enclosures
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 20, 2007

Product Description

This USB to SATA External Hard Drive Enclosure transforms virtually any 2.5in SATA (SATA, SATA II, SATA III) laptop hard drive or SSD into the perfect portable storage solution! Ideal for storing digital multimedia and other demanding applications, the enclosure let's you get the most out of your hard drive, connecting to a host computer using USB 2.0 (also backward compatible with USB 1.1) for maximum data transfer rates of up to 480Mbps.A truly portable solution, the external hard drive enclosure features lightweight, yet durable aluminum construction, as well as a small form factor design that fits perfectly into your pocket or notebook bag when not in use. Plus, to eliminate the hassle of having to find a power outlet when you are ready to back up your data or load your stored files, the USB SATA hard drive enclosure requires no external power supply, as it is powered through its USB connection to the computer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handy device for data recovery, and a lot more..., October 31, 2007

By 

Jesse H. Schexnayder "schex86" (Fairbanks, AK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: StarTech.com 2.5-Inch Silver USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure for SATA HDD (SAT2510U2) - Silver (Personal Computers)

I purchased this to recover the data off a 2.5" SATA hard drive that used to live inside my Toshiba Satellite laptop that went belly up shortly after its warranty expired. I done a complete virus scan and recovered about 100 GB so far with absolutely no problems and decent USB 2.0 speed.

The enclosure is powered by USB as well, which works fine. Two USB dongles are actually on the cable (for extra power), which is what I use and I've had no problems up to this point.

The package includes a little baggy with the tiniest screwdriver I've ever seen. Be careful when you open it, because it contains two even more miniscule screws, used for securing the hard drive once you insert it into the enclosure.

I promptly dumped mine on the carpet and spent a good 10 minutes looking for them. Very hard on the eyes...

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cheap and effective, July 22, 2008

By 

B. MCGROARTY (United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: StarTech.com 2.5-Inch Silver USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure for SATA HDD (SAT2510U2) - Silver (Personal Computers)

PRO:
- Decent data transfer rate -- about 20 megabyte sustained with my drive
- Comes with a carrying sleeve
- Comes with the only tool you need to assemble the enclosure - a tiny eyeglass screwdriver

CON:
- Misreports current usage - use caution to avoid damaging your PC
- Microscopic "eyeglass" screws.

SUMMARY
This should have been tool-free, or used larger screws on the back. Assembling it is a bit of a pain, as the screws are about the size of a pinhead. Luckily it comes with a third spare screw.

The fact that it misreports current use is dangerous. It only reports half the current that would be used by a 5400RPM drive in the enclosure on the assumption that the power-only connector will be swallowing half the current load. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security if you find that you can operate with just one USB plug, especially if using a high current draw 7200RPM drive. Insert both plugs, inserting the power-only end plug first. USB controllers shut down devices if current draw is high enough to damage the controller - this won't work if the controller is getting bad information.

Note that - as with most USB enclosures - the controller does not understand hard drive passwords. If you're repurposing an old laptop drive, be sure to clear the hard drive password in the laptop's BIOS before moving it to the enclosure. If you forget this step, you'll get mysterious CRC failure errors when trying to initialize the drive.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Near-perfect, August 21, 2008

By 

A. Dent "Aragorn" (Minas Anor, GD) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: StarTech.com 2.5-Inch Silver USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure for SATA HDD (SAT2510U2) - Silver (Personal Computers)

I used one of these to enclose the 60GB disk that I took out of my PS3 after I upgraded it to 320GB. Installation consists on pushing the disk in and screwing 2 little screws using the little screwdriver provided. It's all done in less than 5 minutes.

It connects through an USB wire which powers the HDD. Included.

End of story.

______________________________________________________________

Jan 2010 update

Almost 1.5 year later, I am still happy with my purchase. My HDD is still working inside its enclosure and I've never had a problem. I am using this disc to store data that I only rarely access - backups of photos, tax documents and so on - but I'm happy to know that they are in safe and that I can access my data quickly and easily by simply plugging in the disk.

P.S. - you can get the very much same thing minus the brand name for a lot less these days.