| Hard Drive | 1024 GB eSATA |
|---|---|
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 4 |
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Thermaltake BlacX Hot-Swap SATA External Hard Drive Docking Station for Windows & Mac Os Compatible
| Hardware Interface | SATA 3.0 Gb/s, SATA 1.5 Gb/s |
| Brand | Thermaltake |
| Color | black |
| Hardware Platform | PC, Mac |
| Item Weight | 2 Pounds |
About this item
- Supports all 2.5" and 3.5" SATA hard disk drives, up to 2 TB
- Hot-Swap Capability for Rapid Multi HDDs Access and Exchange
- Supports eSATA Transfer Speed up to 3Gbps
- Supports USB 2.0 Transfer Speed up to 480Mbps
- Compact Docking Station Design Maximizes Heat Dissipation & Exhaust
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This Item ![]() Thermaltake BlacX Hot-Swap SATA External Hard Drive Docking Station for Windows & Mac Os Compatible | Recommendations | dummy | dummy | dummy | dummy | |
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| Price | — | $35.99$35.99 | $36.99$36.99 | -28% $28.99$28.99 List: $39.99 | -22% $46.95$46.95 List: $59.99 | $20.99$20.99 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Saturday, Apr 20 | Get it as soon as Saturday, Apr 20 | Get it as soon as Saturday, Apr 20 | — | Get it as soon as Saturday, Apr 20 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Tech Support | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Easy to recognize | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.4 | — | 4.2 |
| Quality of material | 3.6 | 4.9 | — | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.9 |
| Storage Capacity | 4.6 | — | — | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Easy to use | — | 4.6 | 4.5 | — | 4.6 | 4.5 |
| Sold By | — | TNTonline | FIDECO | Store4PC | Store4PC | SSK Direct |
Product Description
PRODUCT FEATURES:Patented designRoHS complianceHot-swap capability for rapid multi HDDs access and exchangeSupports eSATASupports USB 2.0Compact docking station design maximizes heat dissipation and exhaust
Product information
Technical Details
| Brand | Thermaltake |
|---|---|
| Item model number | ST0005U |
| Hardware Platform | PC, Mac |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows |
| Item Weight | 2 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 5.12 x 3.55 x 2.56 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 5.12 x 3.55 x 2.56 inches |
| Color | black |
| Hard Drive Interface | Serial ATA |
| Audio-out Ports (#) | 2 |
| Power Source | AC |
| Voltage | 240 Volts |
| Manufacturer | Thermaltake |
| ASIN | B001A4HAFS |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | November 15, 2005 |
Additional Information
| Customer Reviews |
4.3 out of 5 stars |
|---|---|
| Best Sellers Rank | #2,004 in Enclosures |
Warranty & Support
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Real life review Thermalake Dual Hard Drive Dock
Mark Volzer

Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the performance, ease of use, value, and docking station of the hard drive enclosure. They mention that it works great, is easy to setup, and is good value for money. Some are satisfied with ease of dismounting. That said, opinions are mixed on quality and heat.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the performance of the hard drive enclosure. They mention that it works great for media players, computer repairs, and as an external drive. Some say that the docking station runs perfectly and has no issues with cloning.
"...Both work just fine. I use them for backing up (cloning) my laptop hard drive, not for general storage...." Read more
"Works great. On e-sata, it is every bit as fast as if it was internally installed...." Read more
"...2. Fairly fast and adequate.3. Can copy/duplicate entire hard drive to another one.4...." Read more
"...The performance was flawless. I did not experience any of the overheating problems mentioned by other users...." Read more
Customers find the hard drive enclosure easy to use. They say it's simple to setup with a power cord and USB cable. They also appreciate the quick and simple troubleshooting, and the simple plug-and-play interface for both 2.5" and 3.5" SATA drives. Customers also mention that the dock makes things so much easier when you need to connect an additional hard drive.
"...They are very easy to install in this dock. It works a lot like putting an iPod into a dock, but this is a lot more robust...." Read more
"...This is a great piece of equipment that does what it says it does. Plug and play. Hot swappable. Great read/write speeds. Works great!..." Read more
"...The foot print isn't bad and the hookup was simple. Didn't work out of the box...." Read more
"...Installation is fast and super easy. All my systems are Windows 7 or Vista and they all work great with this device. I highly recommend it...." Read more
Customers like the value of the hard drive enclosure. They say it's a good product for the money, bare hard drives are cheaper than those built into enclosures, and the cost of backing up your data is cheap when compared to the stress lost data will cause. Some customers also mention that the product is outstanding quality for the price and is definitely worth it.
