External USB Connected HDD Docking Adapter for IDE HDDs

[jaugustine]

Hi,

Has anyone had experience using an external USB connected hard disk drive
docking adapter that allow you to connect old IDE HDDs?

I have several old IDE HDDs (FAT32, 5 to 20GB capacity) that I would
like to transfer files to or from.

Note: My XP computers have FAT32 HDDs.

Thank You in Advance, John

 

[Thai Guy]

--->

Hi,

Has anyone had experience using an external USB connected hard disk
drive docking adapter that allow you to connect old IDE HDDs?

I have several old IDE HDDs (FAT32, 5 to 20GB capacity) that I
would like to transfer files to or from.

Note: My XP computers have FAT32 HDDs.

Thank You in Advance, John

How about giving this a try? I have several of them and they work just
fine.

http://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-RCW-...03YK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316263238&sr=8-1

 

[pjp]

Hi,

Has anyone had experience using an external USB connected hard disk
drive
docking adapter that allow you to connect old IDE HDDs?

I have several old IDE HDDs (FAT32, 5 to 20GB capacity) that I would
like to transfer files to or from.

Note: My XP computers have FAT32 HDDs.

Thank You in Advance, John

I have an external enclosure that you simply put a hard disk in. In this
case, it supports both Sata and IDE. Basically works as advertised although
the odd old hard disk isn't recognized which usually turns out to be it's
got a problem of some sort.

Was cheap and well worth it. I use it to recover stuff of old hard disks or
system so trashed they need complete reinstall but people want "something"
off it etc. Those old hd's I then fill with something of some value, label
it and put it on the shelf as just another backup of some point in time.

 

[Ken]

Hi,

Has anyone had experience using an external USB connected hard disk drive
docking adapter that allow you to connect old IDE HDDs?

I have several old IDE HDDs (FAT32, 5 to 20GB capacity) that I would
like to transfer files to or from.

Note: My XP computers have FAT32 HDDs.

Thank You in Advance, John

As Thai Guy said, they work fine. I bought one one Ebay and have used
it with SATA and IDE of both sizes. Can't beat the deal:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-IDE...255?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45fd2e8eaf

 

[Mayayana]

I use something similar to what the others have
mentioned. It's a drive enclosure. About $20 at
Staples. It's the same idea as what Ken linked to,
but also includes an enclosure case. I use it for
backup and transport of large-scale data, like
copying data partitions. It works fine, and I have
leftover hard disks from older PCs, so I can't see
any point in paying top dollar for an official "external
drive" when $20 lets me reuse all of my old ones.

 

[VanguardLH]

Hi,

Has anyone had experience using an external USB connected hard disk drive
docking adapter that allow you to connect old IDE HDDs? I have several old IDE HDDs (FAT32, 5 to 20GB capacity) that I would
like to transfer files to or from.

Prior suggestions are handy if you're not looking for a permanent HDD
docking station or enclosure. Those are pretty small HDDs so probably
better is to transfer their files onto your internal HDDs and toss the
tiny IDE HDDs. For that, all you need is to remove the side panel from
your desktop PC and temporarily hookup the old small IDE HDDs using an
IDE ribbon cable to a motherboard IDE header. If the mobo doesn't have
an IDE header, you'll need an IDE-to-SATA adapter. If there are no more
4-pin Molex power connectors available inside, you'll need a Y-cable.
You temporarily connect the old IDE drive to the mobo and PSU inside the
desktop case, do the file transfers, and then discard the old small IDE
drives or give them away to someone with a really old PC.

If you put the IDE HDD inside an external case then you can tote it over
to other computers, too, or just stack them in a drawer until you want
to use them with your own computer; however, considering the small size
of these old HDD drives, you'd be better doing the above temporary
internally connected setup and later use a much more conveniently sized
USB flash drive to tote around the files.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182154

If what you want is an external HDD docking station where the raw drive
sits in it like a toaster, most of those are for SATA drives but maybe
you could use an IDE-to-SATA adapter on the drive; else, find one that
says it supports both SATA and IDE.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817198048

 

[VanguardLH]

I have been using this product.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812156102

Those type of devices have already been mentioned in other posts. I
figured to give some suggestions to the OP that didn't end up with a
mess of cables strewn on their desk. The OP didn't mention if his
request was for a one-time file transfer (in which case, he probably
doesn't need any of these adapters and can just temporarily hook the IDE
drives to an IDE header on the mobo) or if he will be repeatedly reusing
those old tiny drives by reinserting them when needed or leaving semi-
permanently attached to the PC.

