Advantages: Portable, easy to use, never failed on me yet! Disadvantages: Perhaps only the disc size, but it has taken me 2 years to fill it!
Wester Digital, a respected brand name, and i agree!
I have owned the unit now for around 2 years, and have 0 problems. My internal harddrive has died on me twice but my external one, never!
This 80gb HDD is perfect for storing large files, home movies, photo albums, music etc. It's ideal when transfering data from one place to another, simply unplug it, plug it in elsehwre and hey presto!
It supports drag & drop so moving files couldn't be easier.
Standard power adpater with 3-pin plug, and USB2.0 connection to your pc, mac, server etc.
It is easily recognised by each operating system and i have yet to find one that doesn't support the unit. Plug it in, wait around 30secs and it's up and running.
Can be stored horizontally, and if you have 3 like me, you can stack them perfectly, or store them vertically ...
Advantages: Fast, high capacity storage. Well built, looks good. 2 year warranty, No fan. Disadvantages: No fan.
Freecom before as they've always looked a bit cheap and nasty so this would be an interesting experience. The box did feel reassuringly heavy though, a good start.
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# What's in the Box?
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Apart from the drive, the box contained a small light external PSU, a USB lead and a CD with some backup software.
The case is made of extremly solid and heavy aluminium with a silver plastic front piece with a sexy blue '400GB' light (yes, you can have sexy lights. Really.) at the front just to prove how big it was. The finish is excellent and I have to say, if this is anything to go by, I'm converted to Freecom. Unlike the picture here, my unit has the aluminium finished in matt black which looks really nice on top of my black PC. It's also surprisingly compact - not that much bigger than a harddrive at 20x11.5x4 cms ...
Advantages: Small, cheap, does what it says on the box Disadvantages: none
I had to transfer some old VHS into DVD for convenience so I did browse the internet looking for something really good yet easy to use and most important not expensive.
I found a lot of very good reviews about this product, so I decided to give it a go and bought one, well I have to say that it works beautifully, the manual is very clear, the installation was a breeze, the software bundled is very useful and whilst I'm writing the device is currently helping me to transfer my 10th tape and counting...
The video output is surprisingly good in particular using the composite input, I checked with "graphedit" the directshow codecs used and they are the one provided by the bundled software, however because the device is a WDM compliant device you can use any capture software that will convert to MPEG2 with better codecs, again this is just ...
Product Information for "StarTech.com 3.5in Silver FireWire 400 USB 2.0 to IDE External Hard Drive Enclosure" »
Manufacturer's product description
This versatile hard drive enclosure lets you connect a 3.5in IDE hard drive to a PC or Mac computer through either hi-speed USB 2.0 or FireWire 400. Plus, the enclosure is backward compatible with the original USB standard, ensuring compatibility in virtually any operating environment. The enclosure provides a stylish brushed aluminum housing that helps protect against physical damage to the installed IDE hard drive, and in turn lets you preserve your valuable data. Plus, the hard drive enclosure includes an attractive vinyl carrying case that prevents scratches to the enclosure finish when you're on the move.
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