external harddrive enclosures

In article <sF5ac.22861$vo6.61923@news1.mts.net>,
"David" <dlipnow.DeleteThis@mts.net> wrote:

 > what is everyone using for external harddrive enclosures?
 >
 > is anyone using any model of the bytecc line?
 >
 > I just picked up a western digital 7200 rpm 8mb cache 120GB, and wish to use
 > it for video editing with a future ibook/powerbook purchase.
 >
 > I'm currently looking at :
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=11301&promoid=1043</font" target="_blank">http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=11301&promoid=1043</font</a>>
 >
 > I guess the question is do I buy that firewire/usb 2.0, or just a usb 2.0
 > drive?
 >
 > Any input would be appreciated.

I bought a Firewire only case recently and it's been working good with
the 52/32/52 CDRW I put in it. It does support large drives with an
Oxford 911 chipset. Personally, I'd stick to Firewire for hard drives
and such.

<http://www.dealsonic.com/firenfor525d.html>

Currently $33 + $5 shipping. Was easy to work with and supports both
5.25 and 3.5 inch drives. They do have a USB 2 only case that is
cheaper.

Greg B.

--
Actual e-mail address is gbuchner and I'm located at mn.rr.com<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

Avoid!

120GB 7200rpm WD died in one because of excessive heat trapped
within the case despite the 'poor' airflow & fan. Well over 60 degrees C!

These 3.5" (ME-720 series) cases are to be avoided!

---

ON the other hand, the ME-320 series 5.25" cases are excellent and
have sufficient airflow to keep a drive warm. Much recommended instead
of the 3.5" above.
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

In article <sF5ac.22861$vo6.61923@news1.mts.net>, "David" <dlipnow.RemoveThis@mts.net> wrote:

 > what is everyone using for external harddrive enclosures?
 >
 > is anyone using any model of the bytecc line?

I've got three 5.25 bytecc cases. :-) Both FW and FW/USB.

 > I just picked up a western digital 7200 rpm 8mb cache 120GB, and wish to use
 > it for video editing with a future ibook/powerbook purchase.

Be aware that the proper setting for many/most/all? WD drives as a single
drive on a cable is NO jumpers, rather than a jumper at "Master".

 > I'm currently looking at :
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=11301&promoid=1043</font" target="_blank">http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=11301&promoid=1043</font</a>>
 >
 > I guess the question is do I buy that firewire/usb 2.0, or just a usb 2.0
 > drive?

If you have a Mac with firewire, get the firewire. And except for the
newest Macs (G5's, very recent FP iMacs), Macs have USB 1.1 ports, which
are *way* slower than firewire or USB2 high speed.

I've always stuck with cases that have the Oxford 911 chipsets (as these
cases do). They've been solid for me.

--
Jim Glidewell
My opinions only<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

I just got a Mercury Elite Firewire/USB 2 case with Oxford 911 chipset
for $89.00. Not the cheapest option, but I can use the USB with older
macs without firewire--yes, it's slow, but it works.

I have been really happy with Other World Computing--which is why I
bought from them.

Pigeon
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

( before e-mailing, remove "NOSPAM" from address )

Hi. I feel I can contribute in theory. I just got an ADS 1394b
(Firewire 800) external enclosure and a SIIG cardbus 1394b adapter.
Both provide slots for conecting also 1394a (Firewire 400), which is
necessary for transfering DV video from camcorders.
The ADS enclosure accepts either an HD or an optical drive such as a
DVD/CD writer. And the 1394b connection could allow for even
non-compressed video work according to threads that I read before
buying. Well, it all seems nice, but ...

I just haven't been able to use it because I first must replace my
internal disk (bought a new Hitachi e7K60). I want to use the ADS to
make an image of my current HD to the Hitachi. So I also bought an
adapter to connect the Hitachi to the IDE flat cable in the ADS.
Problem is the adapter has 40 pins (twenty pairs) while the female
socket in the flat cable has 39, as if one slot in the middle was
covered. So I don't know what to do. Should I just cut the exceeding
pin, or maybe I should replace the flat cable in the ADS ?

I guess this situation applies to other external enclosures as well.
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

In article <406cf7bf.329789712.DeleteThis@News.Individual.NET>,
<visitor2NOSPAM.DeleteThis@terra.com.br> wrote:
 >Problem is the adapter has 40 pins (twenty pairs) while the female
 >socket in the flat cable has 39, as if one slot in the middle was
 >covered. So I don't know what to do. Should I just cut the exceeding
 >pin, or maybe I should replace the flat cable in the ADS ?