"...Look at EaseUS Todo Backup for cloning. Their s/w is cheap and upgrades are free...." Read more
"...Bare hard drives are a lot cheaper than the ones built into enclosures. They are very easy to install in this dock...." Read more
"...In conclusion I would have to say this is a great product at a great price...." Read more
"...until coming across this one on the illustrious Amazon and this truly great price..." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the docking station. For example, they mention it's a great piece of equipment, easy to use, and a well-conceived device. Some say it'll fit their computer case and has many other uses.
"...This is a great piece of equipment that does what it says it does. Plug and play. Hot swappable. Great read/write speeds. Works great!..." Read more
"...The unit is well (and cleverly) designed and of surprisingly robust manufacture...." Read more
"This is a very cool device. And for the price it can't be beat...." Read more
"...enough to run Acronis True Image on it and the docking station worked great for this purpose...." Read more
Customers find the hard drive enclosure easy to dismount. They say it makes it much simpler to swap out drives, use spare hard drives to do backups, and quickly swap them in and out to grab what data they need. Customers also appreciate the good construction and the ability to swap drives be it 2.5" or 3.5". They say the drives are simple to install and remove quickly. They mention that they're able to get a replacement fairly easy.
"...No reformat was actually necessary...." Read more
"...So, this is a great choice for an external drive, especially if you already have an eSATA port...." Read more
"...Pros:- Reasonably good construction- Easy insert & eject of SATA drives- Great convenience for swapping drives in & out..." Read more
"...Now they are all the same it makes it much simpler to swap out drives. I bought two and use them on a 12-core MacPro...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the quality of the hard drive enclosure. Some mention that it's surprisingly robust, reliable, and solid. The dock itself is first rate in quality, and has a solid feel to it. However, some say that any hard drive can fail and that the included eSATA cable is flimsy and easy to break.
"...It works a lot like putting an iPod into a dock, but this is a lot more robust. I use several hard drives in my computer...." Read more
"...Now, I am really in deep do-do, three drives corrupted!I fired up my backup laptop with this docking station attached...." Read more
"...All in all this product is solid, even though its made from plastic its well weighted and doesn't walk or shutter as the drive is in use..." Read more
"...NOTE: Any hard drive can fail, even the Solid State drives so make duplicates and store them in a second location!..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the heat. Some mention that there are no heat issues even when the ambient temperature is over 85 degrees, the drives are cool to the touch, and the hot-swappable design allows for easy cooling. However, others say that the drive gets hot if you leave it running for a long time, and Thermaltake support is non-existent.
"...The drives were warm but not too hot to the touch that I experienced with the Iomega Prestige external drives.Pros:..." Read more
"...Cons:- No forced air cooling, hot drives can be a problem- Short cables" Read more
"...allowing gravity to "seat" the drive in place as well as allow for adequate cooling...." Read more
"...Plug and play. Hot swappable. Great read/write speeds. Works great!Highly recommend!" Read more
Customers are dissatisfied with the readability of the hard drive enclosure. They mention that it is extremely slow, has a delayed write problem, and has lag associated with first plugging it into their computer. They also say that the transfer rates are only 400MB and not the 3GB advertised. Customers also report that the drive gets messed up and can't be read any longer.
"...I haven't used the USB interface, but it is probably quite a bit slower. My hard drives run barely warm to the touch...." Read more
"...The star rating is only due to the slower speed on a USB connection, and if it were faster I would gladly give it 5 Stars...." Read more
"...This means the unit had slowed down in its transfer rate." Read more
"...USB hard drive connection is a bad joke, as it is extremely slow. eSATA is pretty much as fast as the drive itself...." Read more
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This seemed like a foolproof backup plan until recently. The following is long, but I hope it will help others develop a more robust backup plan.
I clone my C: drive rather than just backup selected data. Sure, it's great to save important data, but there is a lot of pain associated with re-installing an operating system and all your apps. Cloning solves this problem by making an exact copy of the entire drive.
I use Acronis True Image for cloning as I have done for a number of years, using the oldest of the two backups as the clone. Shortly into the last cloning process, Acronis said the drive "couldn't be cloned to". I should have stopped right there but I didn't. Not to worry, I stuck the second clone drive into the enclosure and, again, Acronis refused to clone.
I was pretty sure the drives were okay when I started because I always look at them after cloning. But, both backup drives were useless, most likely because Acronis had wiped something out, like the MBR or directory. Acronis was probably corrupted, as I've seen happen in previous versions.
I'll just pay the toll and install the latest version of Acronis True Image. Easier said than done. It wouldn't install and said I had to do something "manually". But what? I've had this problem with previous versions and somehow got them to install and run. So, I then downloaded and ran Acronis's "cleaner" software. This didn't help. Somewhere in this process, Acronis wiped out my C: drive so I could no longer boot my laptop. Now, I am really in deep do-do, three drives corrupted!
I fired up my backup laptop with this docking station attached. Putting the C: drive in this docking station, I could see that a lot of my files were intact. The other two clone drives wouldn't even show up. I found backup and recovery software from a company called EaseUS. I downloaded a trial version of the recovery software. It found tons of files on the two clones. But, I did't think it could create a bootable drive.
