StarTech.com REMOVABLE SERIAL HARD DRIVE ( DRW110SAT )

List Price: $45.14 Discount Price: $20.14

Features:

• Transforms your Serial ATA hard drive into a versatile mobile storage unit
• StarTech.com's exclusive shock absorber cushioning system helps prevent impact damage to your hard drive when you're on the move
• Great for making backup copies of your data, no more fear of losing your critical programs and files to hardware failures or viruses
• Store your valuable data using the DRW110SAT and keep it in a safe place in case of emergency
• Easily transport massive databases, space consuming multimedia files, archived data, as well as other large files, from one location to anothe

Customer Reviews:

Reliable and makes fast backups, but cheaply constructed. [Posted on 2006-02-01]
PROS: If you're on a budget and need to make backups to a Serial ATA drive, or you want to use different SATA drives with the same computer, this removable hard drive system will enable you to accomplish the task with ease. It looks good and blends well with the outside of your machine -- that is, when a drive is inserted. A keylock mechanism engages the electrical connections to your drive and prevents easy removal. Remember the words "easy removal" (more on this below). A bright green light on the front of the holder indicates when power to the drive is on. Small rubber shock absorbers cushion your drive from light impacts and vibration.

CONS: It lacks an important feature found in the comparably priced Genica Mobile Media Removable Hard Drive Tray for IDE drives -- a spring-loaded door that drops down as you insert the caddy containing the drive and pops back up on removal. The absence of this door leaves a gaping hole in the front of your computer when the caddy is not inserted, allowing a clear view of the inside of your PC and leaving it more vulnerable to dust, small objects, and even the insertion of hands (a factor to consider where small children may be present). A customer of mine bought an extra one of these after I installed one in his computer. His purpose: to cover the hole by leaving an EMPTY caddy inserted when he wasn't backing up.

The removable drive tray holder, which is the part you install in your PC, is a U-shaped plastic device without any kind of plastic "brace" molded near the open end to keep the two ends from slightly moving toward and away from each other. This is not a problem if you install the holder into your drive bay with screws to achieve a tight fit. However, my PC uses quick-release rails that enable a device to be installed into a bay or deinstalled simply by pushing or pulling specially designed metal tabs on both sides. With this mechanism, the holder stays in its bay but there definitely is some looseness and movement during insertion and removal of the caddy.

Do not pull the handle with force when the lock is engaged, as the plastic can break. Also NEVER lock or unlock the drive while the computer is powered up or you risk corrupting your data and possibly having to reformat the drive installed in the caddy. This model does NOT include Swap Manager for Windows. That software, designed to permit hot-swapping of removable drives without having to power down your PC, is included with the much higher priced DRW115SATBK removable drive system.

The DRW110SAT has no disk activity light. Instead, a opaque plastic square is glued over a small orange dot (this might even be an inactive LED) where an activity light must have been intended during the design phase. The previously mentioned Genica Mobile Media Tray does in fact have an activity light, providing a level of comfort by indicating precisely when read/write operations are occurring. That feature is sorely missed in this model.

CONCLUSION: Works as intended but don't expect anything fancy. Economical price is a big plus if installing in multiple PC's or maintaining several removable drives.

Works every now and then [Posted on 2008-11-25]
When this unit is installed, often the PC won't boot in the morning. I can remove the thing and the problem goes away. Mechanically, it's not well designed. The only thing that holds the front pieces of the housing apart is the drive, when inserted. If you remove the drive drawer, the pieces move towards the center quite a bit. I've had a couple of other removable drive units like this for IDE drives and never had a moments problem with them. Surely there are better quality units that work well.

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