The missing pin is a key to try to make sure you insert the cable the
correct way. Often cheap IDE products don't bother to snap off the
extra pin and it can be a nuisance to work with. On a lot of PC
motherboards I've had to deal with they still have all 40 pins and I
always grab a cable that has that one hole filled and of course I
can't shove it in. In those situations I grab a pair of needle-nose
pliers and grab the offending pin as close to the plastic as I can and
just wiggle it back and forth until it finally breaks off.

If you decide to break off the pin, make sure it's the *correct*
pin. No way to put it back once it's broken.

--
DON'T PAY MORE FOR WEB HOSTING THAN WHAT YOU WANT TO PAY
At Full System, Inc. you invent the package *and* the price!
Point your browser to <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://custom.fullsystem.com/" target="_blank">http://custom.fullsystem.com/</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

( before e-mailing, remove "NOSPAM" from address )


Thanks Chris, I feel more encouraged now. I'd rather sack a pin from a
no-brand adapter than replace an original cable.
So, excuse my ignorance of never dealing with hardware, but how do I
know then which is the correct side so that I can go ahead and cut the
unnecessarypin ?
Isn't there something like a "pin 1" which serves as reference?
I could attach a 9k JPEG image to show what this thing looks like.
I'd very much appreciate your help.
Best regards


fozztexx.TakeThisOut@fishbulb.home.fozztexx.com (Chris Osborn) wrote:

 >The missing pin is a key to try to make sure you insert the cable the
 >correct way. Often cheap IDE products don't bother to snap off the
 >extra pin and it can be a nuisance to work with. On a lot of PC
 >motherboards I've had to deal with they still have all 40 pins and I
 >always grab a cable that has that one hole filled and of course I
 >can't shove it in. In those situations I grab a pair of needle-nose
 >pliers and grab the offending pin as close to the plastic as I can and
 >just wiggle it back and forth until it finally breaks off.
 >
 >If you decide to break off the pin, make sure it's the *correct*
 >pin. No way to put it back once it's broken.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

After once breaking off the wrong pin, I find it safer to find an old cable
or drill out the plug. Way cheaper.
Terry
<visitor2NOSPAM.DeleteThis@terra.com.br> wrote in message
news:406b1cfa.339320957@News.Individual.NET...
 > ( before e-mailing, remove "NOSPAM" from address )
 >
 >
 > Thanks Chris, I feel more encouraged now. I'd rather sack a pin from a
 > no-brand adapter than replace an original cable.
 > So, excuse my ignorance of never dealing with hardware, but how do I
 > know then which is the correct side so that I can go ahead and cut the
 > unnecessarypin ?
 > Isn't there something like a "pin 1" which serves as reference?
 > I could attach a 9k JPEG image to show what this thing looks like.
 > I'd very much appreciate your help.
 > Best regards
 >
 >
 > fozztexx.DeleteThis@fishbulb.home.fozztexx.com (Chris Osborn) wrote:
 >
  > >The missing pin is a key to try to make sure you insert the cable the
  > >correct way. Often cheap IDE products don't bother to snap off the
  > >extra pin and it can be a nuisance to work with. On a lot of PC
  > >motherboards I've had to deal with they still have all 40 pins and I
  > >always grab a cable that has that one hole filled and of course I
  > >can't shove it in. In those situations I grab a pair of needle-nose
  > >pliers and grab the offending pin as close to the plastic as I can and
  > >just wiggle it back and forth until it finally breaks off.
  > >
  > >If you decide to break off the pin, make sure it's the *correct*
  > >pin. No way to put it back once it's broken.
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

In article <406b1cfa.339320957 RemoveThis @News.Individual.NET>,
<visitor2NOSPAM RemoveThis @terra.com.br> wrote:
 >So, excuse my ignorance of never dealing with hardware, but how do I
 >know then which is the correct side so that I can go ahead and cut
 >the unnecessarypin ? Isn't there something like a "pin 1" which
 >serves as reference?

A couple of searches on google and I found this site:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/confSig-c.html" target="_blank">http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/confSig-c.html</a>

It has a couple of pictures and a description of the notching and pin
blocking.