My next idea was to run the Windows 8 "repair" function. But, I didn't have a disk to run it from! Being cheap and stupid, I had simply downloaded W8 the first day it was offered and paid only about $50. So, I ordered another copy of W8, paying $150 this time.
I didn't want to trying repairing the C: drive since it had the best and only chance of recovering anything. That's why I ordered a second of these docking stations as well as the EaseUS cloning software as well as another hard drive. With two of these stations attached to my backup laptop, I was able to clone the C:. The clone went back into the laptop and the repair process began. W8 couldn't repair C:. I found disk errors and fixed these. In the end, I had to re-install W8. Now, the C: was back. But, thanks W8, for wiping out all of the apps I had installed. Fortunately, my mail and other data was intact.
So, lessons learned, not in any order:
1) Don't just install software by "running" the installer from a web server. Download the program and save it somewhere in a folder. Save order numbers, user names, and serials in the same folder.
2) Make sure you have a Windows disk so you can run the "repair" option without repurchasing. It also allows you to run DOS commands and that is how I ran "CHKDSK" to fix disk errors.
3) Never, ever, use Acronis True Image. Over the years, it has saved me several times, but, I've had enough. They come out with a new, buggy, version every year just to generate cash. They change the GUI which adds confusion and add functions I never use and would never trust. Look at EaseUS Todo Backup for cloning. Their s/w is cheap and upgrades are free. There are lots of backup programs out there, but, for some reason, not all do cloning.
4) Once, things start going "south", STOP!
5) Consider other places to store critical data including APP installation files and serial numbers. I have a networked RAID drive that I use to backup some C: data (not clone to). Use GOODSYNC to backup up data automatically. This helped me recover some things from the RAID drive, but, I wasn't "religious" about telling GOODSYNC what to backup so I didn't have everything I needed at my fingertips.
6) Consider using software like ROBOFORM for storing passwords and other account data. There's an app for the IPAD which "syncs" data with your laptop version. While I was trying to get my laptop up, I was still able to use my IPAD to access my bank account and pay bills and order needed stuff from Amazon.
7) Consider purchasing a duplicate computer. Otherwise, you probably won't be able to install the clones if the primary computer fails. Costly, but it can save your bacon. A desktop I had a number of years ago failed and with no secondary computer I didn't have any internet access to order repair parts!
This is SO much more useful than an enclosed external hard drive if you need several. Bare hard drives are a lot cheaper than the ones built into enclosures. They are very easy to install in this dock. It works a lot like putting an iPod into a dock, but this is a lot more robust. I use several hard drives in my computer. I have music on one, movies and recorded TV on another, etc., to keep all of that kind of stuff off my main drive. I have a couple more I use as backups. I put them in an antistatic bag and in my fire safe.
Some reviewers have commented about how it says it works up to 1TB or 1.5 TB. If yours says it works up to 1TB, it is only because you got an older printing of the box. When the box was printed, the largest drives commonly available were 1 TB. Now they have changed the box and the web site to say 1.5 TB. They only changed the box, not the product. I'm not sure why they put the "up to X.X TB" in there. Now drives are up to 2 TB, and they will all work with this as long as the BIOS and the OS in your PC will work with them. When they say "up to X.X TB", it leads people to believe that anything bigger won't work, but it will. This thing doesn't have a controller chip with a bios in it, just a simple straight through connection for the sata, and a simple bus bridge chip for USB.
1. Easy to use USB connect and requires power supply (comes with product).
2. Fairly fast and adequate.
3. Can copy/duplicate entire hard drive to another one.
4. Encrypted disks function just fine with this device.
Cons:
1. The hard drive openings can allow dust to enter.
2. If you remove one disk, they both disconnect.
--
This is my fourth one, I bought this one as a Christmas gift for wife. She was running out of room on her laptop saving photos that she takes with her camera. I will buy more of these unless they invent something new.
NOTE: Any hard drive can fail, even the Solid State drives so make duplicates and store them in a second location!
I paid $39.53 on December 19, 2022.
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2023
1. Easy to use USB connect and requires power supply (comes with product).
2. Fairly fast and adequate.
3. Can copy/duplicate entire hard drive to another one.
4. Encrypted disks function just fine with this device.
Cons:
1. The hard drive openings can allow dust to enter.
2. If you remove one disk, they both disconnect.
--
This is my fourth one, I bought this one as a Christmas gift for wife. She was running out of room on her laptop saving photos that she takes with her camera. I will buy more of these unless they invent something new.
NOTE: Any hard drive can fail, even the Solid State drives so make duplicates and store them in a second location!
I paid $39.53 on December 19, 2022.
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Dan The PC-Man!!









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