Adding additional storage to your computer has never been so easy. Whether you have run out of available IDE ports or simply want to add hot-swap capabilities to a hard drive, the Vantec IDE-USB Adapter does the job. By conveting the IDE interface of hard drives to USB, the IDE-USB Adapter allows you to add a hard drive either inside or outside your system. The IDE-USB Adapter also utilizes USB 2.0, offering speeds up to 480Mbps (40 times the speed of USB 1.1)! But if you are using USB 1.1, the IDE-USB Adapter is still an ideal way to store and transfer large amounts of data.
Vantec has been making great products for the computer mechanics and enthusiasts alike for years, and this product will increase your productivity if you need to backup harddrives a lot whilst repairing computers. Normally you need to shutdown the PC and plug in the hardrive into your IDE port (making sure to set the correct master/slave jumpers) and reboot again, then when done copying the data you need to shut it down again, and so on… it gets quite annoying if you have to do that all day, so this is where this little cable comes in.
The Vantec USB to IDE allows you to plug in any IDE hardrive into your USB port, so no more rebooting and swapping drives anymore, just plug and copy. The kit is nice and basic containing what you need, the USB to IDE cable, the power supply, drivers for windows 98/ME and the instruction manual.
| Features | Specifications |
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When connecting the cable without an attached hard disk, Windows couldn’t install the device (it just did not recognize what it was). But when a hardrive is plugged in, Windows immediately recognizes the drive instead of a strange cable so compatibility issues should be a problem. If you think you got a defective cable try attaching a hdd to it ;)
The connector itself is nice and sturdy with a good grip and looks like it’s a solid cast, so long time wear and tear shouldn’t be a problem and I reckon this cable will last a lifetime, or until they find something newer than USB…..
So only 3.5 inch harddrives? No! Contained in the kit is a 2,5 to 3,5 adapter plug so you can even backup laptop harddrives with this baby without any hassle. The only downside I could find on this is that the power-plug-jumper-like thing is detachable and one must watch the polarity on that when connecting it, else your laptop disk will be far from being backed-up (!) Oooh just the thought of it… the smell of burning harddrives in the morning, and the cursing and swearing of the computer tech afterwards is enough to put a smile on my face, unless it was my harddrive ;)
Only thing that kept bugging me was the size of the power supply. I mean check out the dimensions against the cable… it’s just a small little hard drive, not a full laptop! Then again if you’re constantly repairing PCs then this could just as well stay in place on your desk for quick reach.
Performance
Let’s have a little look at the speeds of this thing, its so small can it be fast?, one might wonder.
But as we know looks can be deceiving, as this baby performs just as well as the Vantec NexStar3 reviewed here. This cable clocks at 27Megabytes per seconds using USB2.0, so we’re ok in the speed department.
All in all I can be short about this product, it’s a GREAT piece of kit and should almost be a necessity for all those fiddling with PCs from time to time. Even the local computer shop should have these to dramatically increase productivity, (years back I was fiddling with IDE drives and Norton Ghost, aaaaaah the olden days). Only thing left on my mind is the bulky power supply… and Vantec has a SATA to USB Cable as well …
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