 

[Thai Guy]

--->

I use something similar to what the others have mentioned. It's a
drive enclosure. About $20 at Staples. It's the same idea as what Ken
linked to, but also includes an enclosure case. I use it for backup
and transport of large-scale data, like copying data partitions. It
works fine, and I have leftover hard disks from older PCs, so I can't
see any point in paying top dollar for an official "external drive"
when $20 lets me reuse all of my old ones.

Excuse me for tacking this onto your post, Mayayana:

My setup here is similar to a single drive enclosure, but on a larger
scale. I had an old tower case in which the motherboard failed
completely (burned up). I stripped the tower completely except for the
PSU. I added four roughly identical (60-80Gb) IDE drives and plugged
them into four of the Rosewill IDE/USB adapters and then plugged those
adapters into a four-port USB2.0 hub; giving me a single-point USB cable
for my main computer. Powering those four drives was easy with a PSU
from another defunct computer.

Basically, what I have now, is a 'sit-on-the-floor' HDD tower. Since I
do lots of photo work, those four drives (with 4 drive letters) are all
I need to sort and store photos. I've experienced no lagging at all.

I throw this out because the subject was 'external storage' and maybe
someone might like my solution using older HDDs and a few dongles.

 

[Paul]

What about http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000J01I1G/ ? Which
one is better?

Before buying that style of USB to IDE dongle adapter,
read the reviews on Newegg. Virtually all of them, have
had power adapter problems, and people have had hard
drive damaged from power issues (when using 3.5" drives).

If the reviews on Newegg, note no damaged hard drives,
then you have a winner and may buy the product in confidence.

Paul

 

[Paul]

Interesting. I wasn't aware of that power issue from these. So, it is
still better to hook up to computers internally or use external
enclosure setups?

There is nothing wrong with the adapter itself. The chip wouldn't
be that much different than the chip in an enclosure. But I've read
of enough issues with the included power adapter, to mention it as
an issue before buying. At one time, you could find kits like that,
with a good reputation - it's a bit harder to pick a "winner" now.

Paul

 

[James D Andrews]

(e-mail address removed) was thinking very hard and all he could come up
with was:

Hi,

Has anyone had experience using an external USB connected hard disk drive
docking adapter that allow you to connect old IDE HDDs?

I have several old IDE HDDs (FAT32, 5 to 20GB capacity) that I would
like to transfer files to or from.

Note: My XP computers have FAT32 HDDs.

Thank You in Advance, John

Lots of experience, actually. It's probably the best use of the
gadget.
I was able to recover files and stuff from dozens of old drives with no
problem as long as the drives were still readable.

It shows up like any other device and you can drag and drop. Transfer
rates vary by disk.

JUST REMEMBER TO PULL THE JUMPER OFF MASTER

--
-There are some who call me...
Jim


"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean
that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel
good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"
-Gandalf, after Bilbo Baggins says "Good Morning"

 

[James D Andrews]

Paul was thinking very hard and all he could come up with was:

There is nothing wrong with the adapter itself. The chip wouldn't
be that much different than the chip in an enclosure. But I've read
of enough issues with the included power adapter, to mention it as
an issue before buying. At one time, you could find kits like that,
with a good reputation - it's a bit harder to pick a "winner" now.

Paul

For what it's worth, I've had good results with the Rosewill RCW-618,
slightly newer version than the one linked above.

I second Paul's advice on reading comments!

--
-There are some who call me...
Jim


It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road,
and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be
swept off to.
-Samwise Gamgee quoting Bilbo Baggins, edited