--
DON'T PAY MORE FOR WEB HOSTING THAN WHAT YOU WANT TO PAY
At Full System, Inc. you invent the package *and* the price!
Point your browser to <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://custom.fullsystem.com/" target="_blank">http://custom.fullsystem.com/</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

( before e-mailing, remove "NOSPAM" from address )


Interesting site, I'll go study it before doing anything.
Thanks again a lot, Chris.

fozztexx.DeleteThis@fishbulb.home.fozztexx.com (Chris Osborn) wrote:
 >A couple of searches on google and I found this site:
 >http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/confSig-c.html
 >It has a couple of pictures and a description of the notching and pin
 >blocking.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

In comp.sys.mac.misc Chris Osborn <fozztexx RemoveThis @fishbulb.home.fozztexx.com> wrote:
 > In article <406cf7bf.329789712 RemoveThis @News.Individual.NET>,
 > <visitor2NOSPAM RemoveThis @terra.com.br> wrote:
  >>Problem is the adapter has 40 pins (twenty pairs) while the female
  >>socket in the flat cable has 39, as if one slot in the middle was
  >>covered. So I don't know what to do. Should I just cut the exceeding
  >>pin, or maybe I should replace the flat cable in the ADS ?

 > The missing pin is a key to try to make sure you insert the cable the
 > correct way. Often cheap IDE products don't bother to snap off the
 > extra pin and it can be a nuisance to work with. On a lot of PC
 > motherboards I've had to deal with they still have all 40 pins and I
 > always grab a cable that has that one hole filled and of course I
 > can't shove it in. In those situations I grab a pair of needle-nose
 > pliers and grab the offending pin as close to the plastic as I can and
 > just wiggle it back and forth until it finally breaks off.

 > If you decide to break off the pin, make sure it's the *correct*
 > pin. No way to put it back once it's broken.

Actually, the missing pin is the manufacturers "cheap" way of keying IDE
cables, drives and adapters instead of spending the money on a proper
keyed sockets and plugs. Just happens that the pin they pull is not in
use on any current IDE devices. Don't recall if it ever was used, but
the practice of removing one pin makes it a pain when you have standard
40-pin cable ends.

Joe Heimann<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

( before e-mailing, remove "NOSPAM" from address )


Well, I could buy a cheap ribbon cable that has no covered holes, but
instead I chose to cut pin #20 from the adapter, after triple-checking
where was pin #1 in all connectors. The advantage of this method is
that the adapter becomes "keyed", impossible to connect it reversely.
I even inserted the removed pin in the corresponding hole of the same
connector.

Now, I have two questions, about a new laptop HD:
1) Since it's for replacement (I will try Drive Image 2002 to clone
current HD), can this one-time laptop HD operation be done with the
disk not fixed to the chassis of the enclosure which is designed for
3.5 drives?

2) Before making an image in the new disk, what should I do first to
make sure it will boot: FDISK, FORMAT, SYS, all of them ?

thanks for reading

  >> If you decide to break off the pin, make sure it's the *correct*
  >> pin. No way to put it back once it's broken.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures 

visitor2NOSPAM.RemoveThis@terra.com.br wrote:
 > ( before e-mailing, remove "NOSPAM" from address )
 >
 >
 > Well, I could buy a cheap ribbon cable that has no covered holes, but
 > instead I chose to cut pin #20 from the adapter, after triple-checking
 > where was pin #1 in all connectors. The advantage of this method is
 > that the adapter becomes "keyed", impossible to connect it reversely.
 > I even inserted the removed pin in the corresponding hole of the same
 > connector.
 >
 > Now, I have two questions, about a new laptop HD:
 > 1) Since it's for replacement (I will try Drive Image 2002 to clone
 > current HD), can this one-time laptop HD operation be done with the
 > disk not fixed to the chassis of the enclosure which is designed for
 > 3.5 drives?
 >
 > 2) Before making an image in the new disk, what should I do first to
 > make sure it will boot: FDISK, FORMAT, SYS, all of them ?
 >
 > thanks for reading
 >
 >
   >>>If you decide to break off the pin, make sure it's the *correct*
   >>>pin. No way to put it back once it's broken.
 >
 >

I'm using one of these:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.techimo.com/articles/i82.html" target="_blank">http://www.techimo.com/articles/i82.html</a>

And it's fine. Dual firewire ports mean i can plug my DV cam into the
back of the enclosure and capture straight to the external drive. Also,
there's no fan so it's almost silent. The heat is conducted away from
the drive by the mesh and aluminium plates. nice!

Squid<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: external harddrive enclosures