Suggested IDE/PATA enclosure for 2.5” external ThinkPad hard

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ranchmom5 · #1 Post by **ranchmom5** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:51 pm

I have been thinking of making this purchase for an extra HDD I have but it seems there are so many choices and they have such a huge range of price.....from $35 to $5!

Does anyone have a specific brand name they could recommend?

Thanks

#2 Post by **gator** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:05 pm

http://www.cooldrives.com/25usbfircas.html

pick your poison ...

slagmi · #3 Post by **slagmi** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:10 pm

For USB?? Ive had less than stellar luck with the really cheap one's, If it costs less that say 10 bucks it may be junk. But there is no need to spend 50$ either. If you can get one that has a 5V DC plug that may prove useful. Or necessary if the drive mysteriously disappears repeatedly. A few even come with a 5V A/C adapter. And spare Y adapters are very inexpensive off places like Newegg and monoprice. If there's no external power it's common for these drive enclosures to take 2 USB ports to get enough power.

For Firewire? If your TP has a firewire port, it's hard to go wrong with this option.

#4 Post by **gator** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:52 pm

slagmi wrote:For Firewire? If your TP has a firewire port, it's hard to go wrong with this option.

THe mini firewire port you find on the recnet thinkpads is not good for driving external HDDs ...

2think · #5 Post by **2think** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:02 pm

The Kingwin KH-200UBK sells for $15 and comes with a 5V connector, cable, and a leather case. Has anyone tried it?

ranchmom5 · #6 Post by **ranchmom5** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:21 pm

I do not have a firewire on my T42, only USB. The one link had SO many options on it. Thanks for linking it but I need a little more help in narrowing down my choices.

Keep the suggestions coming...I am listening.

2think · #7 Post by **2think** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:52 pm

Hi ranchmom5, the link in my earlier post has only one enclosure adaptor that uses usb.

phool@round · #8 Post by **phool@round** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:13 pm

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817145329

This is what I found. Seems simple enough, no power plug needed.

slagmi · #9 Post by **slagmi** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:28 pm

I've had good luck with similar Kingwin products and the link 2think posted appears to be a decent enclosure.

Deb Suran · #10 Post by **Deb Suran** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:32 am

Don't buy any Thermaltake product, total crap and they haven't given their documentation a thorough update since Windows 98!

jimmy274 · #11 Post by **jimmy274** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:15 am

I've had a cheap LC Power 2.5" HDD rack. It sucked - the USB mini connector went bad very fast. The LC Power is in the range 5-10$ and don't use it - it's crap.
To replace it (and find a new home for my 7K60), I've bought CoolerMaster X-Craft 250... I don't think I've ever seen a better HDD enclosure - it rocks, and I payed it 25 EURO. The enclosure also has the mini USB connector, but it's very tight and I don't see it ever break like LC Power. For my T41 the one USB is enough for it to function (since there are 2 - one main, and one AUX for bus power) which I can't say for LC Power (sometimes refused to work even when both USBs are connected).
The CoolerMaster also has a much higher data rate and the drive has much lower access time.
This is what I recommend - I've never seen anything better, and I've seen a lot of HDD enclosures.

Suggested IDE/PATA enclosure for 2.5” external ThinkPad hard

Suggested IDE/PATA enclosure for 2.5” external ThinkPad hard

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